Aaron Pena
| Aaron Pena | |
 | |
| Texas State House, District 40 | |
| Retired | |
| In office | |
| 2003 - 2013 | |
| Party | Republican |
| Elections and appointments | |
| Last election | November 2, 2010 |
| First elected | 2002 |
| Term limits | N/A |
 | |
Contents |
Pena works as a civil defense lawyer, and has previously worked as a plaintiff's attorney, and an attorney with Rodriguez, Colvin, Chaney, and Saenz.
He is a member of the Governing Board for Labor and Employment Attorneys, State Bar of Texas.[1]
2010 Party Switch
Shortly after winning re-election to District 40 in the November 2, 2010 general election, Pena announced that he would be switching his party affiliation from Democratic to Republican. The announcement came in the wake of landslide GOP victories in the Texas House of Representatives that left Republicans one seat short of a supermajority. Pena's switch, along with fellow Democrat Allan Ritter of District 21, pushed Republicans from a 99-seat majority to a 101-seat supermajority. At a GOP press conference announcing his switch Pena remarked “Somebody once told me that if you don't have a seat at the table, you may be on the menu.” [2]
Committee assignments
2011-2012
Aaron Pena served on the following Texas House of Representatives committees:
- Redistricting Committee
- Homeland Security & Public Safety Committee
- Technology, Economic Development and Workforce Committee Chair
- Voter Identification & Voter Fraud, Select Committee
2009-2010
- Elections Committee, Texas House (Vice Chair)
- Redistricting Committee, Texas House
- Ways & Means Committee, Texas House
Sponsored legislation
- HB 110 - Relating to establishing a health science center and medical school in the Rio Grande Valley.
- HB 112 - Relating to the use of direct recording electronic voting machines.
- HB 1239 - Relating to restrictions on the use of the Internet by sex offenders and to the collection and exchange of information regarding those offenders.
- HB 3924 - Relating to the provision of assistance by the Texas Ethics Commission in the reporting of political contributions and expenditures made in connection with offices of and measures proposed by local governmental entities.[3]
Voter fraud
Pena, a member of the Voter Identification & Voter Fraud Select Committee for the Texas House of Representatives, introduced in 2011 a series of proposals aimed at curbing voter fraud.[4][5]
Elections
2010
Pena won re-election in District 40. He was unopposed in the March 2 Democratic primary and faced no opposition in the November 2 general election.[6]
2008
On November 4, 2008, Pena won re-election to the Texas House of Representatives from Texas's 40th District. Pena ran unopposed in the general election, and he received 24,103 votes.[7] Pena raised $468,798 for his campaign.[8]
Campaign donors
2010
In 2010, Pena received $28,647 in campaign donations. The top contributors are listed below.[9]
| Texas House of Representatives 2010 election - Campaign Contributions | |
|---|---|
| Top contributors to Aaron Pena's campaign in 2010 | |
| Perry, Bob J | $11,000 |
| Border Health | $5,000 |
| Ryan & Co | $4,000 |
| Texans For Lawsuit Reform | $3,500 |
| Texas Association Of Realtors | $3,500 |
| Total Raised in 2010 | $28,647 |
2008
Below are Pena's top 5 campaign contributors in the 2008 election:[10]
| Contributor | 2008 total |
|---|---|
| Bob J Perry | $65,000 |
| Texas Builds Jobs & Opportunity for a Secure Future | $60,000 |
| Texans for Lawsuit Reform | $55,000 |
| Texas Assoc of Realtors | $34,513 |
| Texans for Economic Development | $20,000 |
Recent news
This section displays the most recent stories in a google news search for the term Aaron + Pena + Texas + House
- All stories may not be relevant to this legislator due to the nature of the search engine.
Aaron Pena News Feed
- Is Ted Cruz the future of Texas? - Salon
- Summer Movie Release Schedule - New York Times
- CHARLOTTE MAYOR JOINS CABINET -- LIFE LESSON from Gio Gonzalez ... - Politico (blog)
- EE. UU.: Los da
- LA COLUMNA DE HOY /
Cite error: <ref> tags exist, but no <references/> tag was found
Scorecards
Empower Texans Fiscal Responsibility Index
Empower Texans produces the Fiscal Responsibility Index as "a measurement of how lawmakers perform on size and role of government issues." The index uses "exemplar votes on core budget and free enterprise issues that demonstrate legislators' governing philosophy."[11] Legislators are graded along a standard grading scale, receiving grades A through F based on their performance during the legislative session.
2011
Aaron Pena received a grade of C+ on the 2011 Fiscal Responsibility Index.
External links
- Aaron Pena's campaign site
- Texas House of Representatives - Rep. Pena
- Legislative profile from Project Vote Smart
- Biography from Project Vote Smart
- Campaign Contributions: 2008, 2004, 2002
- Freedom Speaks profile
- Texas State Directory profile
- Texas Political Almanac HD 40 page
- Texas Tribune profile & bio
- Vote-TX.org profile
- State Surge profile
- Mexican American Legislative Caucus profile
- Aaron Pena's blog
- Aaron Pena on Facebook
- Aaron Pena on Twitter
References
- ↑ Project Vote Smart - Rep. Pena
- ↑ My San Antonio December 15, 2010 "ADemocratic party-switchers give GOP a House supermajority"
- ↑ Texas Legislature - Bills Authored/Joint Authored by Rep. Pena
- ↑ Texas Watchdog, "Texas voter fraud bills face end of session, South Texas lawmaker remains optimistic", May 17,2011
- ↑ Texas Watchdog, "Texas State Rep. Aaron Peña plans legislation to curb mail-in ballot fraud", February 24,2011
- ↑ Official Texas Election Results
- ↑ Texas House official election results for 2008
- ↑ District 40 Texas House candidate funds, 2008
- ↑ Follow the Money - 2010 Contributions
- ↑ Follow the Money - 2008 Campaign contributions
- ↑ Empower Texans, "Fiscal Responsibility Index"
| Political offices | ||
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Texas House District 40 2003–2013 |
Succeeded by Terry Canales (D) |
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