Juan Manuel Escobar (born March 11, 1950) is an American former politician and judge. He is a former member of the

Texas House of Representatives The Texas House of Representatives is the lower house of the bicameral Texas Legislature. It consists of 150 members who are elected from single-member districts for two-year terms. There are no Term limits in the United States, term limits. The ...

from the 43rd district from 2003 to 2009, and was a Kleberg County judge from 2011 to 2014.

Early life and education

Early in his life, Escobar was a migrant worker. Escobar attended Roma High School, where he was a Texas All-State Class AA first team selection in basketball, competed in the 440 at the Texas Class AA State final, and served as Student Council President during his senior year. Escobar earned a Bachelor of Science in biology from the

University of Texas–Pan American The University of Texas–Pan American (UTPA) was a public university in Edinburg, Texas. Founded in 1927, it was a component institution of the University of Texas System. The university served the Rio Grande Valley (Texas), Rio Grande Valley a ...

in 1978.Cantu, Gloria-Bigger
"County judge-elect says leadership key to success"
''Kingsville Record and Bishop News'', 28 April 2010, Retrieved 8 June 2011.

Military service

Escobar served in the

United States Marine Corps The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines or simply the Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is responsible for conducting expeditionar ...

with the 1st Marine Division in Vietnam where he was wounded in action in 1970. He rose to the rank of Sergeant and was assigned to United States Marine Barracks 8th & I in Washington, D.C. where he was a pall bearer for Presidents Lyndon B. Johnson and Harry S. Truman. He ended his duties as a active duty Marine and was promoted to the rank of Staff Sergeant in the United States Marine Corps Reserve where he served as a Platoon Sergeant with a Reco Unit. He began his career with United States Border Patrol in 1978 and was the "Patrol Agent in Charge" at the Sarita checkpoint for several years. His exceptional service with the Border Patrol led to his promotion to Senior Special Agent with the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force. He retired from the Department of Homeland Security in 2003.

Political career

Escobar was elected to the

in a special election to replace the late Irma Rangel in May 2003. He served in that capacity until January 2009. He served as Vice Chair of the Defense Affairs—State Federal Relations, Criminal Jurisprudence, House Administration, Border and Intergovernmental Affairs and Land and Resource Management. In 2008 he was defeated by fellow Democrat Tara Rios Ybarra 53.74% to his 46.25% in a higher than average turnout election. In 2010 he was elected as Kleberg County Judge, and served until December 2014.

Personal life

Escobar lives in Kingsville, Texas with his wife of 43 years, Maria del Rosario (Rosie). He is a lay ministry, lay minister and former administrator for St. Joseph's Catholic Church in Kingsville. He serves as a Major in the Civil Air Patrol. His children are Yvonne Yvette and Eduardo Eden, daughter in law Marleena and two grandsons Branden Luke and Jacob Dylan.

References

External links

TedKennedy.org

, - {{DEFAULTSORT:Escobar, Juan M. County judges in Texas Democratic Party members of the Texas House of Representatives Living people Hispanic and Latino American state legislators in Texas United States Border Patrol agents United States Marines United States Marine Corps personnel of the Vietnam War University of Texas–Pan American alumni Texas lawyers Year of birth missing (living people) 21st-century members of the Texas Legislature