Solomon Ortiz

Solomon Ortiz was born in Robstown, Nueces County, Texas; his family had immigrated from Mexico. As a boy, he held several odd 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. Ortiz joined the United States Army in 1960, serving two years and earning his GED. He received basic training at Fort Hood, Texas, and served a tour of duty in Verdun and Vitry-le-François, France. Expressing his interest in law enforcement, Ortiz was reassigned to the 61st Military Police Company Criminal Investigation Office and received advanced military police training at Fort Gordon, Georgia. After returning to South Texas, Ortiz worked for three years as an insurance agent. ==Early political career==

In 1964, he was urged by friends to run for Nueces County constable, and was elected in 1965, defeating the incumbent in a runoff election. 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. ==U.S. House of Representatives==

Elections When the 27th District was created in 1982, Ortiz ran for the seat on a platform of jobs incentives and attention to education. defeating Republican State Representative Joe Salem. In the general election, he won with 64% of the vote. He won re-election 13 times, dipping below 60% of the vote only four times before 2010. His lowest winning percentage was in 1992, when he defeated Republican Jay Kimbrough 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. 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==