State
Representative Veronica Gonzales
State
Representative Veronica Gonzales is serving her second term in
the House of Representatives representing District 41. District
41 is contained entirely in Hidalgo County and includes portions
of McAllen, Edinburg, and Mission. Representative Gonzales is
the first female elected to represent District 41 and currently
sits on the Judiciary and Public Health Committees.
Rep. Gonzales
has had many accomplishments in two short terms. In her first
term, Veronica was elected by her colleagues to serve as
Secretary of the State Democratic Caucus. She further
distinguished herself by passing the highest percentage of bills
by any Democrat legislator in the House and was subsequently
recognized as Freshmen of the Year by the Mexican-American
Legislative Caucus and named a legislator to watch by the
Texas Observer and as an Emerging Leader by the Dallas
Morning News. In her second session, Rep. Gonzales was
re-elected as Secretary of the State Democratic Caucus, elected
as Secretary of the Mexican-American Legislative Caucus, named
as Chair of the Immigration Task Force and was recently
appointed as a member on the Aspen-Rodel Fellowship in Public
Leadership program. The Aspen Institute is a national
organization consisting of only 12 Republicans and 12 Democrats
in the country considered rising stars who are brought together
to discuss issues of democratic governance and effective public
service.
Rep. Gonzales
has passed numerous pieces of legislation in two short terms.
Her legislation includes protecting women who are victims of
abuse with a address confidentiality program, protecting youth
along the border with a bi-national substance abuse task force,
assuring that divorced parents get all the visitation time
permitted, assuring that we have sufficient water for our border
citizens by converting water rights from irrigation to municipal
use, widening the pool of persons who can become police
officers, lighting the streets of colonias, helping students
finish college sooner and pay their tuition in payments, giving
families greater access to their local musum, creating new
courts for our county, increasing a juror’s pay, protecting us
from buying a home that has been used for the production of
methamphetamines, allowing for wine-tastings in wine-only
package stores, promoting products made in Texas with a “Genuine
Texas” seal and the list goes on and on.
Rep. Gonzales
was raised in San Marcos, Texas. As the first in her family to
go to college, Gonzales understands the importance of a quality
education. She graduated cum laude from Southwest Texas State
University in 1986 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in English and
Spanish. After completing her undergraduate studies, she
enrolled in the University of Texas School of Law and earned her
Doctorate of Jurisprudence in 1991. She is a name partner in
the law firm of Kittleman, Thomas & Gonzales, L.L.P.
and has served her legal community in various positions
including president of the Hidalgo County Young Lawyers
Association, president of the Hidalgo County Bar Association and
panel chair of the 12B Grievance Committee, the committee that
regulates lawyers. She recently earned the Texas Center
Professionalism Award for her ethics from the Hidalgo County Bar
Association. She is a member of many organizations and
sits on the board as an advisory member to the Children’s
Defense Fund, the South Texas College and Texas Rural Legal Aid.
Pol.
Ad. Paid for by Veronica for Texas House Campaign - P.O. Box
1416, McAllen, TX 78505 - C. Wesley Kittleman, Treasurer
