Juan M. Garcia

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Juan Garcia is the member of the Texas House of Representatives for District 32.

1 Education
2 Military Service
3 Post-Military
4 2006 Election
5 Family
6 References

[edit] Education

Juan Garcia has graduated with honors from the University of California at Los Angeles, where he gave the 1988 commencement address. He went on to earn a law degree from Harvard Law School and received his MPA from the John F. Kennedy School of Government. At Harvard, Garcia was a roommate of Barack Obama.

[edit] Military Service

Juan is a 2nd generation aviator. He received his "Wings of Gold" from the Naval Air Station Corpus Christi. He has flown over 30 armed missions in the Persian Gulf, including making an emergency langing in a sandstorm. He has served as a top aide to the deputy Commander in Chief of the U.S. Navy in Europe. He also served in Operation Allied Force in Yugoslavia. He has served in supporting the enforcement of the no-fly zone in Iraq aboard the USS Constellation (CV-64). His military awards include the Jont Commendation Medal, the Naval Commendation Medal, and the Naval Achievement Medal.

[edit] Post-Military

In 1999, Garcia was selected as one of 16 Americans to be a White House Fellow, where he served as a special assistant to Richard Riley, the U.S. Secretary of Education.

[edit] 2006 Election

Garcia defeated 5-termed incumbant Eugene Seaman with just 48% of the total vote. A third candidate, Lenard Nelson, won 6% as a Libertarion. During the campaign, Seaman had mailed out many circulars criticizing Garcia. A scandal involving Seaman and Homestead exemption , though, also became an issue. On the morning after the election, Seaman had led by a narrow 24 votes, as there were three precints in San Patricio still pending counts. By 9 p.m., though, the votes, hand-counted, gave Garcia the seat.

[edit] Family

Garcia and his wife Denise, who met while classmates at Harvard Law, have four children, including twin seven-year-old sons, a five-year old daughter, and a two-year old son. They live in Corpus Christi. His parents, Juan Garcia, was also a Naval Aviator.