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Sylvia Garcia
Sylvia Garcia
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Texas's 29th district
Assumed office
January 3, 2019
Preceded by Gene Green
Member of the Texas Senate
from the 6th district
In office
March 11, 2013 – November 9, 2018
Preceded by Mario Gallegos Jr.
Succeeded by Carol Alvarado
Harris County Commissioner from Precinct 2
In office
January 1, 2003 – January 1, 2011
Preceded by Jim Fontento
Succeeded by Jack Morman
12th City Controller of Houston
In office
January 2, 1998 – January 1, 2003
Preceded by Lloyd Kelly
Succeeded by Judy Gray Johnson
Personal details
Born
Sylvia Rodriguez Garcia

(1950-09-06) September 6, 1950 (age 73)
San Diego, Texas, U.S.
Political party Democratic
Education Texas Woman's University (BA)
Texas Southern University (JD)

Sylvia Rodriguez Garcia (born September 6, 1950) is an American lawyer and politician who has been serving as the U.S. representative for Texas's 29th congressional district since 2019. Her district covers much of eastern Houston. A member of the Democratic Party, she previously represented the 6th district in the Texas Senate.

Early life and education

Sylvia Rodriguez Garcia was born in San Diego, Texas, and raised in Palito Blanco in west central Jim Wells County, the daughter of Luis and Antonia Rodriguez Garcia. She is the eighth of ten children. Her family are Mexican Americans.

After graduating from Ben Bolt-Palito Blanco High School, Garcia attended Texas Woman's University on a scholarship. She graduated with a degree in social work and began a career as a social worker. She later received her Doctor of Jurisprudence degree from Texas Southern University Thurgood Marshall School of Law.

Early political career

City of Houston

In the early 1980s, Houston Mayor Kathryn Whitmire appointed Garcia as presiding judge of the Houston Municipal System. She served for an unprecedented five terms under two mayors.

In 1998, Garcia became Houston city controller.

Harris County

Garcia was elected to the Harris County Commissioner's Court in 2002. She was the first woman and first Latina elected to that post in her own right. Her precinct featured a major base of operations for NASA, the nation's largest petrochemical complex, the Houston Ship Channel and the Port of Houston, the sixth largest port in the world.

In 2010, Garcia was defeated for reelection to the Harris County Commissioner's Court by Republican Jack Morman.

Texas Senate

In 2013, Garcia defeated State Representative Carol Alvarado in a special election runoff to replace the late state Senator Mario Gallegos.

Garcia took the oath of office for state senator on March 11, 2013. She served on the Criminal Justice, Intergovernmental Relations, Natural Resources and Economic Development, and Transportation committees. Garcia ran unopposed in the 2016 general election.

U. S. House of Representatives

Elections

1992

While still serving as a municipal judge, Garcia ran in the Democratic primary for the newly created 29th congressional seat in 1992. She finished third in the five-way primary—the real contest in this heavily Democratic, Latino-majority district—behind City Councilman Ben Reyes and State Senator Gene Green. Green won the runoff and held the seat for 26 years.

2018

Green announced his retirement in November 2017, and Garcia—who by then held the state senate seat Green once held—entered a crowded seven-way Democratic primary. The district was still a Democratic stronghold, and it was taken for granted that whoever won the primary would be overwhelmingly favored in November. Garcia got a significant boost when Green endorsed her, saying, "she's a legislator, and that's what a member of Congress should be." She won the primary with 63% of the vote. ..... Garcia handily won the November 6 general election. She and Veronica Escobar became the first Latina congresswomen from Texas, and Garcia is the first woman to represent the district. Garcia is also the first Hispanic to represent a significant portion of Houston in Congress.

2020

Garcia won reelection in 2020, defeating Republican Jaimy Blanco.

Tenure

On January 15, 2020, Garcia was selected as one of seven House impeachment managers who presented the impeachment case against President Donald Trump during his trial before the United States Senate.

Committee assignments

  • Committee on Financial Services
    • Subcommittee on Diversity and Inclusion
    • Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations
  • Committee on the Judiciary
    • Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights and Civil Liberties
    • Subcommittee on Immigration and Citizenship

Caucus memberships

  • Congressional Hispanic Caucus
  • Congressional Equality Caucus
  • Congressional Homelessness Caucus
  • Congressional Progressive Caucus
  • Congressional Mental Health Caucus
  • Congressional Social Work Caucus
  • Congressional Diabetes Caucus
  • Adoption Caucus
  • Congressional Bipartisan HBCU Caucus

Electoral history

Texas's 29th congressional district Democratic primary results, 2018
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Sylvia Garcia 11,659 63.2
Democratic Tahir Javed 3,817 20.7
Democratic Roel Garcia 1,217 6.6
Democratic Hector Morales 562 3.0
Democratic Augustine H. Reyes 524 2.8
Democratic Dominique Michelle Garcia 472 2.6
Democratic Pedro Valencia 192 1.1
Total votes 18,443 100.0
Texas's 29th congressional district, 2018
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Sylvia Garcia 88,188 75.1
Republican Phillip Aronoff 28,098 23.9
Libertarian Cullen Burns 1,199 1.0
Independent Johnathan Garza (write-in) 9 0.0
Total votes 117,494 100.0
Democrat hold
Texas's 29th congressional district, 2020
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Sylvia Garcia (incumbent) 111,305 71.1
Republican Jaimy Blanco 42,840 27.4
Libertarian Phil Kurtz 2,328 1.5
Total votes 156,473 100.0
Democrat hold
Texas's 29th congressional district, 2022
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Sylvia Garcia (incumbent) 71,837 71.4
Republican Robert Schafranek 28,765 28.5
Total votes 100,602 100.0
Democrat hold

Positions

Garcia voted with President Joe Biden's stated position 100% of the time in the 117th Congress, according to a FiveThirtyEight analysis.

LGBT rights

Garcia supports the Equality Act, a bill that would expand the federal Civil Rights Act of 1964 to ban discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity. She voted for it in 2019.

Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2023

Garcia was among the 46 Democrats who voted against final passage of the Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2023 in the House.

See also

Kids robot.svg In Spanish: Sylvia Garcia para niños

  • List of Hispanic and Latino American jurists
  • List of Hispanic and Latino Americans in the United States Congress
  • Women in the United States House of Representatives
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