Trey Martinez Fischer

Texas politician

Trey Martinez Fischer
Minority Leader of the Texas House of Representatives
Incumbent
Assumed office
January 10, 2023
Preceded byChris Turner
Member of the Texas House of Representatives
from the 116th district
Incumbent
Assumed office
January 8, 2019
Preceded byDiana Arévalo
In office
January 9, 2001 – January 10, 2017
Preceded byLeo Alvarado
Succeeded byDiana Arévalo
Personal details
Born
Ferdinand Frank Fischer III

(1970-06-05) June 5, 1970 (age 53)
San Antonio, Texas, U.S.
Political partyDemocratic
SpouseElizabeth
Children2
EducationUniversity of Texas, San Antonio (BA)
Baruch College (MPA)
University of Texas, Austin (JD)
NicknameTMF

Trey Martinez Fischer (born June 6, 1970), legally Ferdinand Frank Fischer III,[1] is a Democratic member of the Texas House of Representatives who represents the San Antonio-based 116th District, serving since 2019. He previously held this seat from 2000 through 2017. In January 2017, he was succeeded in the position by Diana Arevalo, the secretary for the Bexar County Democratic Party. In 2018, he unseated Arevalo in the Democratic primary for his former state House seat.[2] He won the subsequent general election on November 6 over the Republican nominee Fernando Padron, 32,375 votes (70.4 percent) to 13,612 (29.6 percent). Martinez Fischer returned to the House in January 2019.[3]

Martinez Fischer was born and raised in San Antonio. He graduated from Oliver Wendell Holmes High School. He received his Bachelor of Arts from the University of Texas at San Antonio, and in 1994 was selected to study as a National Urban Fellow. He is a graduate of Baruch College of Public Affairs in New York City, and the University of Texas School of Law.

He was named one of the "10 Best Legislators" by Texas Monthly magazine in both 2013 and 2015,[4] who described him as a "soldier prepared to do battle but ready to make peace". The Houston Chronicle and the San Francisco Chronicle named him one of the "20 Latino political rising stars of 2012",[5] placing him among those under 55, "who just might change the face of American politics over the next two decades".

Martinez Fischer is the chairman of the Mexican American Legislative Caucus.[6]

Legislative career

Martinez Fischer was first elected to the seat of District 118 in the Texas House of Representatives in 2000. In 2011, he was the lead Democratic author on HB 3727, the Boeing Bill. As a result of this bill, Air Force One will be refitted and repaired in San Antonio.[7]

He was selected by then House Speaker Joe Straus to sit on the Select Committee on Transparency in State Agency Operations,[8] and the Select Committee on Redistricting during the first called special session of the 83rd Legislature.

On February 17, 2015, Martinez Fischer was defeated in a special election by fellow Democratic House colleague Jose Menendez for the District 26 seat in the Texas Senate. The regular election was hotly contested, with Martinez Fischer earning a double-digit lead over his opponent. In a special runoff election marked by low turnout among Democratic voters and unprecedented participation by San Antonio Republicans, Menendez edged out Martinez Fischer.[citation needed]

Martinez Fischer challenged and lost again to Menendez for a full Senate term in the Democratic primary on March 1, 2016. Diana Arevalo won the Democratic primary for the seat Martinez Fischer held through 2017, and as she was unopposed in the general election, succeeded Martinez Fischer in January 2017.[citation needed]

Martinez Fischer returned to the Texas House of Representatives in 2019, having won both the primary and general elections in 2018.

Disparaging remarks

On June 27, 2014, while speaking at the Texas Democratic Convention, Martinez Fischer used an ethnic slur in Spanish to describe the Republican Party, saying "GOP" should stand for "gringos y otros pendejos." His office had also been handing out six Lotería cards to delegates, one depicting Republican gubernatorial candidate Greg Abbott as "El Diablito." Martinez Fischer responded by saying that if he had known Abbott was in attendance, he would have "told him directly to his face."[9]

Personal life

He and his wife, the former Elizabeth Provencio, an attorney and trustee of the San Antonio Water System, are the parents of two daughters.[citation needed]

References

  1. ^ "Texas Dem. serves seven terms under Latino alias". BizPac Review. October 11, 2013. Retrieved July 13, 2021.
  2. ^ Walters, Edgar (March 6, 2018). "Texas Rep. Dawnna Dukes and three other Democrats lose their state House seats". Texas Tribune. Retrieved March 8, 2018.
  3. ^ "Election Returns". Texas Secretary of State. November 6, 2018. Retrieved November 13, 2018.
  4. ^ Texas Monthly Magazine
  5. ^ Chronicle
  6. ^ "The new face of America", The Economist, retrieved July 21, 2009
  7. ^ Boeing will move up to 400 jobs to Alamo City, January 5, 2012, retrieved January 5, 2012
  8. ^ "Representative Trey Martinez Fischer", Texas House of Representatives, retrieved February 13, 2013
  9. ^ Greg Abbott: Wendy Davis' allies think Republicans are 'gringos' and 'pendejos', June 28, 2014, retrieved July 13, 2021

External links

  • Texas House of Representatives - Trey Martinez Fischer
  • Texas Tribune profile
  • Campaign website
Texas House of Representatives
Preceded by
Chris Turner
Minority Leader of the Texas House of Representatives
2023–present
Incumbent
  • v
  • t
  • e
Statewide political officials of Texas
U.S. senators
State governmentSenate
House
Supreme CourtCourt of Criminal Appeals
  • v
  • t
  • e
  • v
  • t
  • e
Majority leaders
Mark Wright (R)
David Moon (D)
Mike Moran (D)
Jamie Long (DFL)
[to be determined] (R)
Sue Vinton (R)
Ray Aguilar (R)*
Jason Osborne (R)
Mike Lefor (R)
Bill Seitz (R)
Josh West (R)
Ben Bowman (D)
Emily Long (D)
Federal districts:
Territories:
Rory Respicio (D)*
Ed Propst (D)
Kenneth Gittens (D)*
Political party affiliations
Republican: 28 states
Democratic: 21 states, 3 territories, 1 district
Popular Democratic: 1 territory
  • v
  • t
  • e
Minority leaders
Anthony Daniels (D)
James Gallagher (R)
Vic Miller (D)
Derrick Graham (D)
Matt Hall (R)
Kim Abbott (D)
Vacant*
Zac Ista (D-NPL)
Trey Martinez Fischer (D)
Mike Yin (D)
Federal districts:
None*
Territories:
Chris Duenas (R)*
Patrick San Nicolas (R)
Dwayne DeGraff (I)*
Political party affiliations
Democratic: 27 states
Republican: 21 states, 2 territories
Independent: 1 state
New Progressive: 1 territory
An asterisk (*) indicates a unicameral body.
  • v
  • t
  • e
88th Texas Legislature (2023)
Speaker of the House
Dade Phelan (R)
Speaker pro tempore
Charlie Geren (R)
  1. Gary VanDeaver (R)
  2. Jill Dutton (R)
  3. Cecil Bell Jr. (R)
  4. Keith Bell (R)
  5. Cole Hefner (R)
  6. Matt Schaefer (R)
  7. Jay Dean (R)
  8. Cody Harris (R)
  9. Trent Ashby (R)
  10. Brian Harrison (R)
  11. Travis Clardy (R)
  12. Kyle Kacal (R)
  13. Angelia Orr (R)
  14. John N. Raney (R)
  15. Steve Toth (R)
  16. Will Metcalf (R)
  17. Stan Gerdes (R)
  18. Ernest Bailes (R)
  19. Ellen Troxclair (R)
  20. Terry Wilson (R)
  21. Dade Phelan (R)
  22. Christian Manuel (D)
  23. Terri Leo-Wilson (R)
  24. Greg Bonnen (R)
  25. Cody Vasut (R)
  26. Jacey Jetton (R)
  27. Ron Reynolds (D)
  28. Gary Gates (R)
  29. Ed Thompson (R)
  30. Geanie Morrison (R)
  31. Ryan Guillen (R)
  32. Todd Ames Hunter (R)
  33. Justin Holland (R)
  34. Abel Herrero (D)
  35. Oscar Longoria (D)
  36. Sergio Muñoz Jr. (D)
  37. Janie Lopez (R)
  38. Erin Gamez (D)
  39. Armando Martinez (D)
  40. Terry Canales (D)
  41. Robert Guerra (D)
  42. Richard Raymond (D)
  43. J. M. Lozano (R)
  44. John Kuempel (R)
  45. Erin Zwiener (D)
  46. Sheryl Cole (D)
  47. Vikki Goodwin (D)
  48. Donna Howard (D)
  49. Gina Hinojosa (D)
  50. James Talarico (D)
  51. Lulu Flores (D)
  52. Caroline Harris (R)
  53. Andrew Murr (R)
  54. Brad Buckley (R)
  55. Hugh Shine (R)
  56. Charles Anderson (R)
  57. Richard Hayes (R)
  58. DeWayne Burns (R)
  59. Shelby Slawson (R)
  60. Glenn Rogers (R)
  61. Frederick Frazier (R)
  62. Reggie Smith (R)
  63. Ben Bumgarner (R)
  64. Lynn Stucky (R)
  65. Kronda Thimesch (R)
  66. Matt Shaheen (R)
  67. Jeff Leach (R)
  68. David Spiller (R)
  69. James Frank (R)
  70. Mihaela Plesa (D)
  71. Stan Lambert (R)
  72. Drew Darby (R)
  73. Carrie Isaac (R)
  74. Eddie Morales (D)
  75. Mary González (D)
  76. Suleman Lalani (D)
  77. Evelina Ortega (D)
  78. Joe Moody (D)
  79. Claudia Ordaz (D)
  80. Tracy King (D)
  81. Brooks Landgraf (R)
  82. Tom Craddick (R)
  83. Dustin Burrows (R)
  84. Carl Tepper (R)
  85. Stan Kitzman (R)
  86. John T. Smithee (R)
  87. Four Price (R)
  88. Ken King (R)
  89. Candy Noble (R)
  90. Ramon Romero Jr. (D)
  91. Stephanie Klick (R)
  92. Salman Bhojani (D)
  93. Nate Schatzline (R)
  94. Tony Tinderholt (R)
  95. Nicole Collier (D)
  96. David Cook (R)
  97. Craig Goldman (R)
  98. Giovanni Capriglione (R)
  99. Charlie Geren (R)
  100. Venton Jones (D)
  101. Chris Turner (D)
  102. Ana-Maria Ramos (D)
  103. Rafael Anchía (D)
  104. Jessica González (D)
  105. Terry Meza (D)
  106. Jared Patterson (R)
  107. Victoria Neave (D)
  108. Morgan Meyer (R)
  109. Carl O. Sherman (D)
  110. Toni Rose (D)
  111. Yvonne Davis (D)
  112. Angie Chen Button (R)
  113. Rhetta Bowers (D)
  114. John Bryant (D)
  115. Julie Johnson (D)
  116. Trey Martinez Fischer (D)
  117. Philip Cortez (D)
  118. John Lujan (R)
  119. Elizabeth Campos (D)
  120. Barbara Gervin-Hawkins (D)
  121. Steve Allison (R)
  122. Mark Dorazio (R)
  123. Diego Bernal (D)
  124. Josey Garcia (D)
  125. Ray Lopez (D)
  126. Sam Harless (R)
  127. Charles Cunningham (R)
  128. Briscoe Cain (R)
  129. Dennis Paul (R)
  130. Tom Oliverson (R)
  131. Alma Allen (D)
  132. Mike Schofield (R)
  133. Mano DeAyala (R)
  134. Ann Johnson (D)
  135. Jon Rosenthal (D)
  136. John Bucy III (D)
  137. Gene Wu (D)
  138. Lacey Hull (R)
  139. Jarvis Johnson (D)
  140. Armando Walle (D)
  141. Senfronia Thompson (D)
  142. Harold Dutton Jr. (D)
  143. Ana Hernandez (D)
  144. Mary Ann Perez (D)
  145. Christina Morales (D)
  146. Shawn Thierry (D)
  147. Jolanda Jones (D)
  148. Penny Morales Shaw (D)
  149. Hubert Vo (D)
  150. Valoree Swanson (R)