Filemon Vela Jr.

Filemón Bartolomé Vela Jr. (/ˈfɪləˌmɒn ˈvɛlə/ FILL-ə-monn VELL-ə; born February 13, 1963)[1] is an American lawyer and politician who has served as the U.S. Representative for Texas's 34th congressional district since 2013. He is a member of the Democratic Party. He's nominated as Vice Chair of the DNC by President Biden.[2]

For his father, the former United States District Judge of the Southern District of Texas, see Filemon Vela Sr.
Filemon Vela
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Texas's 34th district
Assumed office
January 3, 2013
Preceded byConstituency established
Vice Chair of the Democratic National Committee
Assumed office
January 21, 2021
ChairJaime Harrison
Preceded byGrace Meng
Personal details
Born
Filemon Bartolome Vela Jr.

(1963-02-13) February 13, 1963
Harlingen, Texas, U.S.
Political partyDemocratic
Spouse(s)
Rose Rivera
​
(m. 1990)​
RelativesBlanca Vela (mother)
Filemon Vela Sr. (father)
EducationGeorgetown University (BA)
University of Texas at Austin (JD)
WebsiteHouse website

Early life and education

Vela was born in Harlingen, Texas, and raised in nearby Brownsville. His father, Filemon Vela Sr., was a long-serving United States federal judge. The Reynaldo G. Garza–Filemon B. Vela United States Courthouse in Brownsville is named in Judge Vela's honor. His mother, Blanca Sanchez Vela, served as Brownsville's first female mayor from 1999 to 2003.[3][4][5]

Filemon attended Saint Joseph Academy in Brownsville, and went on to receive his B.A. degree from Georgetown University in 1985. During his time at Georgetown, he served as an intern at the Federal Judicial Center, the research and education agency of the federal judicial system. He also served as an intern in Solomon P. Ortiz's office in Washington, D.C. Vela earned his J.D. degree from the University of Texas at Austin School of Law in 1987.[3]

Career

In Edinburg School District v. Landmark, Vela represented Edinburg to fight for more funding. In Pharr-San Juan-Alamo Independent School District v. Landmark, he represented the district in fighting contractors accused of building a poorly constructed school facility.[6]

U.S. House of Representatives

2012
Main article: 2012 United States House of Representatives elections in Texas § District 34

Vela decided to run in the newly created Texas's 34th congressional district as a Democrat. In the May 29 primary, Vela ranked first in an eight-candidate field with 40% of the vote.[7] In the July 31 run-off primary, Vela defeated Denise Saenz Blanchard, 67% to 33%.[8][9]

In the general election, Vela defeated Republican Jessica Bradshaw 62% to 36%.[10]

Tenure

In July 2013, Vela quit the Congressional Hispanic Caucus because of his opposition to the Hoeven-Corker Amendment that tied border security to a pathway to citizenship. He said "erecting more border fence drives a wedge between border communities which are culturally united".[11][12]

Committee assignments [13]

Caucus memberships

Personal life

Vela's wife, Rose, was a Republican justice on Texas' 13th Court of Appeals from 2007 to 2012.[18]

See also

References
  1. Hopkins, Christopher Snow. "Texas, 34th House District". nationaljournal.com. Archived from the original on 7 November 2012. Retrieved 8 November 2012.
  2. https://www.wsj.com/articles/biden-to-tap-jaime-harrison-former-senate-candidate-to-lead-dnc-11610649160
  3. vela.house.gov
  4. Johnson, Ty (2014-02-18). "Former Brownsville mayor, feminist 'trailblazer' Blanca Vela dies at 78". The Monitor (Texas). Retrieved 2014-03-13.
  5. "Brownsville's former and only female mayor, Blanca Vela, passes away". KVEO. 2014-02-19. Retrieved 2014-03-13.
  6. "Full Biography". Vela.house.gov. Archived from the original on 2014-08-19. Retrieved 2014-08-19.
  7. "Ourcampaigns.com". Ourcampaigns.com. Retrieved 2014-08-19.
  8. "Ourcampaigns.com". Ourcampaigns.com. Retrieved 2014-08-19.
  9. http://enr.sos.state.tx.us/enr/results/july31_163_state.htm
  10. "TX-TopRaces-Glance-Sum". kxxv.com. Retrieved 8 November 2012.
  11. Martin, Gary (2013-07-02). "Rep. Filemon Vela quits Congressional Hispanic Caucus to protest lawmakers' acceptance of border 'militarization' - Texas on the Potomac". Blog.chron.com. Retrieved 2014-08-19.
  12. "Filemon Vela quits Hispanic caucus over border surge - Seung Min Kim". Politico.Com. 2013-07-02. Retrieved 2014-08-19.
  13. "About". Congressman Filemon Vela. Retrieved 2021-02-01.
  14. "Members". Congressional Hispanic Caucus. Archived from the original on 15 May 2018. Retrieved 15 May 2018.
  15. "Members". Congressional NextGen 9-1-1 Caucus. Retrieved 14 June 2018.
  16. "Members of the Veterinary Medicine Caucus". Veterinary Medicine Caucus. Retrieved 12 October 2018.
  17. "Members". U.S. - Japan Caucus. Retrieved 9 January 2019.
  18. Sanchez, Humberto. "113th Congress: Filemon Vela, D-Texas (34th District)". public.cq.com. Congressional Quarterly, Inc. Retrieved 8 November 2012.
U.S. House of Representatives
Preceded by
New constituency		 Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Texas's 34th congressional district
2013–present		 Incumbent
U.S. order of precedence (ceremonial)
Preceded by
Marc Veasey		 United States Representatives by seniority
196th		 Succeeded by
Ann Wagner
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