U.S. Rep. Vicente Gonzalez (D-Texas) spoke at UTRGV last Thursday afternoon about his career, voting and answered audience questions.
The Political Science Association at UTRGV organized the event and invited the student body.
“We’re trying to advocate students to vote, to be politically involved in many ways shapes or forms,” said Paolo Ferrel, a political science senior and the association’s president. “So, that’s how the idea for the event started. We invited all candidates from District 15 of the U.S. Congress to come by.”
Ferrel said the association made sure the audience could ask all types of political questions.
“The whole point of the club is to promote a better political climate,” he said.
Gonzalez spoke about how he won the 2016 general election, what his job has been like, and answered students’ questions.
“I’d never held a political office prior to running for the United States Congress,” he said.
Gonzalez recalled asking some friends what they thought about him running for office.
“I heard crickets in return,” he said. “I didn’t have all the support, but we got on the ground and knocked on a lot of doors, talked to a lot of people.”
Gonzalez was sworn in on Jan. 3 of last year to represent the 15th District of Texas.
“It’s interesting to say, I think we’ve only had either four member or five members in the last 103 years representing the 15th District,” he said. “I think that’s not enough. Please remind me, at some point, when it’s time for me to go. We need to bring in fresh blood and new ideas into Congress.”
Gonzalez supports term limits.
He also talked about how he was a high school dropout.
“I returned to school, earned a GED. … I went to community college and graduated with an associate’s degree and went on to university,” Gonzalez said.
He said he completed law school after and practiced law for 20 years. Gonzalez said he is happy to represent his district.
“I’m honored,” he said. “It’s been a pretty intense time in Washington. It’s probably one of the most divisive periods in modern history.”
Among the bills Gonzalez has filed is the deported veterans bill.
“I filed a bill for veterans, the United States veterans, who fought for our country, and served our freedom and have been deported from the United States of America,” he said. “And, I can’t think of anything more shameful than to deport someone who wore a uniform and fought for our good.”
Gonzalez also answered several students’ questions.
Megan Martinez, a psychology senior, asked, “You spent the first year of your term getting acclimated. So that’s half of it, your term. … You were saying earlier that some of these things take time, like over several congresses. So, what are you thinking for term limits then?”
Gonzalez responded that term limits are 12 years under his bill.
“I think 12 years is plenty enough time to do whatever you came to Congress to do,” he said.
Gonzalez said the bill was controversial. Martinez also asked Gonzalez about what happened in regard to the open letter he wrote to Ivanka Trump, in which he invited her to visit the U.S.-Mexico border last August.
“I wrote a letter and [Melania Trump] came down and she had that jacket that she wore that day,” he said. “… Got a lot of international attention. … I don’t know why.”
Gonzalez then spoke about internal turnover.
“It’s been a tough two years at the White House and in Washington in general,” he said.
Gonzalez is seeking re-election to represent the 15th District. Republican Tim Westley and Libertarian Anthony Cristo are also candidates. They did not attend the event.
Early voting has ended, but Election Day is Tuesday.
For more information about joining the Political Science Association, contact Ferrel at paolo.ferrel@utrgv.edu.
