district succeeded birth_place party preceded birth_date term article_title state name
23rd henry bonilla asherton , texas democratic party abraham kazen 8 april 1935 january , 1993 3 , 1985 & ndash ; january 3 albert bustamante
 texas albert garza bustamante
albert bustamante

albert garza bustamante -lrb- born april 8 , 1935 -rrb- is a former member of the united states house of representatives from texas .
a democrat , he was a prominent hispanic member of the house .
bustamante was born and raised in asherton , texas , to a family of mexican migrant workers .
after graduating from high school , he enlisted in the united states army , serving for two years as a paratrooper .
in 1958 , he enrolled in san antonio college , earning an associate 's degree .
bustamante then went on to major in education at sul ross state college .
after earning his degree , he was hired as a teacher at san antonio 's cooper jr. .
high school .
in 1968 , bustamante took a job as an aide to congressman henry gonzalez .
in his first run for elective office in 1972 , bustamante was elected as a bexar county , texas , commissioner .
he then was elected as a county judge in 1978 and served on the state 's jail standard commission .
bustamante burst into the national spotlight in 1984 , when he challenged nine-term incumbent chick kazen in the democratic primary for .
no republican even filed in this heavily democratic , hispanic-majority district , meaning that the democratic primary was the real election .
he defeated kazen in an upset , all but assuring his election in november .
he was reelected three times from this vast district , which spanned 800 miles from his home in san antonio to el paso .
while in congress , he served on the armed services committee and helped to keep open several texan military bases .
he served on the procurement and military nuclear systems subcommittee , the subcommittee on energy , and the natural resources subcommittee .
in 1987 and 1988 he supported nuclear test ban amendments , and he voiced concern for environmental and safety problems in the nation 's nuclear production plants .
he played an important role in delaying funding for a special isotope separation project in idaho .
in 1985 bustamante was elected president of his democratic freshman class in the u.s. house of representatives and was assigned to the committees on armed services and government operations .
bustamante changed his support of the administration 's policy toward nicaragua .
in 1986 he voted to authorize an aid package for the contras , but in the following two years he voted against contra aid .
in the 100th congress , bustamante was assigned to the select committee on hunger .
he worked to increase nutrition funding for hispanics , and brought attention to the `` colonias , '' or rural slums , where many hispanic immigrants live in deplorable conditions .
in december 1990 bustamante became a member of the house democratic steering and policy committee .
that same year he voted to approve a civil rights bill and pass a family and medical leave bill over president bush 's veto .
he was also a member of the house task force on drugs and crime , in which he used his power to push for tighter border controls to keep out illegal drugs from mexico .
bustamante called for deficit reduction , but also believed that more money should be spent on education and health care .
in 1992 , bustamante was investigated for fraud and racketeering , which ruined his reputation .
he was not helped by the 1990s round of redistricting , which carved the 28th district out of most of bustamante 's territory and left a heavily republican section of western san antonio in the 23rd .
bustamante 's republican opponent , popular newscaster henry bonilla , hammered bustamante for neglecting the needs of his constituents , excessive junketeering and writing 30 bad checks in the house banking scandal .
although bill clinton carried the district , bustamante lost to bonilla by a 21-point margin -- the largest margin of defeat for an incumbent that year .
bustamante was convicted of accepting bribes and racketeering in 1993 and was sentenced to 42 months in prison .
since his release , bustamante has faded from politics .
he currently lives in san antonio with his wife , rebecca , and owns a local shopping center .
