Solomon Porfirio Ortiz (born June 3, 1937) is an American former politician who served as the U.S. representative for , based in Corpus Christi, serving from 1983 until 2011. He is a member of the Democratic Party. In 2010, Ortiz was narrowly defeated by Republican challenger Blake Farenthold.

Early life, education, and business career

Solomon Ortiz was born in Robstown, Nueces County, Texas; his family had immigrated from Mexico. Ortiz was raised by José Ortiz and Feliciana Ochoa Ortiz, his father and mother, respectively. He grew up in a neighborhood called Cantarranas, or "singing frogs," made of Hispanics and Blacks during a time where discrimination was prevalent in his community. At a young age, Ortiz helped his family make money by picking cotton away from his hometown in West Texas before school started. As he grew up, Ortiz held several jobs, including working as a shoeshiner and an ink fogger for The Robstown Record's letter press. Ortiz befriended, and became fascinated with, law enforcement officers. He attended Robstown High School until the age of 19, when he dropped out after his father's death to help support his family by working for Robstown Record as a printing assistant. Then, Ortiz attended Del Mar College from 1965 to 1967.

Ortiz joined the United States Army in 1960, to support his working mother after his father's passing, He was elected to the county commissioners court of Nueces County in 1969, the first Hispanic to serve in that capacity. He remained in that position until 1976, when he was elected county sheriff, another first for a Hispanic in Nueces County. In 1982, Ortiz resigned as sheriff to run for Congress. defeating Republican State Representative Joe Salem. In the general election, he won with 64% of the vote. From 1986 to 1996, Ortiz would run without any competitive opposition in the Democratic primary, 10 years after his first election. 55%-43%.

;2010

On November 2, election night, Ortiz appeared to have lost to the Republican challenger, Blake Farenthold, but Ortiz requested a recount. The district was significantly redrawn after the 2010 census, and no Democrat has managed even 40 percent of the vote since Ortiz' defeat.

thumb|Ortiz speaking to an audience during [[National Hispanic Heritage Month]]

Tenure

Ortiz is a Democratic moderate. He is socially conservative, but economically liberal. For example, he is anti-abortion, but usually voted with his party on economic issues.

Committee assignments

;111th Congress

  • Committee on Armed Services
  • Subcommittee on Readiness (Chair)
  • Subcommittee on Seapower and Expeditionary Forces
  • Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure
  • Subcommittee on Aviation
  • Subcommittee on Highways and Transit
  • Subcommittee on Water Resources and Environment

;Previous committees

In 1983, as a freshman congressman, he was assigned to the U.S. Select Committee on Narcotics Abuse and Control. In 1993, Ortiz was named chairman of a House subcommittee that oversees the Gulf of Mexico.

See also

  • List of Hispanic and Latino Americans in the United States Congress

References

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  • Congressional profile at GovTrack
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  • Financial information (federal office) at OpenSecrets.org
  • Staff salaries, trips and personal finance at LegiStorm.com
  • Issue positions and quotes at On the Issues
  • Appearances on C-SPAN programs
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  • Profile at SourceWatch

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