Robert Gallegos is a Texas politician who currently represents District I on the

Houston City Council The Houston City Council is a city council for the city of Houston in the U.S. state of Texas. Currently, there are sixteen members, 11 elected from council districts and five at-large. The members of the Council are elected every four years, w ...

. He is the first openly gay Latino city councilor in Texas history.

Background

Gallegos was born at Parkview Hospital in

Houston, Texas Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 in ...

, and was raised in Magnolia Park. A graduate of Stephen F. Austin High School, he would later attend

Houston Community College Houston Community College (HCC), also known as Houston Community College System (HCCS) is a public community college system that operates community colleges in Houston, Missouri City, Greater Katy, and Stafford in Texas. It is notable for active ...

and receive a bachelors degree from

Ashford University The University of Arizona Global Campus, formerly Ashford University, is an online university "operated in affiliation with the University of Arizona." In 2020, Ashford University was acquired by the University of Arizona, becoming the Universit ...

. Additionally, he is a graduate of Spencer School of Real Estate. He has 2 older brothers, and is openly gay.

Political career

City Council

On January 2, 2014, Gallegos was sworn in to represent District I of the

becoming the first openly gay Latino city councilor in Texas history. He succeeded James G. Rodriguez. During his 2015 re-election campaign, Gallegos opponent, Herlina Garcia, claimed that Gallegos physically assaulted her while she was campaigning outside of a polling station at

. Garcia claims that her and Gallegos were outside of the polling station speaking to voters when he approached her and began insulting her. He then, according to Garcia, "came back behind me and hit me on my back, and pushed me so hard that for about an hour I felt something on my left side." According to Garcia, she cried and since she was and elderly woman this was a "classic example" of abuse. Gallegos declined to be interviewed over the alleged incident; however, his office issued a statement saying that the allegations were false. Garcia filed a report with the

Houston Police Department The Houston Police Department (HPD) is the primary law enforcement agency serving the City of Houston, Texas, United States and some surrounding areas. With approximately 5,300 officers and 1,200 civilian support personnel it is the fifth-largest ...

, charges were never filed. Gallegos went on to win the election with 57.3% of the votes cast. On November 5, 2019, Gallegos was re-elected for his 3rd tenure defeating Richard Gonzales with 67.1% of the votes.

Policies

Gallegos is affiliated with the

Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to: *Democratic Party (United States) Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to: Active parties Africa *Botswana Democratic Party *Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea *Gabonese Democratic Party *Demo ...

. He is often known with his advocation of green spaces and funds to improve parks, sports arenas, bike trails, and the construction of dog parks and canoe launches. This included funding to restore the historic Gus Wortham Park Golf Course, and construct the first botanic Gardiner in Houston. On the issue of immigration, he was opposed to

Texas Senate Bill 4 Texas Senate Bill 4 (or Texas SB 4) is a bill that effectively bans Sanctuary city, sanctuary cities in the state of Texas. It was filed on November 15, 2016, and discussed during the regular session of the eighty-fifth Texas Legislature. Texas Go ...

which banned sanctuary cities in Texas.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gallegos, Robert 1950s births Living people Texas Democrats Houston City Council members