Jose Cruz is an American attorney and politician who served as a member of the

Oklahoma House of Representatives The Oklahoma House of Representatives is the lower house of the legislature of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. Its members introduce and vote on bills and resolutions, provide legislative oversight for state agencies, and help to craft the state's b ...

from the 89th district from November 2020 to January 2022.

Early life and education

Jose Cruz was born in Mexico City. He was raised in

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

. He earned a Bachelor of Science degree in mass communication and media studies from

Oklahoma Christian University Oklahoma Christian University (OC) is a private Christian university in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. It was founded in 1950 by members of the Churches of Christ. History Oklahoma Christian University, originally named Central Christian College, w ...

and a

Juris Doctor The Juris Doctor (J.D. or JD), also known as Doctor of Jurisprudence (J.D., JD, D.Jur., or DJur), is a graduate-entry professional degree in law and one of several Doctor of Law degrees. The J.D. is the standard degree obtained to practice law ...

from the

Oklahoma City University School of Law Oklahoma City University School of Law, also known as OCU Law, is the law school of Oklahoma City University. OCU Law is located in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma and was founded in 1907. OCU Law was located in the Sarkeys Law Center on the southwest side ...

Career

Prior to Oklahoma House of Representatives

From 2012 to 2014, Cruz worked as a financial representative for

Northwestern Mutual Northwestern Mutual is an American financial services mutual organization based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The financial security company provides consultation on wealth and asset income protection, education planning, retirement planning, investme ...

. In 2014 and 2015, he managed

Michael Brooks-Jimenez Michael Andrew Brooks-Jimenez (born 1969/70) is an American lawyer and Democratic member of the Oklahoma Senate. He was elected in a 2017 special election to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation of Ralph Shortey. He represents the 44th di ...

's successful campaign for the

Oklahoma Senate The Oklahoma Senate is the upper house of the two houses of the Legislature of Oklahoma, the other being the Oklahoma House of Representatives. The total number of senators is set at 48 by the Oklahoma Constitution.Kendra Horn Kendra Suzanne Horn (born June 9, 1976) is an American lawyer and politician who served as the U.S. representative for Oklahoma's 5th congressional district from 2019 to 2021. A member of the Democratic Party, her district included almost all o ...

, serving as her community outreach specialist until she left office in 2019. He was an attorney at Foshee & Yaffe until leaving the firm in 2021. Cruz has served on the board of directors for Variety Care since 2014.

Oklahoma House of Representatives

Cruz was elected to the

in November 2020 after incumbent

Shane Stone Shane Leslie Stone (born 25 September 1950) is an Australian political figure. He is currently the Chair of the Council for the Order of Australia. He was also the Coordinator-General of the National Recovery and Resilience Agency and its pre ...

resigned to take a job in

Arizona Arizona ( ; nv, Hoozdo Hahoodzo ; ood, Alĭ ṣonak ) is a state in the Southwestern United States. It is the 6th largest and the 14th most populous of the 50 states. Its capital and largest city is Phoenix. Arizona is part of the Fou ...

. He was sworn into office on November 11, 2020. Cruz was the first Latino to represent Oklahoma House District 89. While in the Oklahoma House, Cruz served on the House Criminal Judiciary Committee and the House Agriculture and Rural Development Committee. He also served as a member of the Appropriations and Budget Subcommittee on Judiciary and Public Safety and was a founding member the bipartisan, bicameral Oklahoma Legislative Latino Caucus in 2021.

Resignation

He resigned on January 21, 2022 after "acting inappropriately" at a New Year's Eve Party. After Cruz's resignation, a lobbyist came forward alleging he assaulted her in her apartment at a New Year's Eve party and filed a police reporting alleging similar incidents with two other women. House Minority Leader

Emily Virgin Emily Virgin (born October 1, 1986) is an American politician who is the Minority Leader of the Oklahoma House of Representatives. She previously served as House Democratic Caucus Chair. She was first elected in 2010 at the age of 24 and repres ...

and Caucus Chair

Cyndi Munson Cyndi Munson (born May 24, 1985) is an American politician from Oklahoma. She is a Democratic member of the Oklahoma House of Representatives, representing the 85th district since 2015. She won a special election to replace David Dank with ove ...

both advised Cruz to resign on January 16, 2022 after learning of the allegations.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cruz, Jose American lawyers of Mexican descent American politicians of Mexican descent Living people Politicians from Oklahoma City Oklahoma Christian University alumni Oklahoma City University School of Law alumni Oklahoma lawyers Democratic Party members of the Oklahoma House of Representatives Mexican emigrants to the United States 21st-century American legislators Year of birth missing (living people) Hispanic and Latino American state legislators in Oklahoma 21st-century Oklahoma politicians