John Espinoza (born in Texas in 1950) is a Hispanic politician, soldier, educator, city manager of Croswell, Michigan and former law enforcement officer from the State of Michigan He grew up in a family of migrant workers from Texas, volunteered for service in the United States Army as a young man, and in 2004 was elected as a Democrat to the

Michigan House of Representatives The Michigan House of Representatives is the lower house of the Michigan Legislature. There are 110 members, each of whom is elected from constituencies having approximately 77,000 to 91,000 residents, based on population figures from the 2010 ...

. He served in his second term serving the 83rd House District of Michigan. This district comprises all Sanilac County and a portion of St. Clair County including the City of

Port Huron, Michigan Port Huron is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan and the county seat of St. Clair County. The population was 30,184 at the 2010 census. The city is adjacent to Port Huron Township but is administered separately. Located along the St. Clair ...

. Espinoza is one of only three Hispanics in the Michigan legislature at that time.

Early life

Espinoza spent his early years working in the cotton fields of Texas with his father Leto and brothers Erasmo and Pepe. His mother Leta and sister Estela took care of the homefront. Eventually the family moved to Sanilac County, Michigan when Espinoza was still young. In Michigan, they continued working in the farm fields as well as in area orchards; tending to such crops as sugar beets, cucumbers, and apples.

Education

Espinoza attended Croswell-Lexington High School. He earned his associate degree from the

Central Texas College Central Texas College (CTC) is a community college in Killeen, Texas. Founded in 1965, it has branch campuses in Europe and on military installations across the U.S. History Central Texas College was established by a vote of the citizens of C ...

and his Bachelor of Science Degree from the

University of the State of New York The University of the State of New York (USNY, ) is the state of New York (state), New York's governmental umbrella organization for both public and private institutions in New York State. The "university" is not an educational institution: it i ...

Military and Law Enforcement Service

He enlisted in the military in 1969 at the age of 18. Espinoza served with the United States Army in

Vietnam Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making i ...

, where he earned several awards and decorations. He left the army in 1971. From 1971 to 1977 he worked as a law enforcement officer with the Croswell, Michigan Police Department and then the Sanilac County, Michigan Sheriff's Department. In 1977 he re-enlisted in the Army and was stationed in such faraway locales as Germany and Alaska. Espinoza eventually became a Sergeant and also served in the

First Gulf War The Gulf War was a 1990–1991 armed campaign waged by a 35-country military coalition in response to the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait. Spearheaded by the United States, the coalition's efforts against Iraq were carried out in two key phases: ...

. He retired from the military in 1995.

Political career

Espinoza and his wife Mary (Torrez) settled in

Croswell, Michigan Croswell is a city in Sanilac County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 2,447 at the 2010 census. History The settlement, originally known as Black River, was established in 1845. Later it was known as Davisville, after the town ...

in 1995. He became interested in local politics and successfully ran for a seat on the Croswell City Council. Subsequently, Espinoza was elected to the Sanilac County Board of Commissioners, where he served one term. He also worked on the staff of Michigan State Senator Jim Barcia when Mr. Barcia was a United States Democratic Congressman from Michigan. Espinoza held the position of Military Affairs and Community Outreach Liaison for Congressman Barcia . In 2004, running on a populist platform powered by tenacious grass roots campaigning, John Espinoza was elected to his first term as a member of the Michigan House representing the 83rd District, becoming the first ever Democrat and Hispanic to win the seat. He was easily re-elected in 2006 and now serves as the chair of the Agricultural Appropriations Committee.

As An Educator

Upon his return to Michigan in the late 1990s Espinoza also worked as a teacher in the Carsonville-Port Sanilac, Michigan School District. Later Espinoza returned to education after serving as a city manager and taught Spanish at the Croswell-Lexington high school. He earned his teaching certification from Saginaw Valley State University in Saginaw, Michigan.

Media Highlights

Espinoza was also the inaugural producer and host of the pioneering mid Michigan Public Broadcasting System television show ''Somos Hispanos''; broadcast from the campus of Delta College in Bay City, Michigan. He interviewed many important Hispanic figures including Public Broadcasting System news anchor

Ray Suarez Rafael Suarez, Jr. (born March 5, 1957), known as Ray Suarez, is an American broadcast journalist and author. He is currently a visiting professor at NYU Shanghai and was previously the John J. McCloy Visiting Professor of American Studies at Am ...

and actor/ activist

Edward James Olmos Edward James Olmos (born February 24, 1947) is an American actor, director, producer, and activist. He is best known for his roles as Lieutenant Martin "Marty" Castillo in ''Miami Vice'' (1984–1989), ''American Me'' (1992) (which he also dir ...

. Espinoza received many accolades for his excellent work. He left the show to run successfully for the Michigan State House. Espinoza has shared his insights via regular programs on Sanilac, Michigan County radio station

WMIC WMIC (660 AM) is a full service radio station licensed to Sandusky, Michigan at 660 kHz on the AM dial, with an power output of 1,000 watts. WMIC covers Sanilac County, Michigan and The Thumb area of Michigan. The station is owned by Sanila ...

and written contributions to the Sanilac County News and the Port Huron Times-Herald.

America's Son - the Odyssey of John Espinoza

In 2006, Ray W. Denison published a book about John Espinoza's life, ''America's Son - the Odyssey of John Espinoza''. This biography details Espinoza's "journey from the Texas cotton fields to Vietnam and the Michigan legislature." The Lakeshore Guardian publication of Michigan wrote a review of Mr. Denison's work and congratulated him on a 'well written' book.

Personal

Espinoza lives in Croswell, and has been married to Mary since 1969. He has three children.

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Espinoza, John 1950 births Living people American politicians of Mexican descent Saginaw Valley State University alumni Democratic Party members of the Michigan House of Representatives County commissioners in Michigan Michigan city council members People from Croswell, Michigan 21st-century American legislators