Mary Edna González (born October 30, 1983) is an American

politician A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking ...

who serves 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 House District 75. She is a member of 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 ...

and was elected in November of 2012 to represent an area that includes eastern El Paso County, parts of the city of

El Paso El Paso (; "the pass") is a city in and the seat of El Paso County in the western corner of the U.S. state of Texas. The 2020 population of the city from the U.S. Census Bureau was 678,815, making it the 23rd-largest city in the U.S., the s ...

and the towns of Socorro,

Clint Clint is both a given name and a surname. Notable people with the name include: Given name: *Clint Alberta (1970–2002), Canadian filmmaker * Clint Albright (1926–1999), Canadian ice hockey player *Clint Alfino (born 1968), South African baseba ...

, Fabens,

Horizon City Horizon City is a city in El Paso County, Texas, United States. As of the 2020 United States Census, its population was 22,489, reflecting an increase of 5,754 from the 16,735 counted in the 2010 United States Census, 2010 Census. Climate *Annual ...

San Elizario San Elizario is a city in El Paso County, Texas, United States. Its population was 13,603 at the 2010 census. It is part of the El Paso metropolitan statistical area. It lies on the Rio Grande, which forms the border between the United States an ...

and Tornillo. She is also the first openly

pansexual Pansexuality is sexual, romantic, or emotional attraction towards people regardless of their sex or gender identity. Pansexual people may refer to themselves as gender-blind, asserting that gender and sex are not determining factors in their ...

elected official An official is someone who holds an office (function or mandate, regardless whether it carries an actual working space with it) in an organization or government and participates in the exercise of authority, (either their own or that of their su ...

in the

United States 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 ...

. Her primary platforms are to increase economic development, improve public schools, equality, and support agriculture in District 75.

Early life and education

Mary González was born and raised in

Clint, Texas Clint is a town in El Paso County, Texas, United States. The population was 926 at the 2010 census. It is part of the El Paso Metropolitan Statistical Area. Geography Clint is located at (31.590844, –106.229129). According to the United S ...

and graduated from Clint High School. González received her bachelor's degree in History and Mexican American Studies from the University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin) and her master's degree in Social Justice from St. Edward's University. In 2019, she received her doctoral degree in Curriculum and Instruction-Cultural Studies in Education from the University of Texas at Austin.

Previous work

Early in her career, González worked for former Texas House Dean Paul Moreno and State Representative Richard Raymond. Mary González has also worked at the National Hispanic Institute, UT Austin, and was the assistant dean for student multicultural affairs at

Southwestern University Southwestern University (Southwestern or SU) is a private liberal arts college in Georgetown, Texas. Formed in 1873 from a revival of collegiate charters granted in 1840, Southwestern is the oldest college or university in Texas. Southwestern o ...

. She has also worked as a visiting instructor at

, and a Graduate Research Assistant at UT Austin where she developed curriculum for the UT Outreach Centers in

San Antonio ("Cradle of Freedom") , image_map = , mapsize = 220px , map_caption = Interactive map of San Antonio , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = United States , subdivision_type1= State , subdivision_name1 = Texas , subdivision_t ...

and the

Rio Grande Valley The Lower Rio Grande Valley ( es, Valle del Río Grande), commonly known as the Rio Grande Valley or locally as the Valley or RGV, is a region spanning the border of Texas and Mexico located in a floodplain of the Rio Grande near its mouth. Th ...

. She also served as the

Latino Latino or Latinos most often refers to: * Latino (demonym), a term used in the United States for people with cultural ties to Latin America * Hispanic and Latino Americans in the United States * The people or cultures of Latin America; ** Latin A ...

Outreach Coordinator for the

Texas Democratic Party The Texas Democratic Party is the affiliate of the Democratic Party in the U.S. state of Texas and one of the two major political parties in the state. The party's headquarters are in Austin, Texas. President Lyndon B. Johnson was a Texas Democ ...

. She served as national president for the Latina-based, service sorority Kappa Delta Chi, from 2013 to 2015. González is also Co-Chair of the board of directors for ALLGO, Texas' statewide Queer People of Color organization.

Political career

Texas House of Representatives

González won the Democratic primary for House District 75 in May 2012. With no Republican opponent, she won in the general election unopposed, becoming the first woman to represent her district. During the 85th legislative session, González served on the

United States House Committee on Appropriations The United States House Committee on Appropriations is a committee of the United States House of Representatives that is responsible for passing appropriation bills along with its Senate counterpart. The bills passed by the Appropriations Comm ...

and was Vice Chair of the House Committee on Agriculture & Livestock. During the 86th legislative session, González served on the House Committee on Appropriations, and is a member of the Subcommittee on Article III, which has a primary focus on education. She also served on the Public Education committee and was vice chair of the Local & Consent Calendars Committee. She is currently serving her second term as vice chair of the

Mexican American Legislative Caucus {{Hispanic and Latino Americans The Mexican American Legislative Caucus is a 501(c)(6) non-profit organization composed of members of the Texas House of Representatives The Texas House of Representatives is the lower house of the bicameral Tex ...

, and second term as secretary of the House Border Caucus. González also serves as vice chair of the Board of Hispanic Caucus Chairs. Additionally, González was elected chair of the new Texas House LGBTQ Caucus, which was formed in January 2019. She was also elected to serve on the nonpartisan board of directors for the National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials (NALEO) Education Fund.

Awards and recognition

In May 2013, González was named "Freshman of the Year" by Mexican American Legislative Caucus (MALC), the country's oldest and largest Latino legislative caucus. González was also named a "Champion of Equality" and 2015's "Advocate of the Year" by

Equality Texas Equality Texas is a statewide political advocacy organization in Texas that advocates for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) rights, including same-sex marriage. History Equality Texas was founded in 1989 as a 501(c)(4) nonprofit cor ...

. In 2015, González became the youngest inductee to the El Paso Women's Hall of Fame. González was named one of ten "Next Generation Latinas" by '' Latina Magazine'' for her leadership in education. She was also named one of 10 newly elected politicians to watch by NBC Latino.

Election history

2012 election

2014 election

2016 election

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gonzalez, Mary Living people Politicians from El Paso, Texas LGBT state legislators in Texas St. Edward's University alumni Texas Democrats University of Texas at Austin College of Education alumni Women state legislators in Texas Pansexual women 1983 births Hispanic and Latino American state legislators in Texas Hispanic and Latino American women in politics 21st-century American politicians 21st-century American women politicians American politicians of Mexican descent