Quico Canseco
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Texas's 23rd district
Incumbent
Assumed office January 3, 2011
Preceded by	Ciro Rodriguez
Personal details
Born	Francisco "Quico" Canseco (1949-07-30) July 30, 1949 (age 62)[1] Laredo, Texas, U.S.[1]
Political party	Republican
Spouse(s)	Gloria Canseco
Children	3
Residence	San Antonio, Texas, U.S.
Alma mater	Saint Louis University, B.A. (history) Saint Louis University School of Law, JD
Occupation	Attorney Banker Real Estate Developer
Religion	Roman Catholic[2]
Website	Official website

Francisco "Quico" Canseco (born July 30, 1949) is the U.S. Representative for Texas's 23rd congressional district. He is a member of the Republican Party.

Early life and education[link]

Canseco was born and raised in Laredo, Texas, the eldest of eight children of Mexican-born parents Consuelo Sada Rangel and Dr. Francisco Manuel Canseco.^[3] He earned a B.A in History from Saint Louis University in 1972. He went on to earn a JD from Saint Louis University School of Law in 1975.

Legal/business career[link]

Canseco began his legal career as an associate attorney with Mann, Castillon, Fried and Kazan in 1975. He owned his own practice for five years. After that he joined Person, Whitworth, Ramos, Borchers, and Morales as a participating associate. In 1987, he left that firm to become general counsel at Union National Bank of Texas where he stayed until 1992. He was later counsel to Escamilla and Ponek, from 2003 until 2007. He became chairman of Texas Heritage Bancshares from 2001 until 2007.

Canseco has been President/Director of FMC Developers since 1988, which includes Canseco Investments (incorporated in 1993).^[4] He took Hondo National Bank from being a failing bank with $8 Million in assets and one location, to an institution with over $180 Million and four branches today. Canseco served as Board President since 1995.^[5]

U.S. House of Representatives[link]

Elections[link]

Canseco at a campaign rally in San Antonio

2004

Canseco ran for the newly redrawn Texas' 28th congressional district. In the Republican primary, he and attorney Jim Hopson qualified for a run-off election. Canseco got just 21% of the vote, while Hopson got 49% of the vote (barely missing the 50% threshold to win the primary).^[6] In the run-off election, Hopson defeated Canseco 65%-35%.^[7]

2008

In the Republican primary, Canseco was defeated by Bexar County Commissioner and former San Antonio city councilman Lyle Larson 62%-38%.^[8][9]

2010

In the Republican primary, Canseco and CIA officer Will Hurd qualified for a run-off election. Hurd got 34%, while Canseco got 36%.^[10] In the run-off, Canseco defeated him 53%-47%.^[11][12]

In the general election, Canseco faced incumbent Democrat U.S. Congressman Ciro Rodriguez. He released a few television advertisements.^[13] As of October 13, 2010, Rodriguez had raised more cash overall ($1,481,520 versus Canseco's $980,821), but Canseco had more cash on hand ($147,961 versus Rodriguez's $90,915).^[14][15]

Canseco defeated Rodriguez 49%-44%.^[16]

2012

Two Democrats, former U.S. Representative Ciro Rodriguez and state Representative Pete Gallego of Alpine meet July 31, 2012, in the runoff election for their party's nomination for the District 23 House seat. In the primary held on May 29, Rodriguez led with 18,128 votes (46.1 percent) to Gallego's 16,015 (40.7 percent). John M. Bustamanate held the remaining but critical 5,205 votes (13.2 percent).^[17]

Either Rodriguez or Gallego will hence face Canseco in the November 2 general election. According to a Republican redistricting map, Canseco's 23rd district is the only swing district in Texas.

Tenure[link]

Canseco describes himself as a "limited-government conservative."^[18]

He supports the Arizona immigration law.^[19] He supports the extension of the Bush tax cuts and repealing the recent federal health care reform legislation. During the campaign, he openly identified with the tea party.^[20]

Canseco is a member of the Republican Study Committee, a caucus of conservative House Republicans. He is one of four voting Latino members of Congress known to be a member of the RSC, the others being Bill Flores of Texas, Raul Labrador of Idaho and Jaime Herrera Beutler of Washington. He is also a member of the Congressional Hispanic Conference.

In summer 2011, Canseco was criticized after initially declining to introduce a bill allowing for a swap of land between the Federal Government and Bexar County, Texas. The bill, which was supported by Interior Secretary Ken Salazar and sponsored by Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison in the Senate, would expand the development of the San Antonio River to the San Antonio Missions National Historical Park.^[21]

In October 2011, Canseco introduced the San Antonio Missions National Historical Park Boundary Expansion Act in the House, which mirrored Hutchison's Senate bill.^[22] The legislation would cost roughly $4 million over four years, even though the lands would be donated.

In April 2012, Canseco traveled using the San Antonio International Airport, and stated that he was assaulted by the TSA when an officer "was patting me down where no one is supposed to go." The TSA officer also claimed to have been assaulted by Canseco, but no arrests were made. Canseco believes that changes in security procedures are needed.^[23]

Committee assignments[link]

• Committee on Financial Services
  • Subcommittee on Financial Institutions and Consumer Credit
  • Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations

Personal life[link]

Canseco and his wife, Gloria, have been married since 1980. The couple resides in San Antonio. They have three children and attend St. Matthew's Roman Catholic Church.^[24]

Electoral history[link]

References[link]

External links[link]

• Congressman Quico Canseco official U.S. House site
• Quico Canseco for Congress official campaign site
• Biography at WhoRunsGov.com at The Washington Post
• 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
• Congressional profile at GovTrack
• Congressional profile at OpenCongress
• Issue positions and quotes at On the Issues
• Financial information at OpenSecrets.org
• Staff salaries, trips and personal finance at LegiStorm.com
• Campaign finance reports and data at the Federal Election Commission
• Appearances on C-SPAN programs

Pete P. Gallego
Member of the Texas House of Representatives from the 74th district
In office 1991
Personal details
Born	(1961-12-02) December 2, 1961 (age 50) Alpine, Texas
Political party	Democratic
Spouse(s)	Maria Elena Ramon
Residence	Austin, Texas
Profession	Attorney
Religion	Roman Catholic

Pete P. Gallego (born December 2, 1961) is a Democratic member of the Texas House of Representatives, representing since 1991 the 74th District. Gallego is also a candidate in 2012 for Texas's 23rd congressional district seat now held by the Republican Quico Canseco of San Antonio.

In the Texas House, Gallego serves as on the board of directors of the National Association of Latino Elected Officials (NALEO)^[1] and is a former chairman of the Mexican American Legislative Caucus (MALC)^[2] in the Texas House of Representatives. He was the first ethnic minority member ever elected as Chair of the Texas House Democratic Caucus, a post he held from January 1995 to January 2001.

District 74[link]

Texas House District 74 includes Brewster, Culberson, Edwards, Hudspeth, Jeff Davis, Loving, Pecos, Presidio, Reeves, Terrell, Uvalde, Val Verde, and Ward counties. This is the largest House district in Texas in area and the largest U.S.-Mexico border district in the nation. It stretches nearly 39,000 square miles (100,000 km²) and encompasses more than half of the Texas-Mexico border.^[3]

Background[link]

Elected in 1990, Representative Gallego is the first Hispanic to represent this vast border district. In 1991, he became the first freshman member and the first ethnic minority member ever elected as chair of the House Democratic Caucus, a post he held until January 2001.^[4]

In January 2001, Representative Gallego was unanimously elected by his colleagues to serve as Chairman of the Mexican American Legislative Caucus (MALC), a group of 43 House members who are of Mexican-American descent or who serve a significant Mexican-American constituency. Representative Gallego was re-elected as Chairman of MALC for the fourth time in December 2006.

Representative Gallego's career has included chairmanships of the General Investigating Committee and several select and subcommittees. He has also served as a member of the Sunset Commission and the Committees on Appropriations, Calendars, Criminal Jurisprudence, Higher Education, and Elections.

Education[link]

An Alpine native, Gallego graduated from Sul Ross State University in 1982 with a bachelor’s degree in political science. In 1985, he earned a Doctor of Jurisprudence from the University of Texas School of Law in Austin. Representative Gallego is a member of the Sul Ross State University Hall of Fame and has been named a Distinguished Alumnus by the SRSU Ex-Student Association.

Accolades and Accomplishments[link]

Texas 80 mph speed limit unveiling

In the Legislature, Representative Gallego is an expert in appropriations, law enforcement, criminal justice, campaign finance and victims’ rights. He served on the joint House/Senate conference committee on the state budget for five consecutive sessions from 1993 to 2001 and has received numerous awards, including the Advocate for Justice award from a coalition of Texas victims’ groups and the Star of Texas public service award by Common Cause of Texas.

A supporter of both public and higher education, Representative Gallego was honored by the Eagle Pass Independent School District in 2000 with the naming and dedication of the Pete Gallego Elementary School. He has also been honored by the Texas State University System, The University of Texas System, and the Independent Colleges and Universities of Texas in appreciation for his support of higher education.

Following the 1999 session, he was selected as one of Texas Monthly’s Ten Best legislators. Most recently, Representative Gallego received the prestigious OHTLI Award from Mexico’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs for his contributions to the betterment of the Mexican community in Texas.

The national Council of State Governments awarded Gallego a prestigious Henry Toll Fellowship, recognizing him as one of the outstanding young leaders in the nation. He also serves on the Board of Directors of the Texas Equal Access to Justice Foundation and was recently named to the Board of Directors of the National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials (NALEO). Representative Gallego is also a past chair of the Texas Lyceum, an organization of individuals under the age of 45 who have demonstrated leadership abilities throughout the State.

At Present[link]

Gallego still lives in Alpine, where he was born and reared. He is currently of counsel to the law firm of Brown McCarroll, LLP which has offices in Austin, Houston, Dallas, and Alpine. In addition, he and his wife own several properties.

	Texas portal
	Law portal

See also[link]

• Hispanics in the United States
• Mexican-Americans

References[link]

External links[link]

• Texas House of Representatives - Pete Gallego official TX House website
• Pete P. Gallego Pete P. Gallego Campaign website
• Project Vote Smart - Representative Pete Gallego (TX) profile
• [1] *"Mexican American Legislative Caucus"
• National Association of Latino Elected Officials (NALEO)
• Follow the Money - Pete Gallego
  • 2006 2004 2002 2000 1998 campaign contributions