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Carlos Uresti
Carlos I. Uresti (b. September 12, 1963) is a former Democratic member of the Texas State Senate, representing District 19. He was first elected to the chamber in 2006 and resigned effective June 21, 2018, citing a need to attend to personal matters.[1]
On May 16, 2017, Uresti was indicted on charges of bribery surrounding a government contract and charges of wrongdoing. Uresti denied the charges in a written statement.[2] On June 26, 2018, he was sentenced to 12 years in prison.[3]
On December 7, 2017, the Daily Beast published an article that included allegations that Uresti engaged in sexual misconduct while a member of the state legislature. Click here to read more.
Biography
Uresti graduated with a B.A. in political science from St. Mary's University and also graduated with a J.D. also from St. Mary's University.
In addition to his position as senator, Uresti was an attorney in a San Antonio private practice. He surrendered his law license in April 2018 following a conviction on 11 felony charges.[4] Prior to his election to the state senate, Uresti was a representative in the Texas House of Representatives from 1997 to 2006. Uresti also served as a captain in the United States Marine Corps.[5]
On December 23, 2014, Planet Resource Recovery, Inc. announced the Uresti had been appointed to their Advisory Board.[6]
Committee assignments
2017 legislative session
At the beginning of the 2017 legislative session, this legislator served on the following committees:
| Texas committee assignments, 2017 |
|---|
| • Education |
| • Finance |
| • Health & Human Services, Vice chair |
| • Veteran Affairs & Border Security |
2015 legislative session
At the beginning of the 2015 legislative session, Uresti served on the following committees:
| Texas committee assignments, 2015 |
|---|
| • Administration, Vice-Chair |
| • Natural Resources and Economic Development |
| • Finance |
| • Health & Human Services |
2013-2014
In the 2013-2014 legislative session, Uresti served on the following committees:
| Texas committee assignments, 2013 |
|---|
| • Administration, Vice chair |
| • Agriculture, Rural Affairs & Homeland Security, Vice chair |
| • Health & Human Services |
| • Natural Resources |
| • Transportation |
2010-2011
In the 2011-2012 legislative session, Uresti served on the following Texas Senate committees:
| Texas committee assignments, 2011 |
|---|
| • Administration, Vice chair |
| • Agriculture & Rural Affairs, Vice chair |
| • Health & Human Services |
| • Jurisprudence |
| • Natural Resources |
2009-2010
In the 2009-2010 legislative session, Uresti served on the following Texas Senate committees:
| Texas committee assignments, 2009 |
|---|
| • Administration, Vice chair |
| • Agriculture & Rural Affairs, Vice chair |
| • Health & Human Services |
| • Natural Resources |
Sponsored legislation
The following table lists bills this person sponsored as a legislator, according to BillTrack50 and sorted by action history. Bills are sorted by the date of their last action. The following list may not be comprehensive. To see all bills this legislator sponsored, click on the legislator's name in the title of the table.
Elections
2016
- See also: Texas State Senate elections, 2016
Elections for the Texas State Senate took place in 2016. The primary election was held on March 1, 2016, and the general election was held on November 8, 2016. The candidate filing deadline was December 14, 2015.[7]
Incumbent Carlos Uresti defeated Peter P. Flores and Maximilian Martin in the Texas State Senate District 19 general election.[8]
| Texas State Senate, District 19 General Election, 2016 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Democratic |  Carlos Uresti Incumbent |
55.87% | 134,997 | |
| Republican | Peter P. Flores | 40.43% | 97,682 | |
| Libertarian | Maximilian Martin | 3.70% | 8,948 | |
| Total Votes | 241,627 | |||
| Source: Texas Secretary of State | ||||
Incumbent Carlos Uresti defeated Helen Madla in the Texas State Senate District 19 Democratic Primary.[9][10]
| Texas State Senate, District 19 Democratic Primary, 2016 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Democratic | Carlos Uresti Incumbent |
74.56% | 39,931 | |
| Democratic | Helen Madla | 25.44% | 13,627 | |
| Total Votes | 53,558 | |||
Peter P. Flores ran unopposed in the Texas State Senate District 19 Republican Primary.[9][10]
| Texas State Senate, District 19 Republican Primary, 2016 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | |
| Republican | Peter P. Flores (unopposed) | |
2012
- See also: Texas State Senate elections, 2012
Uresti won re-election in the 2012 election for Texas State Senate, District 19. Uresti ran unopposed in the May 29 primary election and defeated Michael Berlanga (R) in the general election, which took place on November 6, 2012.[11]
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Carlos Uresti Incumbent |
59.4% | 122,214 | |
| Republican | Michael Berlanga | 40.6% | 83,522 | |
| Total Votes | 205,736 | |||
2010
- See also: Texas State Senate elections, 2010
Uresti ran for re-election to the 19th District seat in 2010. He defeated Luis Juarez in the Democratic primary on March 3, 2010. Uresti received 25,969 votes while Juarez received 8,125.[11] Dick Bowen ran for the seat on the Republican ticket.
Uresti defeated Republican candidate Dick Bowen and Libertarian candidate Mette Baker in the general election on November 6, 2012.[11]
| Texas State Senate, District 19 2010 General election results | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Candidates | Votes | Percent | ||
| Carlos Uresti (D)
|
61,327 | 52.13% | ||
| Dick Bowen (R) | 53,024 | 45.08% | ||
| Mette Baker (L) | 3,269 | 2.77% | ||
2006
On Nov. 7, 2006, Uresti won election to the 19th District Seat in the Texas State Senate, defeating opponent Dick Bowen (R).[11]
Uresti raised $71,741,045 for his campaign while Bowen raised $99,113.[12]
| Texas State Senate, District 19 (2006) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Candidates | Votes | Percent | ||
| Carlos Uresti (D)
|
58,876 | 59.17% | ||
| Dick Bowen (R) | 40,621 | 40.82% | ||
Campaign finance summary
Note: The finance data shown here comes from the disclosures required of candidates and parties. Depending on the election or state, this may represent only a portion of all the funds spent on their behalf. Satellite spending groups may or may not have expended funds related to the candidate or politician on whose page you are reading this disclaimer. Campaign finance data from elections may be incomplete. For elections to federal offices, complete data can be found at the FEC website. Click here for more on federal campaign finance law and here for more on state campaign finance law.
Scorecards
A scorecard evaluates a legislator’s voting record. Its purpose is to inform voters about the legislator’s political positions. Because scorecards have varying purposes and methodologies, each report should be considered on its own merits. For example, an advocacy group’s scorecard may assess a legislator’s voting record on one issue while a state newspaper’s scorecard may evaluate the voting record in its entirety.
Ballotpedia is in the process of developing an encyclopedic list of published scorecards. Some states have a limited number of available scorecards or scorecards produced only by select groups. It is Ballotpedia’s goal to incorporate all available scorecards regardless of ideology or number.
Click here for an overview of legislative scorecards in all 50 states. To contribute to the list of Texas scorecards, email suggestions to editor@ballotpedia.org.
2018
In 2018, the Texas State Legislature did not hold a regular session.
2017
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2017, click [show]. |
|---|
|
In 2017, the Texas State Legislature was in its 85th legislative session from January 10 through May 29. A special session was held from July 18 to August 15.
|
2016
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2016, click [show]. |
|---|
|
In 2016, the Texas State Legislature did not hold a regular session. |
2015
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2015, click [show]. |
|---|
|
In 2015, the Texas State Legislature was in its 84th legislative session from January 13 through June 1.
|
2014
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2014, click [show]. |
|---|
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In 2014, the Texas State Legislature did not hold a regular session. |
2013
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2013, click [show]. |
|---|
|
In 2013, the Texas State Legislature was in its 83rd legislative session from January 8 through May 27. Thirty minutes after the regular session ended, Governor Rick Perry called legislators back for a special session starting that evening.[13] Two additional called sessions were held from July 1 through July 30 and July 30 through August 5.[14]
|
2012
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2012, click [show]. |
|---|
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In 2012, the Texas State Legislature did not hold a regular session. |
2011
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2011, click [show]. |
|---|
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In 2011, the Texas State Legislature was in its 82nd legislative session from January 11 through May 30. A special session was called for May 31 through June 29.[14]
|
Personal
Note: Please contact us if the personal information below requires an update.
Uresti has two children. He lives in San Antonio, Texas.
Noteworthy events
Twelve-year prison sentence for fraud and money laundering (2018)
On June 26, 2018, U.S. District Judge David Ezra sentenced Uresti to 12 years in prison after a 12-person jury unanimously found Carlos Uresti guilty on multiple counts of fraud and money laundering.[15]
Uresti initially said he would appeal the verdict and had no plans to step down, even though Senate Democrats called for his resignation.[16] Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick (R), who presided over the state Senate at the time, relieved Uresti of his committee assignments, effective February 22, 2018.[16] On June 18, 2018, Uresti announced he would resign effective June 21, 2018.[1]
On April 13, 2018, the State Bar of Texas ruled that Uresti was no longer eligible to practice law in Texas.[17]
Uresti was charged in an 11-count indictment, including multiple counts of fraud and money laundering, in May 2017.[18] The charges were in connection with FourWinds Logistics, a now-bankrupt oilfield services company that the government alleged defrauded investors. Uresti, the company's general counsel, allegedly received a commission for recruiting investors.[16] According to Texas Monthly, Uresti claimed he was unaware of FourWinds' fraudulent activities.[19]
Uresti denies sexual misconduct allegations (2017)
On December 6, 2017, the Daily Beast published an article that contained multiple allegations of sexual misconduct against state Sen. Borris Miles (D) and Uresti. The claims included an intern saying that Miles had propositioned her for sex and a journalist saying Uresti had made inappropriate comments about her undergarments. Miles did not respond to the allegations, and Uresti denied them.[20]
On February 27, 2018, two additional came forward to the Daily Beast and accused Uresti of sexual misconduct.[21]
As of December 2019, this misconduct story appeared to be concluded and Ballotpedia discontinued active coverage. Please contact us if new developments occur with this story.
Taxpayer money for flights
Texas Watchdog reported in November 2009 that Uresti spent taxpayer money on specially hired flights through the Texas Department of Transportation. Uresti spent $15,100 for four flights between January 1, 2008-May 1, 2009.[22]
In the same article, Texas senators Robert Duncan (R) and John Carona (R) were also cited for having racked up large travel reimbursement bills.
Recent news
The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms Carlos Uresti Texas Senate. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.
See also
- Texas State Legislature
- Texas State Senate
- Texas Senate Committees
- Texas Joint Committees
- Texas state legislative districts
- Texas State Senate elections, 2016
External links
- Carlos Uresti official website
- Uresti Law website
- Profile from Open States
- Carlos Uresti on Facebook
- Biography from Project Vote Smart
- Legislative profile from Project Vote Smart
- Campaign contributions: 2012, 2010, 2008, 2006, 2004, 2002, 2000, 1998
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 News4sa.com, "State senator Carlos Uresti resigns," June 18, 2018
- ↑ The Texas Tribune, "Texas Sen. Carlos Uresti indicted on fraud, bribery charges," May 16, 2017
- ↑ Kens5.com, "Former State Sen. Carlos Uresti sentenced to 12 years in federal fraud case," June 26, 2018
- ↑ My San Antonio, "Convicted state Sen. Carlos Uresti surrenders law license," April 14, 2018
- ↑ Project Vote Smart, "Biography," accessed May 24, 2014
- ↑ Market Wired, "Planet Resource Recovery, Inc. Adds Texas State Senator to Advisory Board," December 23, 2014
- ↑ Texas Secretary of State, "Important 2016 Election Dates," accessed December 14, 2015
- ↑ Texas Secretary of State, "2016 General Election," accessed December 2, 2016
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 Texas Secretary of State, "2016 March Primary Election Candidate Filings by County," accessed August 22, 2016
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 Texas Secretary of State, "1992 - Current Election History results," accessed August 22, 2016
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 11.2 11.3 Texas Secretary of State, "1992 - Current Election History," accessed February 17, 2014
- ↑ Follow the Money, "2006 Candidate funds," accessed May 24, 2014
- ↑ kten.com, "Texas Lawmakers To Tackle Redistricting In Special Session," May 29, 2013
- ↑ 14.0 14.1 Legislative reference Library of Texas, "Texas Legislative Sessions and Years," accessed June 13, 2014
- ↑ The Texas Tribune, "Former state Sen. Carlos Uresti sentenced to 12 years in prison," June 26, 2018
- ↑ 16.0 16.1 16.2 The Texas Tribune, "Jury finds state Sen. Carlos Uresti guilty of 11 felonies, leading to calls from Democratic colleagues to resign," February 22, 2018
- ↑ Kens5 Eyewitness News, "Sen. Uresti ineligible to practice law in Texas following conviction," April 13, 2018
- ↑ San Antonio Current, "Senator Carlos Uresti Found Guilty on All Charges in Federal Fraud Trial," February 22, 2018
- ↑ Texas Monthly, "Will State Senator Carlos Uresti Step Down?" February 22, 2018
- ↑ Daily Beast, "‘You Want to F*ck With Me Tonight?’: Horror Stories from the Texas Capitol," December 6, 2017
- ↑ Daily Beast, "Women Say Texas Senator’s a Creep. Court Says He’s a Fraud. But He Won’t Leave Office.," February 28, 2018
- ↑ Texas Watchdog, "State senators rack up big bills using charter flights, personal planes," November 5, 2009
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Frank Madla |
Texas Senate District 19 2007-2018 |
Succeeded by Peter Flores (R) |
