Filemon Vela Jr.
Filemón Vela | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Vice Chair of theDemocratic National Committee | |
| In office January 21, 2021 – March 31, 2022 | |
| Chair | Jaime Harrison |
| Preceded by | Grace Meng |
| Member of theU.S. House of Representatives fromTexas's34thdistrict | |
| In office January 3, 2013 – March 31, 2022 | |
| Preceded by | Constituency established |
| Succeeded by | Mayra Flores |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Filemón Bartolomé Vela Jr. February 13, 1963 Harlingen, Texas,U.S. |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouse |
Rose Rivera (m.1990) |
| Relatives | Blanca Vela(mother) Filemon Vela Sr.(father) |
| Education | Georgetown University(BA) University of Texas at Austin(JD) |
Filemón Bartolomé Vela Jr.(/ˈfɪləˌmɒnˈvɛlə/FILL-ə-monnVELL-ə;born February 13, 1963)[1]is an American lobbyist, lawyer and politician who served as theU.S. representativeforTexas's 34th congressional districtfrom 2013 until his resignation in 2022. He is a member of theDemocratic Party.Vela was also vice chair of theDemocratic National Committee,having been nominated by PresidentJoe Biden.[2]In March 2022, Vela resigned in the middle of his term to work atAkin Gump.[3][4]
Early life and education
[edit]Vela was born inHarlingen, Texas,and raised in nearbyBrownsville.His father,Filemon Vela Sr.,was a long-serving United States federal judge. The Reynaldo G. Garza–Filemon B. Vela United States Courthouse in Brownsville is named in Judge Vela's honor. His mother,Blanca Sanchez Vela,served as Brownsville's first female mayor from 1999 to 2003.[5][6][7]
Filemon attendedSaint Joseph Academyin Brownsville, and earned hisBachelor of ArtsfromGeorgetown Universityin 1985. During his time at Georgetown, he served as an intern at theFederal Judicial Center,the research and education agency of the federal judicial system. He also served as an intern inSolomon P. Ortiz's office in Washington, D.C. Vela earned hisJuris Doctorfrom theUniversity of Texas at Austin School of Lawin 1987.[5]
Career
[edit]InEdinburg School Districtv. Landmark,Vela representedEdinburgto fight for more funding. InPharr-San Juan-Alamo Independent School District v. Landmark,he represented the district in fighting contractors accused of building a poorly constructed school facility.[8][better source needed]
U.S. House of Representatives
[edit]Elections
[edit]2012
[edit]Vela ran in the newly created34th congressional districtas a Democrat. In the May 29 primary, he ranked first in an eight-candidate field with 40% of the vote.[9]In the July 31 runoff, Vela defeated Denise Saenz Blanchard, 67% to 33%.[10][11]
In the general election, Vela defeated Republican Jessica Bradshaw, 62% to 36%.[12]
Tenure
[edit]In July 2013, Vela quit theCongressional Hispanic Caucusbecause of his opposition to theHoeven-CorkerAmendment that tied border security to apathway to citizenship.He said "erecting more border fence drives a wedge between border communities which are culturally united".[13][14]
On March 22, 2021, Vela announced that he would not seek reelection in the2022 United States House of Representatives elections.[15]
In August 2021, Vela joined a group of conservative Democrats, dubbed "The Unbreakable Nine", who threatened to derail theBiden administration's $3.5 trillion budget reconciliation package meant to tackle the nation's infrastructure.[16][17]
On March 24, 2022, Vela confirmed that he would resign early from Congress to take a job atAkin Gump,a lobbying and law firm.[3]His resignation officially went into effect before midnight on March 31.[4]
Committee assignments
[edit]Source:[18]
Caucus memberships
[edit]- Congressional Hispanic Caucus[19]
- Congressional NextGen 9-1-1 Caucus[20]
- Veterinary Medicine Caucus[21]
- U.S.-Japan Caucus[22]
Personal life
[edit]Vela's wife, Rose, was aRepublicanjustice on Texas's 13thCourt of Appealsfrom 2007 to 2012.[23]
Vela isRoman Catholic.[24]
See also
[edit]- List of Hispanic and Latino Americans in the United States Congress
- Final Report of the Task Force on Combating Terrorist and Foreign Fighter Travel
References
[edit]- ^Hopkins, Christopher Snow."Texas, 34th House District".nationaljournal.Archived fromthe originalon November 7, 2012.RetrievedNovember 8,2012.
- ^Thomas, Ken (January 15, 2021)."Biden Taps Jaime Harrison, Former Senate Candidate, to Lead DNC".Wall Street Journal.
- ^abLivingston, Abby (March 24, 2022)."U.S. Rep. Filemon Vela will resign early from Congress".The Texas Tribune.Archivedfrom the original on March 24, 2022.RetrievedMarch 24,2022.
- ^abLivingston, Abby (March 31, 2022)."U.S. Rep. Filemon Vela steps down, setting up a heated battle for his South Texas district".The Texas Tribune.Archivedfrom the original on April 1, 2022.RetrievedApril 1,2022.
- ^abvela.house.gov
- ^Johnson, Ty (February 18, 2014)."Former Brownsville mayor, feminist 'trailblazer' Blanca Vela dies at 78".The Monitor (Texas).RetrievedMarch 13,2014.
- ^"Brownsville's former and only female mayor, Blanca Vela, passes away".KVEO.February 19, 2014.RetrievedMarch 13,2014.
- ^"Full Biography".Vela.house.gov. Archived fromthe originalon August 19, 2014.RetrievedAugust 19,2014.
- ^"Ourcampaigns".Ourcampaigns.RetrievedAugust 19,2014.
- ^"Ourcampaigns".Ourcampaigns.RetrievedAugust 19,2014.
- ^http://enr.sos.state.tx.us/enr/results/july31_163_state.htm[dead link]
- ^"TX-TopRaces-Glance-Sum".kxxv.RetrievedNovember 8,2012.[permanent dead link]
- ^Martin, Gary (July 2, 2013)."Rep. Filemon Vela quits Congressional Hispanic Caucus to protest lawmakers' acceptance of border 'militarization' - Texas on the Potomac".Blog.chron.RetrievedAugust 19,2014.
- ^"Filemon Vela quits Hispanic caucus over border surge - Seung Min Kim".Politico.Com. July 2, 2013.RetrievedAugust 19,2014.
- ^Nichols, Hans (March 22, 2021)."Rep. Filemon Vela to retire from House ahead of Texas redistricting".Axios.RetrievedMarch 22,2021.
- ^"Cracks Emerge in Josh Gottheimer's" Unbreakable Nine "".Theintercept. August 25, 2021.RetrievedApril 1,2022.
- ^Bouie, Jamelle (August 24, 2021)."Opinion | The 9 Democrats Making Nancy Pelosi's Life Harder Are Making a Big Mistake - The New York Times".The New York Times.RetrievedApril 1,2022.
- ^"About".Congressman Filemon Vela.RetrievedFebruary 1,2021.
- ^"Members".Congressional Hispanic Caucus. Archived fromthe originalon May 15, 2018.RetrievedMay 15,2018.
- ^"Members".Congressional NextGen 9-1-1 Caucus. Archived fromthe originalon June 12, 2018.RetrievedJune 14,2018.
- ^"Members of the Veterinary Medicine Caucus".Veterinary Medicine Caucus. Archived fromthe originalon March 27, 2019.RetrievedOctober 12,2018.
- ^"Members".U.S. - Japan Caucus.RetrievedJanuary 9,2019.
- ^Sanchez, Humberto."113th Congress: Filemon Vela, D-Texas (34th District)".public.cq.Congressional Quarterly, Inc.RetrievedNovember 8,2012.
- ^Religious affiliation of members of 115th Congress(PDF)(Report).Pew Research Center.January 3, 2017.RetrievedApril 18,2023.
External links
[edit]
- Biographyat theBiographical Directory of the United States Congress
- Financial information (federal office)at theFederal Election Commission
- Legislation sponsoredat theLibrary of Congress
- ProfileatVote Smart
- AppearancesonC-SPAN
| People | |
|---|---|
| Other | |
- 1963 births
- 21st-century American legislators
- American lobbyists
- American politicians of Mexican descent
- Catholic politicians from Texas
- Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Texas
- Georgetown University alumni
- Hispanic and Latino American members of the United States Congress
- Living people
- Members of Congress who became lobbyists
- People from Harlingen, Texas
- Texas lawyers
- University of Texas School of Law alumni