José R. Rodríguez (born March 1, 1948) is an American attorney and politician. He served as a Democratic member of the

Texas State Senate The Texas Senate is the upper house of the Texas Legislature, with the Texas House of Representatives functioning as the lower house. Together, they form the state legislature of the state of Texas. The Senate is made up of 31 members, where eac ...

, representing

District 29 A district is a type of administrative division that in some countries is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or counties, several municipalities, subdivisions ...

El Paso, Texas El Paso (; ; or ) is a city in and the county seat of El Paso County, Texas, United States. The 2020 United States census, 2020 population of the city from the United States Census Bureau, U.S. Census Bureau was 678,815, making it the List of ...

from 2011 to 2021.

Early life and education

Rodríguez was born to migrant laborer parents in

Alice Alice may refer to: * Alice (name), most often a feminine given name, but also used as a surname Literature * Alice (''Alice's Adventures in Wonderland''), a character in books by Lewis Carroll * ''Alice'' series, children's and teen books by ...

in Jim Wells County, Texas. From a young age, he worked alongside them in the fields to help support a family of nine.
, http://senatorjoserodriguez.com/about/biography/ . Rodríguez graduated from the

University of Texas - Pan American A university () is an institution of tertiary education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase , which roughly means "community of teachers and scholars". Univ ...

, then known as Pan American University, in Edinburg in South Texas. As an undergraduate in 1971, he served as student body president. He received his

Juris Doctor A Juris Doctor, Doctor of Jurisprudence, or Doctor of Law (JD) is a graduate-entry professional degree that primarily prepares individuals to practice law. In the United States and the Philippines, it is the only qualifying law degree. Other j ...

degree from the

George Washington University Law School The George Washington University Law School (GW Law) is the law school of George Washington University, a Private university, private research university in Washington, D.C. Established in 1865, GW Law is the oldest law school in Washington, D. ...

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

in 1974.

Legal career

Rodríguez began his legal career by working for the

United States Department of Housing and Urban Development The United States Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) is one of the executive departments of the U.S. federal government. It administers federal housing and urban development laws. It is headed by the secretary of housing and u ...

under the Ford and Carter administrations. He previously worked as staff attorney for Texas Rural Legal Aid, Inc., a statewide legal services program. For 17 years prior to his election to the Texas State Senate, Rodríguez served as the El Paso County Attorney. Rodríguez's legal work has concentrated on education and community health, as well as funding for jobs and economic development.

Political career

In 2010, Rodríguez won the Democratic primary election with 69 percent of ballots cast. He won 60 percent of the vote in the general election for the seat vacated by the retiring Senator Eliot Shapleigh. In the next election in 2012, Rodríguez won 100 percent of the primary vote and in the

general election A general election is an electoral process to choose most or all members of a governing body at the same time. They are distinct from By-election, by-elections, which fill individual seats that have become vacant between general elections. Gener ...

held on November 2, he defeated Republican candidate Dan Chavez with 50,460 (60.2 percent) of the vote to Chavez's 33,303 (39.8 percent). Rodríguez is an active legislator; in his freshman term, he proposed over 40 bills relating to education, health care, economic development, renewable energy, public safety and the courts, ethics and government transparency, and the military. For this effort, the online publication ''Capitol Inside'' awarded him the title of "Freshman MVP." Other awards include "Legislative Hero" by Texas Access to Justice Foundation; "Best of Senate" by the Combined Law Enforcement Association of Texas; and "Advocate of the Year, Elected Official" by Texas Association for Education of Young Children. In his second term, Rodríguez proposed 50 bills and two concurrent resolutions. Rodriguez serves on several Senate committees: Agriculture (Vice-Chair), Natural Resources & Economic Development, Transportation, and Water & Rural Affairs. He announced his intention to retire and not seek reelection in 2020.

References

External links

*
State legislative page

Biography at Texas Tribune

Biography at Texas Directory
* , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Rodriguez, Jose R. 1948 births George Washington University Law School alumni Hispanic and Latino American state legislators in Texas Living people People from Alice, Texas Politicians from El Paso, Texas Texas lawyers Democratic Party Texas state senators University of Texas–Pan American alumni 21st-century members of the Texas Legislature