Richard Joel Noriega (born January 8, 1958) is a former American politician and retired major general in the

Texas Army National Guard The Texas Army National Guard is a component of the United States Army, the United States National Guard and the Texas Military Forces (along with the Texas Air National Guard and the Texas State Guard). Texas Army National Guard units are tra ...

who is currently director of Harris County Universal Services (HCUS). From 1998 to 2009, Noriega was a Democratic member of 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 ...

for District 145, representing eastern portions 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 ...

. In

2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...

, Noriega was the Democratic nominee for the

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 po ...

seat held by Republican

John Cornyn John Cornyn III ( ; born February 2, 1952) is an American politician and attorney serving as the senior United States senator from Texas, a seat he has held since 2002. A member of the Republican Party, he served as the Senate majority whip for ...

. Cornyn would win reelection with 54.8% to Noriega's 42.8%.

Early life and education

Noriega was born and raised in

. After graduating from Mount Carmel High School he attended Alvin Community College on a Rusk Athletic Scholarship where he played baseball. Noriega graduated from the

University of Houston The University of Houston (UH) is a Public university, public research university in Houston, Texas. Founded in 1927, UH is a member of the University of Houston System and the List of universities in Texas by enrollment, university in Texas ...

in 1984 with an ROTC Scholarship and was commissioned as a second lieutenant. He graduated from

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of highe ...

's John F. Kennedy School of Government in 1990. He also earned a certificate in advanced international affairs from the George Bush School at

Texas A&M University Texas A&M University (Texas A&M, A&M, or TAMU) is a public university, public, Land-grant university, land-grant, research university in College Station, Texas. It was founded in 1876 and became the flagship institution of the Texas A&M Unive ...

. Noriega is also a graduate of the University of North Carolina's Certified Government Chief Information Officer Program. He graduated from the US Army War College where he completed his assignment as a Senior Fellow at the University of Texas. He also is a graduate of the U.S. Army Command and General Staff College,

Military service

Noriega joined the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, ...

in 1979 in the wake of the

Iran hostage crisis On November 4, 1979, 52 United States diplomats and citizens were held hostage after a group of militarized Iranian college students belonging to the Muslim Student Followers of the Imam's Line, who supported the Iranian Revolution, took over ...

. He became an officer in the

in 1984, and served in the

Afghanistan War War in Afghanistan, Afghan war, or Afghan civil war may refer to: * Conquest of Afghanistan by Alexander the Great (330 BC – 327 BC) * Muslim conquests of Afghanistan (637–709) *Conquest of Afghanistan by the Mongol Empire (13th century), see a ...

that followed the

September 11, 2001 attacks The September 11 attacks, commonly known as 9/11, were four coordinated suicide terrorist attacks carried out by al-Qaeda against the United States on Tuesday, September 11, 2001. That morning, nineteen terrorists hijacked four commer ...

. On his return from Afghanistan, Mayor Bill White requested that Noriega command the evacuee shelter operation at the George Brown Convention Center in

, where he oversaw thousands of

Hurricane Katrina Hurricane Katrina was a destructive Category 5 Atlantic hurricane that caused over 1,800 fatalities and $125 billion in damage in late August 2005, especially in the city of New Orleans and the surrounding areas. It was at the time the cost ...

evacuees. Noriega then commanded the Laredo Sector working with U.S. Border Patrol during Operation Jump Start. Noriega's awards include: the

Combat Infantryman Badge The Combat Infantryman Badge (CIB) is a United States Army military decoration. The badge is awarded to infantrymen and Special Forces soldiers in the rank of colonel and below, who fought in active ground combat while assigned as members of e ...

; Senior Parachutist Badge; Distinguished Service Medal; Legion of Merit;

Meritorious Service Medal A Meritorious Service Medal is an award presented to denote acts of meritorious service, and sometimes gallantry, that are worthy of recognition. Notable medals with similar names include: * Meritorious Civilian Service Award *Meritorious Service Me ...

;

Army Commendation Medal The Commendation Medal is a mid-level United States military decoration presented for sustained acts of heroism or meritorious service. Each branch of the United States Armed Forces issues its own version of the Commendation Medal, with a fifth ...

;

Army Achievement Medal The Achievement Medal is a military decoration of the United States Armed Forces. The Achievement Medal was first proposed as a means to recognize outstanding achievement or meritorious service of military personnel who were not eligible to recei ...

;

Afghanistan Campaign Medal The Afghanistan Campaign Medal (ACM) is a military award of the United States Armed Forces which was created by Executive Order 13363 of President George W. Bush on November 29, 2004, and became available for general distribution in June 2005. ...

; and Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal.,; the

Legion of Merit The Legion of Merit (LOM) is a military award of the United States Armed Forces that is given for exceptionally meritorious conduct in the performance of outstanding services and achievements. The decoration is issued to members of the eight u ...

; and the German Armed Forces Gold Badge for Military Proficiency.

Public service

Noriega was a project manager for Communities in Schools, and taught in the

Houston Independent School District The Houston Independent School District (HISD) is the largest public school system in Texas, and the eighth-largest in the United States. Houston ISD serves as a community school district for most of the city of Houston and several nearby and ...

and in the

Houston Community College System Houston Community College (HCC), also known as Houston Community College System (HCCS) is a Public college, public community college system that operates community colleges in Houston, Texas, Houston, Missouri City, Texas, Missouri City, Greater ...

before becoming a staff member for the

Texas State 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 con ...

. In 1993 he joined the Government Affairs Department of Houston Industries, Inc. (now CenterPoint Energy, Inc.). He became a manager in the company's Economic Development Department after winning the Democratic nomination for Texas State Representative. Noriega was elected to the

in 1998 and served five terms, 1999 to 2009. He acted as the Budget and Oversight Chair of the Defense Affairs and State-Federal Relations Committee, and also sat on the Appropriations Committee. Noriega's House district was mostly Hispanic and low income, and included many residents who never completed high school. He authored and sponsored more than 100 bills in the Texas Legislature. His major legislative accomplishment was authoring House Bill 1403, The Texas Dream Act, in 2001. The bill made Texas the first state to offer in-state tuition rates and financial assistance for immigrant children and started a national movement; today, 17 states have similar laws, providing access to higher education to thousands. Noriega was selected to serve on the Military Leadership Diversity Commission by the Obama Administration which authored its March 15, 2011 report, "From Representation to Inclusion: Diversity Leadership for the 20th Century Military."

2008 U.S. Senate campaign

Noriega narrowly avoided a runoff election by receiving 51 percent of the vote in the March 4, 2008 Democratic primary. His opponents were Gene Kelly (a perennial candidate), Ray McMurrey, and Rhett Smith. Prior to the filing deadline, trial attorney Mikal Watts withdrew from his bid for the Democratic nomination on October 23, 2007.Statement from Mikal Watts
October 23, 2007 Noriega faced Republican incumbent John Cornyn, who outraised him financially and who received 81 percent of the vote in the Republican primary, in the November 4 general election. Noriega was ultimately defeated by Cornyn in the general election.

Personal life

Noriega is a

Mexican American Mexican Americans ( es, mexicano-estadounidenses, , or ) are Americans of full or partial Mexican heritage. In 2019, Mexican Americans comprised 11.3% of the US population and 61.5% of all Hispanic and Latino Americans. In 2019, 71% of Mexica ...

and the father of two sons.

Election results

2008 United States Senate

2006 State House 145

2004 State House 145

2002 State House 145

2000 State House 145

1998 State House 145

Issues

Economy

Noriega proposed a comprehensive plan to help struggling families keep their homes during the 2008 economic downturn, focusing on revamping bankruptcy law, increased funding of counseling for struggling homeowners, and a tax credit of $2000 for homeowners who refinance into a fixed-rate loan. He also proposed funding to allow homeowners to refinance into FHA (Federal Housing Administration) backed loans, which generally provide lower rates of interest than private commercial loans.

Domestic security and immigration

Noriega served the National Guard as commander of the Laredo sector during

Operation Jump Start Operation Jump Start was a military operation to aid U.S. Customs and Border Protection, announced by President George W. Bush in May 2006. The mission entailed the deployment of United States National Guard troops along the Mexico–United Stat ...

, which deployed approximately 18,000 Guardsmen to the US/Mexico border in 2006 to provide increased border security until an improved immigration reform package could be approved on Capitol Hill. Noriega focused on curtailing human trafficking and drug smuggling at the border, and called for more advanced surveillance technology to be deployed at the border as well as for more Guardsmen to be deployed there. Noriega opposed the use of a border fence to curb illegal immigration and trafficking. Noriega also authored HB 2546, a bill passed by the Texas legislature that restricts the sale of

ammonium nitrate Ammonium nitrate is a chemical compound with the chemical formula . It is a white crystalline salt consisting of ions of ammonium and nitrate. It is highly soluble in water and hygroscopic as a solid, although it does not form hydrates. It is ...

in order to prevent its use in criminal or terrorist activity such as the

Oklahoma City bombing The Oklahoma City bombing was a domestic terrorist truck bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, United States, on April 19, 1995. Perpetrated by two anti-government extremists, Timothy McVeigh and T ...

Post-Senate race activities

In 2011 Noriega, then a

colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge ...

, was named commander of the Texas National Guard's 71st Theater Information Operations Group. Noriega was selected for promotion to

brigadier general Brigadier general or Brigade general is a military rank used in many countries. It is the lowest ranking general officer in some countries. The rank is usually above a colonel, and below a major general or divisional general. When appointe ...

in 2013 and assigned as Assistant Division Commander—Support for the 36th Infantry Division. He then served as the Assistant Adjutant General-Army for the Texas National Guard. Noriega retired effective January 31, 2018, and received an honorific promotion to major general on the state's retired list of National Guard officers. In his civilian career Noriega was Chief Executive Officer of the Ronald McDonald House Houston, a non-profit organization that offers a home away from home for critically ill children receiving treatment and care in the Texas Medical Center. Effective September, 2020, Noriega became the Chief Information Officer for Harris County, Texas, the third most populous county in the United States.
Harris County, Texas, Names Interim CIO to Succeed Bruce High, Government Technology, September 22, 2020

References

External links

Rick Noriega for U.S. Senate
official campaign website

from the

*
Campaign contributions
at

OpenSecrets.org OpenSecrets is a nonprofit organization based in Washington, D.C., that tracks data on campaign finance and lobbying. It was created from a merger of the Center for Responsive Politics (CRP) and the National Institute on Money in Politics (NIMP) ...

* * Noriega, Rick and Jane Ely
Rick Noriega Oral History
Houston Oral History Project, May 7, 2008. * {{DEFAULTSORT:Noriega, Rick 1958 births 21st-century American politicians United States Army personnel of the War in Afghanistan (2001–2021) Hispanic and Latino American state legislators in Texas Harvard Kennedy School alumni Living people Democratic Party members of the Texas House of Representatives National Guard (United States) generals Military personnel from Houston United States Army generals University of Houston alumni