Aaron Peña

Aaron Peña, Jr.
Texas State Representative Aaron Peña
Member of the Texas House of Representatives from the 40th district
In office January 14, 2003 – present
Preceded by	Chuy Hinojosa
Personal details
Born	June 8, 1959 Austin, Texas
Political party	Democrat (until Dec 2010) Republican (Dec 2010 - present)
Profession	Attorney

Aaron Peña, Jr. (born June 8, 1959) is a member of the Texas House of Representatives. Representative Peña represents a district in Hidalgo County in Deep South Texas. In November 2002, he was first elected to the Texas House of Representatives as a Democrat. He is serving his 5th term in office. Representative Peña is an attorney in private practice. He is married to Monica (Solis) and is the father to five children. On December 14, 2010, Peña said he switched to the Republican party.

Early life and career

Aaron Peña, Jr was born in Austin, Texas, to Lionel Aron Peña and Sylvia Alamia. The Peña family originated from the Edinburg and Elsa communities. His parents had moved to Austin so that his father could attend The University of Texas Law School. Peña's mother worked at the Capitol as a secretary to help support the family. Peña spent the first few years of his life in a home on the banks of Waller Creek two blocks from the Capitol.

After two years in Austin, the family moved to the Rio Grande Valley in South Texas and settled in the city of Edinburg. "Little A" is the nickname given to Aaron as a young child. In 1977, he graduated from Edinburg High School. Thereafter, Peña attended Pan American University before heading back to Austin where he received a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from the University of Texas in May 1984.

Peña grew up in Edinburg and graduated in 1977 from Edinburg High School. Like his father before him, Peña studied to be a lawyer, receiving his Juris Doctor in May 1987 from Texas Southern University in Houston. Peña immediately returned to his hometown in Edinburg to raise his family and to practice law. In May 1988, he was licensed to practice law by the State Bar of Texas. In December 1995, Peña became board certified by the State Bar of Texas in the area of Labor and Employment Law. Peña enjoyed a celebrated career as one of the more accomplished employment trial attorneys in the state, later serving on the State Bar of Texas's governing board for Labor and Employment attorneys. After 17 years of working almost exclusively as a plaintiff's lawyer, Peña in April 2005 began work exclusively as a civil defense lawyer. In both capacities, Texas Monthly twice recognized Peña as a "Lawyer."

On May 31, 2009, as Representative Peña was about to turn 50 years of age, he was commissioned a Major in the Texas State Guard. The Texas State Guard is one of three branches of the Texas Military Forces. Major General Chris Powers administered the oath for the commission directed by Governor Perry and the Adjutant General. The Representative serves as a Staff Judge Advocate serving in the Command Headquarters in Austin, Texas.

The swearing-in ceremony took place at the Capitol on the floor of the Texas House of Representatives. Speaker Joe Straus and Brigadier General, Raymond Peters joined family members on the rostrum during the ceremony.

State legislature

State Reps. Anderson, Peña, Macias, and Hartnett with staffer

Representative Peña was first elected in 2002, and has served four terms in the Texas Legislature.

Early in his legislative career, Peña was selected to serve on the Appropriations Committee. Later, in his third term, Peña served as the Chairman of House Committee of Criminal Jurisprudence. In his fourth term, the Representative served as the Vice-Chairman of the Elections Committee.

As a legislator, Peña has served as a strong advocate for education. Examples of his commitment include legislation that aimed for increases in public school teacher pay. He has also worked to assist in the growth of the University of Texas-Pan American. Peña sponsored legislation to authorize construction of a Student Wellness and Recreation Center and a Fine Arts Academic and Performance Complex. In his fourth term, Peña sponsored legislation that created a Medical School in the Rio Grande Valley.

At his arrival to the Texas Legislature, Peña pioneered the use of an internet journal to bring Texas government closer to his constituents. His internet journal, "A Capitol Blog", has had numerous features in national magazines and newspapers. In 2006 Capitol Inside named the Representative's website one of the Top 5 in the state. The National Conference of State Legislatures and the Council of State Governments have invited Peña to present seminars at annual meetings to highlight his approach to communicating with constituents. As internet media evolves, the Representative continues to pioneer its use.

In his initial session, the Representative was a member of the so-called "Killer D's", a group of Texas House Democrats who left the state of Texas for Ardmore, Oklahoma during the week of May 12, 2003 and prevented a quorum in the House. The Killer D's left to prevent House consideration of the redistricting legislation.

Peña also discusses legislative matters as a frequent guest and political analyst on TV and talk radio, serving as a regular guest of Ron Whitlock Reports and KURV Talk Radio.

On December 14, 2010, Peña stated that Texas Democrats have strayed too far from his conservative views thus causing him to run in the next election as a Republican in Hidalgo County which has never before elected a Republican to office. Peña and State Representative Allan Ritter from Texas's 21st district have switched political parties giving the Republican Party a 101-49 supermajority in the Texas House of Representatives.

Legislative achievements

A state operated drug treatment center in South Texas was one of the primary objectives Peña sought to achieve when he initially ran for public office. In 2007, the representative secured funding to bring a drug treatment facility to his home town of Edinburg, Texas.

The University of Texas - Pan American has seen continued growth in part because of the successful legislative projects championed by the Representative. These include a $40 Million dollar Fine Arts Center, a $25 Million dollar Student Wellness Center, $5 Million additional dollars for the Regional Academic Health Center at UT - Pan American, as well as continued growth in the university's operating budget.

An increase in state funding for local parks in South Texas has always been a priority. In 2007, the Representative secured significant increases in parks funding for his community. Of particular interest was the development of the Will Looney Memorial Park at the Museum of South Texas History.

The Children's Health Insurance Program could see 127,000 additional children brought to the program in 2007 as a result of legislation (HB 109) championed by Rep. Peña.

After repeated attempts, Peña successfully passed legislation granting the Texas Legislative Medal of Honor to Edinburg hero Freddy Gonzalez in 2007. Similarly, during the 81st Legislative session, Peña successfully passed HCR 5, which awarded the Texas Legislative Medal of Honor to another Edinburg war hero, Pedro Cano.

During the 81st Legislative session, Peña sponsored legislation that gave birth to a much-needed medical school in the Rio Grande Valley.

Noteworthy speeches and appearances

• August 19, 2006: Peña gave the Commencement Speech (see video, text) at The University of Texas–Pan American.
• Peña's final argument speeches from his work as a trial attorney are published in Million Dollar Arguments for sale to attorneys around the country.
• May 28, 2004: Peña appeared on NOW with Bill Moyers to discuss migrant farmworkers from South Texas.
• Peña was elected and served as a national delegate to the Democratic National Convention in 2004 (Boston) and 2008 (Denver). Peña also served on the national Democratic Party's platform committee that drafted the national platform adopted at the 2000 (Los Angeles) Democratic National Convention.

Committee assignments

Representative Peña has committee status in the three sessions , to the House Committee for Criminal Jurisprudence. He was appointed Chairman of that committee in his third term. Below is a list of Peña's committee assignments in the 78th, 79th, and 80th Texas Legislative Sessions.

78th Session

• Criminal Jurisprudence
• Pensions & Investments
• Sex Offenders Statutes (select committee)

79th Session

• Criminal Jurisprudence - Chairman of Budget & Oversight
• Appropriations
  • Subcommittee on Criminal Justice
  • Subcommittee on Government Efficiency & Operations
• Binational Alcohol and Substance Abuse Committee
• House Administration
• Interim Committee on Power of Eminent Domain

80th Session

• Chairman of Criminal Jurisprudence
• Ways & Means
• Joint Select Committee on the Texas Youth Commission

81st Session

• Vice Chairman of Elections
• Ways & Means
• Redistricting
• Chairman of Select House Committee on Emergency Preparedness

Awards and honors

2010

• TLR Civil Justice Leadership Award
• South Texas Health Systems Community Leader Appreciation Award

2009

• Boys and Girls Clubs, Edinburg 2009 Legislative Partner Award
• Texas State Firemen's and Fire Marshalls' Association Fire Service of Texas Appreciation Award

2008

• Malayalee Association of the Rio Grande Valley Community Service Excellence Award for his outstanding contributions in social, economic and cultural development of the Rio Grande Valley.

2007

• Texas District and County Attorneys Association (TDCAA) Law & Order Award in recognition of service to the Texas criminal justice system during the Regular 80th Session. As Chairman of the House Committee on Criminal Jurisprudence, he exhibited a respect for the victims of crime while maintaining a balanced approach for a fair and effective criminal justice system.
• Texas Association of Realtors Honor Roll for his work protecting private property rights in the 80th Legislative Session. Peña championed legislation reducing property taxes and worked to protect South Texas ranch lands and private property owners from the excesses of eminent domain.
• Capitol Inside Top Negotiator The non-partisan news site, Capitol Inside, identified Representative Peña as a top House negotiator of the 80th Legislative Session. Peña was named to more conference committees than any other member of the Texas House of Representatives. As a result, the Valley representative mediated many of the important pieces of legislation of that session, according to the news site.
• The Texas Humane Legislation Network The Texas Animal Humanitarian Award The non-profit organization that speaks on behalf of animal welfare agencies in Texas awarded Rep. Peña their highest award for his efforts to address the growing problems of animal cruelty, dog fighting, and the criminal activity surrounding these events. As Chairman of the House Committee on Criminal Jurisprudence, his leadership, as noted by the President of the organization, was crucial to making the legislative session "a landmark year for the animals of Texas."

2005

• The Century Council's State Legislative Award The Century Council is an advocacy group promoting responsible alcohol use. Rep. Peña received the award for his "outstanding commitment to fight drunk-driving and underage drinking". Each December, the Representative makes considerable effort to participate in "National Drunk and Drugged Driving Prevention Month".

Family history

• Representative Peña's great uncle, Juan Alamia, served as a Rough Rider with President Theodore Roosevelt in the Spanish-American War.
• Early Rio Grande Valley pioneers Jose Roman Alamia and Olivia Vela Alamia are the representative's great grandparents. Alamia served as Hidalgo County's first tax assessor and collector and participated in the development of Hidalgo County. On October 14, 1908, Alamia along with other elected officials on horseback forcibly moved the county seat from the City of Hidalgo by placing the county records on four wagons pulled by mule teams to an undeveloped parcel of land now known as Edinburg. Edinburg has since been the capitol of county government for Hidalgo County.
• Jose Roman Alamia, Jr. was elected Hidalgo County District Attorney in 1950 and later served as the District Judge of the 92nd District Court of Hidalgo County. In 1972, he served as the Administrative Judge of the 5th Judicial District, which covers most of South Texas.
• Lionel Aron Peña, the representative's father, served as an Edinburg City Commissioner and City Attorney in the early seventies.

Election history

2010

Primary Election 2010: HD 40

Candidate		Votes	%	±
Aaron Peña
no opponent

2008

Primary Election 2008: HD 40

Candidate		Votes	%	±
Aaron Peña		9,839	52.90	19.23
Eddie Saenz		8,761	47.10	87.56

2006

General Election 2006: HD 40

Candidate		Votes	%	±
Aaron Peña		8,252	100	.89
no opponent		0	0

2004

Primary 2004: HD 40

Candidate		Votes	%	±
Aaron Peña		8,179	63.64	14.32
Eddie Saenz		4,671	36.35

2002

Primary 2002: HD 40

Candidate		Votes	%	±
Aaron Peña		7,154	56.11
Eddy Gonzalez		5,595	43.88

External links

• House Website
• aaronpena.com
• acapitolblog.com
• Pena's Youtube Channel
• Aaron Pena on Twitter
• Aaron Pena on Facebook