Gloria Tristani (born December 20, 1953) is an American attorney and politician. Tristani served as a member of the

Federal Communications Commission The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is an independent agency of the United States federal government that regulates communications by radio, television, wire, satellite, and cable across the United States. The FCC maintains jurisdicti ...

(FCC) from 1997 to 2001. In 2002, Tristiani unsuccessfully ran for Senate in

New Mexico ) , population_demonym = New Mexican ( es, Neomexicano, Neomejicano, Nuevo Mexicano) , seat = Santa Fe , LargestCity = Albuquerque , LargestMetro = Tiguex , OfficialLang = None , Languages = English, Spanish ( New Mexican), Navajo, Ke ...

as a

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (United States) (D) **Democratic ...

, losing to Republican incumbent

Pete Domenici Pietro Vichi "Pete" Domenici (May 7, 1932 – September 13, 2017) was an American attorney and politician who served as a United States Senator from New Mexico from 1973 to 2009. A member of the Republican Party, he served six terms in the S ...

Early life and education

Of Mexican, Cuban, and Puerto Rican descent, Tristani was born and raised in

San Juan, Puerto Rico San Juan (, , ; Spanish for "Saint John") is the capital city and most populous municipality in the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, an unincorporated territory of the United States. As of the 2020 census, it is the 57th-largest city under the juri ...

. She is the granddaughter of Dennis Chávez, who served as a member of the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they ...

and

United States Senate The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and pow ...

. Her great-uncle, David Chávez, served as a judge and the 34th mayor of Santa Fe. Tristani earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from

Barnard College Barnard College of Columbia University is a private women's liberal arts college in the borough of Manhattan in New York City. It was founded in 1889 by a group of women led by young student activist Annie Nathan Meyer, who petitioned Columbia ...

and a Juris Doctor at the

University of New Mexico School of Law The University of New Mexico School of Law (UNM Law or New Mexico Law) is the law school of the University of New Mexico, a public research university in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Founded in 1947, it is the first and only law school in the state. ...

Early career

Tristani worked as an attorney in

Albuquerque Albuquerque ( ; ), ; kee, Arawageeki; tow, Vakêêke; zun, Alo:ke:k'ya; apj, Gołgéeki'yé. abbreviated ABQ, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of New Mexico. Its nicknames, The Duke City and Burque, both reference its founding in ...

and is admitted to the bar in New Mexico and Colorado. In 1994, she was elected to New Mexico's State Corporation Commission (SCC) and served as its chair until 1996. While on New Mexico's SCC, she advocated on behalf of consumers rights regarding health insurance and telecommunications, helping draft rules regulating managed care and HMOs and helping draft the New Mexico Mothers and Newly Born Children Rule.

Federal Communications Commission (FCC)

In 1997, she was appointed by President

Bill Clinton William Jefferson Clinton ( né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. He previously served as governor of Arkansas from 1979 to 1981 and agai ...

to the

on September 15, 1997. While serving on the FCC, she pushed for broadband deployment to remote areas, served as the chair of the FCC's

V-Chip V-chip is a technology used in television set receivers in Canada, Brazil and the United States, that allows the blocking of programs based on their ratings category. It is intended for use by parents to manage their children's television view ...

Task Force, fought children's exposure to violence and indecency and supported the so-called E-rate for libraries and schools.

Post-FCC career

Tristani resigned on September 7, 2001 to run as the Democratic candidate for the 2002 United States Senate election in New Mexico. Tristani was defeated by incumbent Republican

, and subsequently returned to private practice. Tristani was mentioned as a possible candidate in the 2006 Senate election in the event of a retirement by Democrat

Jeff Bingaman Jesse Francis "Jeff" Bingaman Jr. (born October 3, 1943) is an American politician who served as a United States Senator from New Mexico from 1983 to 2013, for 5 terms. A member of the Democratic Party, he served as Chairman of Committee Outrea ...

, but Bingaman ultimately ran for reelection. She later worked as of counsel to Spiegel & McDiarmid LLP, a law firm based in Washington, D.C. From 2017 to 2019, Tristani was a senior policy advisor to the

National Hispanic Media Coalition The National Hispanic Media Coalition (NHMC) is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) civil rights organization that was founded to eliminate hate, discrimination, and racism towards the Latino community. NHMC collaborates with other social justice organizations ...

Personal life and recognition

She is married to Judge Gerard W. Thomson and has two children. In 2000, the National Association of Latino Elected Officials (NALEO) awarded her the Edward R. Roybal Award for Outstanding Public Service and was selected as Hispanic Business magazine's as one of the nation's 100 most influential Hispanics for the years 1996 and 1998.

Sources

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Tristani, Gloria 1953 births 20th-century American lawyers 20th-century American politicians 20th-century American women politicians 21st-century American politicians 21st-century American women politicians American politicians of Puerto Rican descent Barnard College alumni Living people Hispanic and Latino American women in politics Members of the Federal Communications Commission New Mexico Democrats New Mexico lawyers People from San Juan, Puerto Rico Women in New Mexico politics American politicians of Mexican descent Clinton administration personnel George W. Bush administration personnel American politicians of Cuban descent