State Senator Juan "Chuy" Hinojosa

Prior to his election to the Texas Senate in 2002, Sen. Juan "Chuy" Hinojosa Hinojosa served in the Texas House from 1981 to 1990 and from 1997 to 2002. As a member of the Senate Finance Committee, Sen. Hinojosa secured $84.7 million for the construction of new facilities at universities in District 20. He has also fought to ensure that South Texans are charged fair utility rates and is an outspoken advocate for the rights of working families to enroll their children in state-supported health insurance.

Hinojosa served in the U.S. Marines as a squad leader in the Vietnam War from 1966 to 1968. In 1974, he received his law degree from Georgetown University. After returning to South Texas, he served as staff attorney for the Legal Aid Society of Nueces County and as an Assistant Attorney General for the Office of the Attorney General. In 1980, Hinojosa went into private practice in McAllen.

Sen. Hinojosa has twice been named one of Texas' "Top 10 Legislators" by Texas Monthly magazine, and he was named "Legislator of the Year" by the National Organization for Women. In 2005, he was recognized as a Legislator of the Year by the Justices of the Peace and Constables Association of Texas, and he received the John Henry Faulk Award from the American Civil Liberties Union. In 2006, Sen. Hinojosa was awarded the Public Servant of the Year Award by the Texas Coalition of Texans with Disabilities.