Mario Gallegos, Jr.
Mario Gallegos, Jr. | |
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Gallegos in 2012
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Member of the Texas Senate from the 6th district |
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In office 1995–2012 |
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Preceded by | Dan Shelley |
Succeeded by | Sylvia Garcia |
Member of the Texas House of Representatives from the 143rd district |
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In office 1991–1995 |
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Preceded by | Albert Luna, III |
Succeeded by | Gerard Torres |
Personal details | |
Born | Mario Valentin Gallegos, Jr. September 8, 1950 |
Died | Script error: The function "death_date_and_age" does not exist. Houston, Texas |
Resting place | Forest Park Lawndale Cemetery Houston, Texas |
Political party | Democratic |
Residence | Houston, Texas |
Alma mater | Univ. of Houston–Downtown |
Profession | Retired firefighter |
Religion | Roman Catholic |
Mario Valentin Gallegos, Jr. (September 8, 1950 – October 16, 2012)[1] was a Democratic politician in the U.S. state of Texas. He was the senator from District 6 in the Texas Senate, which serves a portion of Harris County.
Contents
Political career
Gallegos, who originated from the Magnolia Park community of Houston,[2] was a long-time firefighter with the Houston Fire Department[3] and retired as a Senior Captain after 22 years of service.[3] In 1990, he was elected to the 72nd Legislature in the Texas House of Representatives from District 143, where he served two terms, from 1991 to 1995.
In 1994, Representatives Gallegos and Yolanda Navarro Flores and former Representative Roman O. Martinez squared off in the Democratic primary for a recently redrawn Senate District 6. Martinez received a plurality of the votes and faced Gallegos in a runoff. Gallegos secured the endorsement of former opponent Flores and won, and with no other candidates for the Senate seat, Gallegos became the first Mexican American elected to that body from Harris County.[citation needed]
Gallegos faced no opposition in 1998 and was reelected to the Senate. In July 2001, Gallegos was named one of the worst legislators in Texas by Texas Monthly magazine in their biennial feature. The authors noted that Gallegos was “a retired firefighter who threw gasoline on every combustible issue,” and noted his penchant for injecting race into seemingly innocuous legislation.[4]
Gallegos was unopposed in 2002, but in 2004, Gallegos was again challenged by Yolanda Navarro Flores in the Democratic primary. Amidst two separate lawsuits challenging his residency within District 6 boundaries, and revelations (and another lawsuit) regarding a 17-year affair with former stripper Susan Delgado,[5] Gallegos won a close contest. In the 2004 general election, he faced Libertarian challenger Tony Deppenschmidt along with a write-in challenge from his former mistress, Delgado. Gallegos won handily with over 90% of the votes.
In July 2005, Gallegos was again named one of the worst legislators in Texas by Texas Monthly.[6] Nevertheless, Gallegos was sworn in as Governor for one day on May 5, 2007, in a Texas tradition honoring the Senate President Pro Term.[7]
Personal life
Gallegos attended the University of Houston–Downtown (UHD) where he received a Bachelor of Arts degree in social sciences in 2001.
On March 10, 2006, Gallegos released a statement acknowledging that he was in a one-month residential treatment program for his alcoholism.[8] On January 11, 2007, Gallegos announced that he was suffering from cirrhosis of the liver, and would require a liver transplant,[9] and on January 19, 2007, Gallegos received a liver transplant at the Texas Medical Center in Houston. His liver donor was 16-year-old Robby Joe Trevino Jr. of Fort Worth, Texas who died unexpectedly from Cardiomyopathy. According to a statement from Gallegos prior to the surgery, he would miss about 18 days of the Regular Session of the 80th Legislature.[10]
Gallegos installed a hospital bed in the office of the sergeant-at-arms at the capitol building so that he could be nearby to prevent discussion of a bill requiring voter identification, against doctors' orders.[11]
In October 2012 Gallegos was hospitalized and later died.[12][13]
Election History
Most recent election
2004
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
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Democratic | Mario V. Gallegos, Jr. | 75,318 | 91.74 | -8.24 | |
Libertarian | Tony Deppenschmidt | 6,614 | 8.05 | +8.05 | |
Write-In | Susan Delgado | 160 | 0.19 | +0.19 | |
Majority | 68,704 | 83.69 | -16.31 | ||
Turnout | 82,092 | +51.65 | |||
Democratic hold |
Democratic primary, 2004: Senate District 6[15] | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
✓ | Mario V. Gallegos, Jr. | 6,484 | 53.92 | |
Yolanda Navarro Flores | 5,541 | 46.07 | ||
Turnout | 12,025 |
Previous elections
2002
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Democratic | Mario V. Gallegos, Jr. | 54,130 | 100.00 | 0.00 | |
Majority | 54,130 | 100.00 | +43.41 | ||
Turnout | 54,130 | +43.41 | |||
Democratic hold |
1998
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Democratic | Mario V. Gallegos, Jr. | 37,746 | 100.00 | 0.00 | |
Majority | 37,746 | 100.00 | -2.59 | ||
Turnout | 37,746 | -2.59 | |||
Democratic hold |
1994
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
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Democratic | Mario V. Gallegos, Jr. | 38,749 | 100.00 | +57.52 | |
Majority | 38,749 | 100.00 | +69.20 | ||
Turnout | 38,749 | -74.55 | |||
Democratic gain from Republican |
Democratic primary runoff, 1994: Senate District 6[19] | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
✓ | Mario V. Gallegos, Jr. | 9,613 | 57.19 | |
Roman O. Martinez | 7,193 | 42.80 | ||
Turnout | 16,806 |
Democratic primary, 1994: Senate District 6[20] | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
✓ | Roman O. Martinez | 9,026 | 37.91 | |
✓ | Mario V. Gallegos, Jr. | 5,990 | 25.15 | |
Yolanda Navarro Flores | 4,936 | 20.73 | ||
David Thomas McCullough | 3,857 | 16.19 | ||
Turnout | 23,809 |
1992
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
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Democratic | Mario V. Gallegos, Jr. | 15,939 | 100.00 | ||
Majority | 15,939 | 100.00 | |||
Turnout | 15,939 | ||||
Democratic hold |
Democratic primary, 1992: House District 143[22] | ||||
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Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
✓ | Mario V. Gallegos, Jr. | 4,732 | 59.75 | |
Don Jones | 1,874 | 23.66 | ||
R.J. 'Reggie' Gonzales | 1,313 | 16.58 | ||
Turnout | 7,919 |
See also
- History of the Mexican-Americans in Houston
- Ninfa Laurenzo
- Rick Noriega
- Ben Reyes
- South Park Mexican
- Felix Tijerina
References
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Hewitt, Paige. "Celebrating 100 years at Magnolia Park." Houston Chronicle. October 18, 2009. Retrieved July 24, 2010.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Senator Mario Gallegos, Jr.: District 6 Official State Senate Website
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ The Texas State Senate: District 6
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Connelly, Richard. "State Senator Mario Gallegos Hospitalized In "Grave Condition"." Houston Press. Friday October 12, 2012. Retrieved October 14, 2012.
- ↑ Holley, Joe. "Mario Gallegos, Senate champion for Hispanics, dies at 62." Houston Chronicle. Tuesday October 16, 2012. Retrieved on October 18, 2012.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
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- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
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- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
External links
- Senate of Texas - Senator Mario Gallegos, Jr.
- Project Vote Smart - Senator Mario V. Gallegos Jr (TX) profile
- Follow the Money - Mario Gallegos Jr
- Find A Grave Memorial - Mario Valentin Gallegos, Jr
Texas House of Representatives | ||
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Preceded by | Member of the Texas House of Representatives from District 143 (Houston) 1991–1995 |
Succeeded by Gerard Torres |
Texas Senate | ||
Preceded by | Texas State Senator from District 6 (Houston)(1) 1995–2012 |
Succeeded by Sylvia Garcia |
Preceded by | President pro tempore of the Texas Senate January 9, 2007– October 13, 2012 |
Succeeded by Leticia Van de Putte |
Notes and references | ||
1. For the 74th through the 77th, Gallegos’ home city was Galena Park |
- Use mdy dates from October 2012
- Pages with broken file links
- Articles with unsourced statements from July 2007
- Texas State Senators
- Members of the Texas House of Representatives
- 1950 births
- 2012 deaths
- American politicians of Mexican descent
- Harris County, Texas
- Presidents pro tempore of the Texas Senate
- University of Houston–Downtown alumni
- People from Houston, Texas
- Texas Democrats
- Organ transplant recipients