Matthew G. Martínez
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Matthew Gilbert "Marty" Martínez (February 14, 1929 – October 15, 2011) was a Congressional representative who was both a member of the Democratic Party and the Republican Party from California's 30th congressional district from 1982 to 1993 and
California's 31st congressional district California's 31st congressional district is a congressional district in San Bernardino County, in the U.S. state of California. The district is located in the Inland Empire region, including the city of San Bernardino and portions of Rancho ...
from 1993 to 2001. Martínez switched parties to become a Republican after being defeated in a 2000 primary.


Early life

Martínez's family moved to
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, when he was young, and he attended public schools in Los Angeles. In 1949 he graduated from Roosevelt High School. From 1947 to 1950 he served in the U.S. Marine Corps, achieving the rank of private first class. In 1956 he received a certificate of competence from the
Los Angeles Trade-Technical College LOS, or Los, or LoS may refer to: Science and technology * Length of stay, the duration of a single episode of hospitalisation * Level of service, a measure used by traffic engineers * Level of significance, a measure of statistical significance ...
. For the next fifteen years he owned and operated a custom furniture upholstery company and worked as a building contractor.


Political career

He began his political career in 1971 when he became a member of the Monterey Park Planning Commission, and served until 1974 when he was elected to the Monterey Park
City Council A municipal council is the legislative body of a municipality or local government area. Depending on the location and classification of the municipality it may be known as a city council, town council, town board, community council, rural counc ...
. He served until 1980, including two terms as mayor in 1974 and 1980. In 1980, Martínez defeated incumbent Jack R. Fenton in the Democratic primary election in
California's 59th State Assembly district California's 59th State Assembly district is one of 80 California State Assembly districts. It is currently represented by Democrat Reggie Jones-Sawyer of Los Angeles. District profile The district encompasses most of South Los Angeles, cen ...
. He was elected to the California State Assembly with no major-party opponent. In 1982
George E. Danielson George Elmore Danielson (February 20, 1915 – September 12, 1998) was an American Democratic politician and judge from California. He served in the United States House of Representatives from 1971 to 1982. Biography Born in Wausa, Nebraska, D ...
left the U.S. House of Representatives to take the bench. Martínez won the
special election A by-election, also known as a special election in the United States and the Philippines, a bye-election in Ireland, a bypoll in India, or a Zimni election (Urdu: ضمنی انتخاب, supplementary election) in Pakistan, is an election used to f ...
to succeed him, and was reelected nine times by varying margins. In his first term in Congress he was assigned to the Education and Labor Committee. In the
99th Congress The 99th United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, composed of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, D.C., from January 3, 1 ...
(1985–87) he chaired the
Subcommittee A committee or commission is a body of one or more persons subordinate to a deliberative assembly. A committee is not itself considered to be a form of assembly. Usually, the assembly sends matters into a committee as a way to explore them more ...
on Employment Opportunities. In 1991, he became the Chairman of the Human Resources Subcommittee. In 1992, Martínez was named to the Foreign Affairs Committee, and served on the Subcommittee on International Security, International Organizations and Human Rights. In 2000, Martínez was defeated in the Democratic primary by liberal State Senator
Hilda Solis Hilda Lucia Solis (; born October 20, 1957) is an American politician and a member of the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors for the 1st district. Solis previously served as the 25th United States Secretary of Labor from 2009 to 2013, as par ...
62% to 29%. She charged that he was out of touch with his district when he voted to ban
partial-birth abortion Intact dilation and extraction (D&X, IDX, or intact D&E) is a surgical procedure that removes an intact fetus from the uterus. The procedure is used both after miscarriages and for abortions in the second and third trimesters of pregnancy. In U ...
and opposed gun control. (He was both
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and a member of the National Rifle Association.) While he had been a reliably Democratic vote on most issues throughout his congressional career, after his primary loss Martínez began to vote overwhelmingly with Republicans. On July 27, 2000, Martínez switched to the Republican Party, arguing that the Democrats had abandoned him. There was no Republican candidate on the ballot in the district for the 2000 election, and Martínez declined to attempt a write-in candidacy, though he remained critical of Solis and promised to stay active in the Republican party. His term in Congress ended on January 3, 2001, at the end of the 106th Congress.


Family

Martínez was married to Elvira Yorba Martinez, with whom he had five children: Matthew Adrian, Michael Gilbert, Diane, Susan, and Carol Ann. His daughter, Diane Martínez, served in the State Assembly from 1992 to 1998.


Death

On October 15, 2011, Martínez died at his home in Fredericksburg, Virginia. He had suffered from congestive heart failure.


Memberships

* San Gabriel Valley
YMCA YMCA, sometimes regionally called the Y, is a worldwide youth organization based in Geneva, Switzerland, with more than 64 million beneficiaries in 120 countries. It was founded on 6 June 1844 by George Williams (philanthropist), Georg ...
board of directors *Hispanic American Democrats * National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials *
Communications Workers of America The Communications Workers of America (CWA) is the largest communications and media labor union in the United States, representing about 700,000 members in both the private and public sectors (also in Canada and Puerto Rico). The union has 27 l ...
* Veterans of Foreign Wars * American Legion
Latin Business Association
*Monterey Park Chamber of Commerce * Navy League (director) * Rotary International"Matthew Gilbert Martinez." Marquis Who's Who TM. Marquis Who's Who, 2008. Reproduced in Biography Resource Center. Farmington Hills, Mich.: Gale, 2008. http://galenet.galegroup.com/servlet/BioRC. (Fee) Document Number: K2013018942


See also

*
List of American politicians who switched parties in office The following American politicians switched parties while they were holding elected office. Federal State Local See also * List of Canadian politicians who have crossed the floor * List of elected British politicians who have chang ...
*
List of Hispanic and Latino Americans in the United States Congress This is a list of Hispanic and Latino Americans in the United States Congress, Hispanic and Latino Americans who have served in the United States Congress. Persons included are identified as having a lineage from Spain or Latin America, a definiti ...
*
List of United States representatives who switched parties The following are members of the United States House of Representatives who switched parties while serving in Congress. See also * List of United States senators who switched parties *List of party switchers in the United States *Party switching ...


References


External links


Biography
from the ''
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'' * *
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