Doors open at 7:30 a.m. The event begins promptly at 8 am. at The University of Texas – Pan American Student Union Theater at 1201 W. University Drive, Edinburg, Texas 78539. The Texas Tribune is asking that attendees make a reservation in order to attend. An RSVP can be made at rsvp@texastribune.org or by calling 512-716-8626..
The monument, which commemorates the contributions of Texas' early Spanish and Mexican settlers and their descendants, is scheduled for unveiling March 29. Supporters who led a 10-year campaign for recognition of Tejano history say the monument fills gaps in traditional historical accounts of the story of Texas.
Created by Laredo sculptor Armando Hinojosa, the statuary will be mounted on more than 250 tons of granite. The base alone is 35 feet wide and 8 feet tall at its highest point, and the statues depicting early settlers, livestock and the ranching experience are life-size, said Jaime Beaman, the architect on the project.
Accompanying plaques will tell the Tejano story beginning with the arrival of the Spaniards in the 1500s. According to the monument committee, the statuary will be the biggest at any state capitol in the country.
God willing, I'll be there for the unveiling on the 29th of March.
January 1, 2012 marks the seventh anniversary of our little experiment on the "Internets". From the first day I set up this blog back on January 1, 2005 up until the present I have truly enjoyed the journey. My thanks to all the new found friends who love politics and the great state of Texas.
Although this journal was meant to follow my time in the Capitol, in many ways it chronicled my attempt to find greater understanding of the human condition and of myself. For that I am grateful.
Sadly, all good things must come to an end. Although my journey for greater understanding will not end, my time in legislative office will. My fifth term ends on January 8, 2013. On that day, I mark 10 years of public service. In November I made public my reluctant decision not seek re-election to a sixth term in office. On that day I fully expect to turn a chapter in my life.
What the future holds for me or this journal I am not certain. What life, to this point, has taught me is that change is constant. It is the one variable that is predictable and certain. I will embrace the change and look forward to new experiences. God willing, I will try to find a way to make a positive contribution in the remainder of the time He has granted me.
Enjoy your new year. Enjoy your family and friends and may God continue to bless you.
Texas Monthly's Paul Burka commented on my recent decision not to seek re-election:
"Like my former colleague, Patricia Kilday Hart, I always found Aaron Pena to be one of the Legislature’s most interesting members. Pena had no use for the Valley Democratic establishment. Hart chronicled his alienation from the power brokers in a profile for TEXAS MONTHLY earlier this year. He was known to his constituents as a frequent blogger about the Capitol; what was less well known was that he was a reluctant Democrat who loathed the machine politicians who practice petty corruption at election time. It was hardly surprising, then, when Pena switched parties following the 2010 Republican sweep and helped found the House Hispanic Republican caucus.
Pena believed that the Democrats in the Valley were scripting their fate by continuing their old-style tactics of using politqueras — women who were paid to hustle votes — and refused to have anything to do with it; astonishingly, both the incumbent district attorney and his challenger said they would not hire politiqueras in the 2010 elections.
I had several conversations with Pena over the years, and I think he is right that in the long run, old-style politics, a la Kino Flores, in South Texas will inevitably fail, as the Valley becomes increasingly affluent. The emerging business class will have nothing to do with the corrupt politics and will increasingly abandon the Democratic party, because the old-line Democrats will never change their ways. Democrats vowed to beat him this time around, and Pena himself admitted that there was no way he or any Republican could win in his new district. It had come to the point that Pena would rather lose as a Republican than win as a Democrat. I hate to see him driven out of the Legislature, but he paid the price for being a straight-arrow."
Mr. Burka summed up my feelings well. I think that this dynamic community with it's richness in history and cultural traditions is ready to move out of the shadow originally cast by political bosses at the start of the 20th century. Choice, competition and diversity of thought are the ideals of this new movement. I am glad I was able to contribute to it's beginning and look forward with great anticipation to the coming generations to carry it's banner in to the future.
As a result of my work this legislative session, I was once again awarded the TLR, Civil Justice Leadership Award for work done in the 82nd legislative session. The recognition which I previously received for my work in the 81st legislative session, is awarded for outstanding work in supporting a fair and predictable civil justice system in Texas.
"He brings to the Legislature the experience and perspective of a seasoned litigator,” TLR PAC Chairman Richard Trabulsi said. "Rep. Peña stands up for his district and the best interest of Texas and we are proud to present him with TLR’s Civil Justice Leadership Award.”
TLR PAC is the political arm of Texans for Lawsuit Reform, the state’s largest civil justice reform organization. TLR is a bipartisan, volunteer-led coalition with more than 17,000 supporters residing in 818 Texas communities and representing 1,266 different businesses, professions and trades.
TLR PAC’s Civil Justice Leadership Award is presented to lawmakers who take a stand in support of the model lawsuit reforms that are boosting the Texas economy, creating jobs and increasing access to doctors and health care in every community.
I am photographed here with TLR Chairman Richard Trabulsi and TLR Executive Director, Mary Tipps.
After conversations over the last few days with family and friends I have decided not to seek re-election to the Texas House of Representatives. At the end of my fifth term I would have served a good ten years and feel that we have accomplished as much as we set out to do when I ran for this office in 2002.
At the beginning of the legislative redistricting process I advised colleagues and map drawers that my goal was to present a map that gave every incumbent in the Rio Grande Valley a legislative district that they could win. We did just that. Unfortunately, the map drawn and designated by the three judge federal redistricting panel undid that work. The district I have been placed in is a 75% Democratic seat. It is unwinnable by me or any Republican candidate and I will not move into another legislative district to run against a colleague.
My decision to switch parties was met with derision by many who accused me of doing so as a quid pro quo. As I said then and is now evidently clear I did so because I felt it was the right thing to do rather than because I expected a political favor in return. Providing South Texans with a choice and forcing petty partisans to debate ideas rather than rely on the personality driven politics of the past is a decision I will never regret. The Rio Grande Valley is too dynamic, too diverse to be dominated by a single party that lets bullies thrive and enrich themselves and their cronies.
My decision ten years ago to run for office was spurred by a family tragedy that highlighted the dire need for drug treatment services for our community. Shortly after winning election to the Texas House I, joined by family and friends, set out on a ‘promesa’, a walk, from a highly respectable but private substance abuse treatment facility in the hill country of Central Texas to the State Capitol. The walk was meant to call attention to and begin the drive for a meaningful dialogue on the impact that drug and alcohol abuse was having in all our communities. In my third term of office, I secured $3 million in state funding for a substance abuse treatment facility for Hidalgo County. After finding another $400 thousand for the storm proofing of the building, Hidalgo County began construction of the facility. It is now complete and will be serving adolescents and their families in a location east of Edinburg on Schunior Road.
Much to the chagrin of my family, I have completely dedicated my life to public service. I was once a wealthy man. I have traded that material wealth for a spiritual and emotional growth that I cannot regret. It is time to bring focus back to a family that has been supportive beyond all reasonable expectations. I am so proud to have been given the opportunity to serve my community and will continue to seek ways to do so. I am so proud of a hardworking and dedicated staff that has helped me and this office accomplish so much. Our strength has been in remaining independent of the partisanship that mars local politics, of late affected the Texas Legislature and has virtually paralyzed Washington, D.C. for generations.
That independence allowed me to put the needs of my community before the dictates of party bosses and special interest groups. The construction of the Substance Abuse Treatment Center, securing funding of $750,000 for a park at the new Boys and Girls Club facility in Edinburg, the passage of bonds for a $40 million fine arts complex at UTPA, legislation authorizing the construction of a $25 million Student Fitness and Wellness Center also at UTPA were all made possible because of relationships built on trust and mutual respect. The establishment and success of the Regional Academic Health and the emergence of a Medical School for South Texas are great achievements that I share with many local and state leaders.
My election to the Texas House in 2002 coincided with the selection of the first Republican Speaker of the House since Reconstruction. As a Democrat I was asked to serve on substantive committees like the powerful Appropriations Committee and the tax writing committee Ways and Means. I served as a Chairman of Committees on Criminal Jurisprudence, Technology and Emergency Preparedness under two different Speakers. At the beginning of this past legislative session I founded the Hispanic Republican Conference and was joined in this effort by five other newly elected Hispanic Republican House members.
Independence allowed me to take on issues that were unpopular to partisans in South Texas but important to the rest of the community. Talking about the importance of voter integrity, the undue influence of politiqueras in the process, the corruption at the local, county and state level by bullies left unchecked were met by threats of retribution and on more than one occasion a challenge at the polls. On the issue of Voter ID I was firmly behind the will of the people of my community.
On homeland and border security I once again stood at odds with some local, state and federal officials that believe sticking your head in the sand is a viable policy in confronting the violence that has ravaged Northern Mexico over the last few years. I have been a vocal proponent of increasing federal, state and local law enforcement resources in order to continue to secure our border. In the last two sessions I have called for and supported over $110 million in state funding each biennium for the border region. It is not important whose definition is used to attribute violence in our community as spillover from the cartel wars in Northern Mexico. We must not think that we are building up an arsenal of hardware and manpower to prepare for an eventuality of a drug war in South Texas but it is our duty to our children and every Texan to be vigilant and guard against the possibility of the occurrence of that threat.
Arguably one of our communities’ proudest achievements lies on the self sacrifice and service of countless of military veterans and their families. I remain an ardent supporter of the commitment of local, state and federal resources for the construction of a full-fledged veteran’s hospital for the Rio Grande Valley. I have stood with veterans on every major and minor piece of legislation over my career. From reducing the tax burden on disabled veterans to passing legislation conferring the Legislative Medal of honor to Edinburg heroes Freddy Gonzales and Pedro Cano, I have been proud to do my part in honoring our citizen soldiers. I joined veterans of South Texas in a walk from Edinburg to San Antonio to highlight the trip that many have faced in receiving health care. The walk, a march to the veterans that I joined in the 230 mile trek, was a simple act rooted in a deep and meaningful gesture. I will never forget the friendships earned on that trip and I will never give up on the fight for getting those veterans and the others that will follow the hospital they deserve.
I have had the honor of working with national and international business leaders and local and state officials to bring much needed jobs to our community. I have been woken in the middle of the night by parents of drug addicted youths at their wits’ end. Great gestures come from grand designs, multi-billion dollar enterprises that traverse continents and create jobs and wealth but they also come from kind words and extending a helping hand to someone in need.
My wife, children and grandchildren allowed me the luxury of working full-time, seven days a week at a job that pays $7200 a year. To Monica, Adrienne, Aaron, Alyssa, Anthony and John, thank you. I am so grateful for the opportunity that I was given to serve the community I love so much.
Life can be a challenge Life can seem impossible It's never easy when so much is on the line
But you can make a difference With courage you can set things right The gift to dream and make dreams real Is yours and mine
The power of one Begins with believing It starts in the heart Then flows through the soul And changes the world Imagine how life will be When we stand in unity Each of us holds the key To the power of one
Each of us is chosen There's a mission just for you Just look inside you'll be surprised What you can do
The power of one Begins with believing It starts in the heart Then flows through the soul And changes the world Imagine how life will be When we stand in unity Each of us holds the key To the power of one
And one by one We can make the world a much better place
The power of one Begins with believing It starts in the heart Then flows through the soul And changes the world Imagine how life will be When we stand in unity Each of us holds the key It's inside of you and me Each of us holds the key To the power of one
On this Thanksgiving Day, I, like so many others, have reflected on the countless blessings our Lord has provided: a loving and supportive family, the fortune to be born in this the greatest country ever seen and to be given the opportunity to serve the community I love.
This ten year adventure into public service has been one of the most fulfilling and rewarding experiences I think I will have in my lifetime. It has been a journey that allowed me find purpose at a most difficult time by following HIS highest calling - the service to others.
Out of this came countless blessings to the larger community:
1. Health, Family: State-built Drug Treatment Center ($3M)
2. Health: UTPA Student Wellness and Recreation Center ($25M)
3. Education: UTPA Fine Arts Academic and Performance Complex ($40M)
4. Education: UTPA Regional Academic Health Center ($5M)
5. Education: Passage of future Valley Medical School
6. Child Safety: Jessica's Law and Other Tough Child Sexual Predator Legislation,
7. Military: Texas Legislative Medal of Honor to Freddy Gonzalez and Pedro Cano, Military Toll Booth Exemptions
8. Veterans: Championed Construction of Veterans' Hospital for South Texas, Veterans Walk to San Antonio
9. Border and Homeland Security: Secured over $110M each Legislative Session for Border Region, Chaired Interim Committee on Emergency Preparedness, Internet Security from Foreign Attacks, University Emergency Alert System,
10. Election Reform: Championed Election Integrity Legislation, Passage of Voter ID, Petition Allowing County to Run City or School Elections
11. Anti-Crime, Pro-Business: Organized Retail Crime Bill
12. Jobs: HHSC "Maximus" Call Center; Provided Over 400 Jobs
13. More Jobs: Santana Textiles; Provided Over 800 Jobs
14. Parks: Secured Funding in the Amount of $750,000 for a Park at the New Edinburg Boys and Girls Club Facility
15. The Opportunity to Serve: Chairman of Criminal Jurisprudence and Technology Committees, Hispanic Republican Conference, Select Committee on Emergency Preparedness; Current Member of Redistricting, Voter ID and Voter Fraud, and Homeland Security Committees; Past Member of Powerful Appropriations and Ways and Means Committees.
I am eternally grateful to God and the citizens who have given me this opportunity. Despite the tenor of the times, I look forward with tremendous optimism towards the future. I wish you and your family the best this holiday season. I plan to remain eternally faithful to this community and betterment of it's future.
