This book applies a gendered lens to aid in the interpretation and understanding of Latina politics. Specifically, each of the women discussed in this book offers us a glimpse of the political experience as the first ever Latina elected officials in a conservative southern state, Texas.

The authors examine the ways that gender enters into, helps to shape, and affects elections in Texas, from local city council races to statewide campaigns for public office. As all the chapters demonstrate, gender dynamics are important in the conduct and outcomes of elections. To date, Texas has yet to elect a Latina woman...

Latinas,¹ especially those of Mexican descent, have a long history as political actors dating at least as far back as the Texas revolution in 1836, when Francisca Alvarez, the so-called “Angel of Goliad,” persuaded Mexican officers to defy the execution orders given by their president, General Antonio López de Santa Anna, thus saving the lives of numerous Texas soldiers held as prisoners of war. Since 1959, when Norma Zuniga Benavides successfully ran for school board trustee in Laredo, Texas, Latinas have served in public office in the United States (Cotera 1976; Gomez-Quiñones 1990; Acosta and Winegarten 2003). Only recently, however,...

As discussed in Chapter 1, Latinas have gained visibility in the U.S. political arena and have clearly demonstrated leadership in national politics. However, very few studies document their importance and potential as elected officials. With the exception of those in certain offices, Latinas in politics are typically invisible in the media and academia. Part of the reason is that, generally speaking, Latinas are not considered the norm in American politics. They are not in the theoretical frameworks or paradigms in the mainstream literature on electoral politics, gender politics, or Latino politics. Also, Latina candidates and public officials are often stereotyped...

In 2006 there were nine Latinas in the Texas legislature: seven in the house and two in the senate. These women must credit Irma Rangel for blazing the trail for Latina leadership in state politics. Elected to the Texas House of Representatives in 1976, Rangel was the first Hispanic woman to serve in the state legislature,¹ the first and only Latina to chair the Mexican American Legislative Caucus (MALC), and the first Hispanic—male or female—to chair the House Committee on Higher Education, a major standing committee. She also was the first female district attorney in Corpus Christi and...

In the history of the Texas Senate, only two Latinas have served as senators, and this chapter examines their political biographies. It is important to note that compared to other state senates, the Texas Senate is relatively small given the size of the state and its 254 counties, and despite its increasing population over the past decades. The senate is composed of only thirty-one members, each elected from geographically distinct districts drawn by the members of the Texas House of Representatives and Senate. As a result of the 2000 Census, each senator represents approximately 673,000 people.

Texas senators serve four-year...

The Texas constitutional convention of 1869 intentionally designed Texas government’s executive branch as a plural executive in order to weaken the role of the governor. The design was a response to an abuse of power by Governor E. J. Davis following Reconstruction. Many statewide offices that are appointed by a governor in a cabinet form of the executive branch, such as those in other states or at the national level, are positions that are elected statewide in Texas. Only the secretary of state is appointed by the governor and considered a member of the plural executive. Although governors in other...

In October 1990, the San Antonio Express-News carried a story about “the conspicuous absence of Latinas on the Bench” (McGaffey 1990). The article identified only three in the entire state: district judge Elma Salinas Ender (Laredo), appointed in 1983, and county court-at-law judges Hilda Tagle (Corpus Christi), appointed in 1985, and Leticia Hinojosa (Edinburg), appointed in 1989 to a new bench post.

Close to fifteen years later, in 2004, the number of Latina judges had increased substantially, especially in Texas. According to a report by the American Bar Association’s Task Force on Opportunities for Minorities, Texas led the country in...

This chapter examines the political biographies of three Latina mayors, all of whom are of Mexican American descent, one each from two of the largest border cities—Brownsville and Laredo—and one from a city with historical significance for Mexican American politics: Crystal City. Brownsville and Laredo were selected because they were the first major cities in Texas to have female Mexican American mayors; Crystal City was selected because of its historical significance to the Chicano Civil Rights Movement. It is important to note that as of 2007, no formal record existed of Mexican American women who have served as...

The remarkable Alicia Chacón has held four elected positions—Ysleta Independent School District school board member in 1970, El Paso County clerk in 1974, City of El Paso council member in 1983, and El Paso County judge in 1990. Chacón is four times over a “first,” having the unique distinction of being the first Mexican American woman ever elected to those positions.

In the previous chapters, we detailed how Latinas have made great headway in various levels of government and in different arenas of Texas politics. This chapter focuses on five Latinas that have made great strides in local offices...

We opened this book with the notion that Latinas are often viewed as novices in the political arena. We learned numerous lessons from this cadre of Latina trailblazers in Texas. Notably, each of the Latinas in the preceding chapters challenges the view that Latinas are invisible in the political arena. Although this was a small sample (a total of fifteen women), each case study provides clear evidence of the integral role of these Latinas as the first generation in public office.

Throughout this book, we have addressed four areas of inquiry in an attempt to further understand the roles of...