Henry B. González
| Enrique Barbosa "Henry B." González | |
U.S. Representative for Texas' 20th congressional district
| |
| In office November 4, 1961 – January 3, 1999 | |
| Preceded by | Paul J. Kilday |
|---|---|
| Succeeded by | Charlie González |
| In office 1957 – November 4, 1961 | |
Member of the San Antonio City Council
| |
| In office 1953–1956 | |
| Born | May 3, 1916 San Antonio, Texas |
| Died | November 28, 2000 (aged 84) San Antonio, Texas |
| Political party | Democrat |
| Spouse(s) | Bertha Cuellar González (married 1940) |
| Children | Eight children, including his congressional successor, Charlie Gonzalez |
| Alma mater | San Antonio College University of Texas at Austin St. Mary's University School of Law |
| Religion | Roman Catholic |
'Henry Barbosa González, born Enrique Barbosa González, known as Henry B. González ( May 3, 1916 – November 28, 2000), was a Democratic politician who represented Texas's 20th congressional district , based in his native San Antonio, from 1961 to 1999.[1] The downtown San Antonio convention center is named in his honor. González was the son of Mexican-born parents Genoveva Barbosa and Leonides González (from Durango), who came to Texas during the Mexican Revolution (1910-1920). He attended San Antonio College and the University of Texas at Austin for his bachelor's degree. He obtained the Juris Doctorate from S. Mary's University School of Law in San Antonio. He worked as a probation officer fand served from 1953 to 1956 on the San Antonio City Council. In 1956, he was elected to the Texas Senate, a post he filled until taking his congressional seat in 1961.
In September 1961, U. S. President John F. Kennedy appointed Rep. Paul J. Kilday of Texas's 20th congressional district to the United States Court of Military Appeals. González entered the special election for the seat in November 1961 and defeated a strong Republican candidate, attorney John William Goode (1923-1994), for whom former U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower came to San Antonio to endorse.[2] Mexican film star Cantinflas appeared with then Vice President Lyndon B. Johnson at supermarkets and shopping center to support González, who after that race would never again face a close outcome.[3] He was unopposed for a full term in 1962 and was reelected seventeen times thereafter. He never faced truly serious or well-funded opposition, having been unopposed in 1970, 1974, 1976, 1978, 1982, and 1984. In fact, the 20th was (and remains) so heavily Democratic that González faced Republican opposition only five times.
On November 22, 1963, González was in the motorcade in Dallas, when U.S. President John F. Kennedy was assassinated.
Earlier in 1963, González became embroiled in a public dispute with Ed Foreman, one of the then two Republican members of the Texas delegation to the U.S. House. When Foreman called him "a communist" and a "pinko", González confronted him. When a restaurant patron in 1986 called him "a communist," González punched the man in his face. He was acqauitted of assault after the owner of the establishment dropped charges.
Frequently González advocated the impeachment and conviction of Republican presidents Ronald Reagan, citing Iran-Contra, and George Herbert Walker Bush, whom he opposed politically.
González was a first cousin of the Laredo physician Joaquin Cigarroa.
References
- ↑ Official Congressional Biography
- ↑ Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; no text was provided for refs namedbcrh - ↑ Gilbert Garcia, "Castro unlike O'Rourke has much to lose," San Antonio Express-News, March 31, 2017, p. A2.
