Mario Valentin Gallegos Jr. (September 8, 1950 – October 16, 2012) was an American Democratic politician in the

U.S. The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

state of

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2020, it is the second-largest U.S. state by ...

. He was the senator from

District 6 District Six is a place in Cape Town, South Africa. District Six may also refer to: :Government divisions * District 6, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam * District 6 (New York City Council), in the United States * VI District, Turku, in Finland * Distri ...

in the

Texas Senate The Texas Senate ( es, Senado de Texas) is the upper house of the Texas State Legislature. There are 31 members of the Senate, representing single-member districts across the U.S. state of Texas, with populations of approximately 806,000 per co ...

, which serves a portion of Harris County.

Political career

Gallegos, who originated from the Magnolia Park community of

Houston 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 i ...

,Hewitt, Paige.
Celebrating 100 years at Magnolia Park
" ''

Houston Chronicle The ''Houston Chronicle'' is the largest daily newspaper in Houston, Texas, United States. , it is the third-largest newspaper by Sunday circulation in the United States, behind only ''The New York Times'' and the ''Los Angeles Times''. With i ...

''. October 18, 2009. Retrieved July 24, 2010. was a long-time firefighter with the

Houston Fire Department City of Houston Fire Department (HFD) is the agency that provides fire protection and emergency medical services for the city of Houston, Texas, United States, the fourth largest city in the United States. HFD is responsible for preserving life and ...

Senator Mario Gallegos Jr.: District 6
Official State Senate Website and retired as a Senior Captain after 22 years of service. In 1990, he was elected to the 72nd Legislature in the

Texas House of Representatives The Texas House of Representatives is the lower house of the bicameral Texas Legislature. It consists of 150 members who are elected from single-member districts for two-year terms. As of the 2010 United States census, each member represents abo ...

from District 143, where he served two terms, from 1991 to 1995. In 1994, Representatives Gallegos and Yolanda Navarro Flores and former Representative Roman O. Martinez squared off in the Democratic primary for a recently redrawn Senate District 6. Martinez received a plurality of the votes and faced Gallegos in a runoff. Gallegos secured the endorsement of former opponent Flores and won, and with no other candidates for the Senate seat, Gallegos became the first Mexican American elected to that body from Harris County. Gallegos faced no opposition in 1998 and was reelected to the Senate. In July 2001, Gallegos was named one of the worst legislators in Texas by ''

Texas Monthly ''Texas Monthly'' (stylized as ''TexasMonthly'') is a monthly American magazine headquartered in Downtown Austin, Texas. ''Texas Monthly'' was founded in 1973 by Michael R. Levy and has been published by Emmis Publishing, L.P. since 1998 and is ...

'' magazine in their biennial feature. The authors noted that Gallegos was "a retired firefighter who threw gasoline on every combustible issue," and noted his penchant for injecting race into seemingly innocuous legislation. Gallegos was unopposed in 2002. However, in 2004, Gallegos was again challenged by Yolanda Navarro Flores in the Democratic primary. Amidst two separate lawsuits challenging his residency within District 6 boundaries, and revelations (and another lawsuit) regarding a 17-year affair with former stripper Susan Delgado, Gallegos won a close contest. In the 2004 general election, he faced Libertarian challenger Tony Deppenschmidt along with a write-in challenge from his former mistress, Delgado. Gallegos won handily with over 90% of the votes. In July 2005, Gallegos was again named one of the worst legislators in Texas by ''

''. Nevertheless, Gallegos was sworn in as Governor for one day on May 5, 2007, in a Texas tradition honoring the Senate President Pro Tem.

Personal life

Gallegos attended the

University of Houston–Downtown The University of Houston–Downtown (UHD) is a public university in Houston, Texas. It is part of the University of Houston System and has a campus that spans in Downtown Houston with a satellite location, UHD-Northwest in Harris County. Fo ...

(UHD) where he received a Bachelor of Arts degree in

social sciences Social science is one of the branches of science, devoted to the study of societies and the relationships among individuals within those societies. The term was formerly used to refer to the field of sociology, the original "science of so ...

in 2001. On March 10, 2006, Gallegos released a statement acknowledging that he was in a one-month residential treatment program for his

alcoholism Alcoholism is, broadly, any drinking of alcohol that results in significant mental or physical health problems. Because there is disagreement on the definition of the word ''alcoholism'', it is not a recognized diagnostic entity. Predomi ...

. On January 11, 2007, Gallegos announced that he was suffering from

cirrhosis Cirrhosis, also known as liver cirrhosis or hepatic cirrhosis, and end-stage liver disease, is the impaired liver function caused by the formation of scar tissue known as fibrosis due to damage caused by liver disease. Damage causes tissue rep ...

of the liver, and would require a

liver transplant Liver transplantation or hepatic transplantation is the replacement of a diseased liver with the healthy liver from another person (allograft). Liver transplantation is a treatment option for end-stage liver disease and acute liver failure, al ...

, and on January 19, 2007, Gallegos received a liver transplant at the

Texas Medical Center The Texas Medical Center (TMC) is a medical district and neighborhood in south-central Houston, Texas, United States, immediately south of the Museum District and west of Texas State Highway 288. Over 60 medical institutions, largely concentrat ...

in Houston. His liver donor was 16-year-old Robby Joe Trevino Jr. of Fort Worth, Texas who died unexpectedly from cardiomyopathy. According to a statement from Gallegos prior to the surgery, he would miss about 18 days of the regular session of the 80th Legislature. Gallegos installed a hospital bed in the office of the sergeant-at-arms at the capitol building so that he could be nearby to prevent discussion of a bill requiring voter identification, against doctors' orders. In October 2012 Gallegos was hospitalized and later died.Holley, Joe.
Mario Gallegos, Senate champion for Hispanics, dies at 62
" ''

''. Tuesday October 16, 2012. Retrieved on October 18, 2012.

Electoral history

2004

2002

1998

1994

1992

References

External links

Senate of Texas - Senator Mario Gallegos Jr.Project Vote Smart - Senator Mario V. Gallegos Jr (TX)
profile *''Follow the Money'' - Mario Gallegos Jr
2006200420021998
campaign contributions * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Gallegos, Mario Jr. Democratic Party Texas state senators Democratic Party members of the Texas House of Representatives 1950 births 2012 deaths American politicians of Mexican descent Hispanic and Latino American state legislators in Texas People from Harris County, Texas Presidents pro tempore of the Texas Senate University of Houston–Downtown alumni People from Houston Liver transplant recipients 21st-century American politicians