Charlie Gonzalez

Charlie Gonzalez
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Texas's 20th district
Incumbent
Assumed office January 3, 1999
Preceded by	Henry Gonzalez
Personal details
Born	May 5, 1945 (1945-05-05) (age 66) San Antonio, Texas
Political party	Democratic
Residence	San Antonio, Texas
Alma mater	University of Texas, St. Mary's University
Occupation	attorney, judge
Religion	Roman Catholic
Military service
Service/branch	United States Air National Guard
Years of service	1969-1975
Rank	Technical Sergeant
Unit	Texas

Charles A. "Charlie" Gonzalez (born May 5, 1945), is a Democratic politician from Texas. He has represented Texas's 20th congressional district in the U.S. House of Representatives since 1999. The district includes more than half of San Antonio.

Biography and career

Gonzalez was born in San Antonio, Texas. His father, Henry B. Gonzalez, represented the 20th from 1961 until his son took over in 1999. Charlie graduated from Thomas A. Edison High School. He received his bachelor's degree in government from the University of Texas at Austin in 1969, and then later earned his Juris Doctor degree from St. Mary's University in San Antonio in 1972. As a youth, he was a Boy Scout in Troop 90 of San Antonio.^[1] His father was the Scoutmaster.^[2]

Gonzalez served as a technical sergeant in the Texas Air National Guard from 1969 until 1975. He then began practicing law until 1982 when he began rising through the ranks of the court system. He served first as a municipal court judge, then later as a judge in county and then district court, both of which are elected positions.

Henry Gonzalez had long groomed his son as his successor, so Charlie was well-positioned to run when his father didn't seek a full 19th term in 1998. After dispatching former San Antonio city councilwoman Maria Berriozabal in the primary runoff in April 1998, he defeated his only major challenger in the general election, Republican James Walker, carrying 63% of the vote and became only the fourth person to represent the 20th District since its creation in 1935; in fact, Charlie's first race was the first open-seat race in the district's 64-year history. He was reelected with no major-party opposition in 2000 and 2006, unopposed in 2002, and with 63% of the vote in 2004.

Charlie Gonzalez is a member of the New Democrat Coalition and is considered to be a moderate Democrat. He is supportive of liberal policies on the environment and the economy.

He is generally seen as less confrontational than his father, who once punched someone for calling him a communist. Between them, the father and son have served 48 consecutive years in Congress as of November, 2009; the only father and son combination to serve longer in the House has been the Dingells of Michigan, who have represented the state's 15th District for 72 consecutive years.

Rep. Gonzalez was one of the first congressmen to actively support Barack Obama in the 2008 Democrat presidential primary. "Senator Obama brings all these new fresh faces,’’ Gonzalez told the San Antonio Express-News. "He has a wider audience. He has the greater potential to engage a greater number of people.’’

Congressional committee assignments

• Committee on Energy and Commerce
  • Subcommittee on Commerce, Manufacturing and Trade
  • Subcommittee on Energy and Power
  • Subcommittee on Health
• Committee on House Administration
  • Subcommittee on Elections
  • Subcommittee on Oversight

Caucus memberships

• Congressional Hispanic Caucus
• Congressional LGBT Equality Caucus
• Congressional Arts Caucus

References

1. ^ "San Antonio, Troop 90". http://www.sa-troop90.org. Retrieved 2010-06-30. 
2. ^ Gonzalez, Charlie (2010-06-30). 2010 Hispanic Leadership Awards (Speech). Washington, D.C.. 

External links

	Biography portal
	United States Air Force portal

• U.S. Representative Charles A. Gonzalez official U.S. House site
• Charles A. Gonzalez Congressional Committee official campaign site
• Biography at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
• Voting record maintained by The Washington Post
• Biography, voting record, and interest group ratings at Project Vote Smart
• Issue positions and quotes at On The Issues
• Financial information at OpenSecrets.org
• Campaign finance reports and data at the Federal Election Commission

United States House of Representatives
Preceded by Henry Gonzalez	Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Texas's 20th congressional district 1999–present	Succeeded by incumbent
United States order of precedence
Preceded by Joe Crowley D-New York	United States Representatives by seniority 151st	Succeeded by Rush D. Holt D-New Jersey

Persondata
Name	Gonzalez, Charlie
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	1945-05-05
Place of birth	San Antonio, Texas
Date of death
Place of death