Julian Castro

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For the former president of Venezuela, see Julián Castro.
Julian Castro
Mayor of San Antonio
Incumbent
Assumed office
June 1, 2009
Preceded by Phil Hardberger
Personal details
Born (1974-09-16) September 16, 1974
San Antonio, Texas, U.S.
Political party Democratic
Spouse(s) Erica Lira
Alma mater Stanford University
Harvard Law School
Religion Roman Catholicism

Julián Castro (/ˌhuːliˈɑːn/ hoo-lee-AHN,[1] Spanish pronunciation: [xuˈljan]; born September 16, 1974) is an American politician of Mexican descent and the current Mayor of San Antonio, Texas. Castro served on the San Antonio City Council for four years before becoming mayor. He is a graduate of Stanford University and Harvard Law School.

Early life and education

Castro was born in San Antonio, on September 16, 1974,[2] to Maria "Rosie" Castro and Jessie Guzman.[3] He is the identical twin brother of politician Joaquín Castro.[2] His mother was a Chicano political activist who helped establish the Chicano political party La Raza Unida.[4] She ran unsuccessfully for San Antonio City Council in 1971.[2] Castro has said, "My mother is probably the biggest reason that my brother and I are in public service. Growing up, she would take us to a lot of rallies and organizational meetings and other things that are very boring for an 8-, 9-, 10-year-old".[5] His father, Jessie Guzman, was a community activist in the 1970s and a retired math teacher. Never married, Rosie and Jessie separated when Castro was eight years old.[4] Castro was raised on the west side of San Antonio. His family's San Antonio roots trace back to 1920, when his grandmother, Victoria Castro, joined extended family members there as a 6-year-old orphan from northern Mexico.[2]

Castro was a sports buff growing up, as he collected trading cards and played football and basketball before taking up tennis in high school.[6] He had received an offer to play tennis at Trinity University, a NCAA Division III school.[7] Castro skipped his sophomore year[8] and graduated from Thomas Jefferson High School in 1992,[9] ranking ninth in his class.[4] He graduated in 1996 from Stanford University, majoring in political science and communications. He said he began thinking about entering politics while at Stanford,[4] where he and his brother launched their first campaigns and won student senate seats, tying for the highest number of votes.[2] Castro has credited affirmative action for his admission into Stanford, telling The New York Times, "Joaquín and I got into Stanford because of affirmative action. I scored 1,210 on my SATs, which was lower than the median matriculating student. But I did fine in college and in law school. So did Joaquín. I’m a strong supporter of affirmative action because I’ve seen it work in my own life".[10] Castro entered Harvard Law School in 1997 and graduated with a Juris Doctor in 2000.[11][12] His brother graduated from both schools with him.[4] After law school, the two brothers continued together to work for the law firm Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld before starting their own firm in 2005.[13]

Career and family

Castro was elected to the San Antonio City Council in 2001, winning 61 percent of the vote against five challengers. He was the youngest city councilman in San Antonio history, beating out former mayor and Housing and Urban Development secretary Henry Cisneros, who won his council seat in 1975 when he was 27-years-old. Castro represented District 7, a precinct on the city’s west side with 115,000 residents. The population was 70 percent Hispanic and included a large number of senior citizens.[14] As a councilman from 2001 to 2005, he had opposed a PGA-approved golf course and large-scale real estate development on the city’s outer rim.[15] Castro ran for Mayor of San Antonio in 2005 and was widely viewed as the front runner in a field that also included retired judge Phil Hardberger and conservative city councilman Carroll Schubert.

Julian Castro and his twin brother Representative Joaquin Castro at the LBJ Presidential Library.

Castro received a plurality of the vote in the May 2005 primary election, but was defeated by approximately 4000 votes by Hardberger who received 51.5% of the votes in the June 2005 runoff.[16][17]

Castro married Erica Lira Castro in 2007. Their daughter was born in 2009.[4]

Castro ran for Mayor of San Antonio again in 2009, announcing his candidacy on November 5, 2008. Castro won the May 9th election with 56.23% of the vote, his closest opponent being Trish DeBerry-Mejia.[18] Castro is the fifth Latino mayor in the history of San Antonio.

Castro was re-elected in 2011, running against four candidates. The election results were as follows:[19]

  • Julian Castro (82.9%) 34,309 votes cast;
  • Will McLeod (6.76%) 2,846 votes cast;
  • Rhett R. Smith (5.11%) 2,153 votes cast;
  • James Rodriguez (3.98%) 1,675 votes cast; and
  • Michael "Commander" Idrogo (2.72%) 1,145 votes cast.

Voter turnout was around 7 percent of registered voters in the City of San Antonio, Texas.[19]

Castro delivered the keynote address at the 2012 Democratic National Convention in Charlotte, North Carolina.[20][21] He is the first Hispanic to deliver a keynote address at a Democratic National Convention.[22]

References

  1. ↑ Forsyth, Jim (2012-07-31). "Democratic orator Castro symbolizes Hispanic rise". Reuters. Retrieved 2012-09-04. 
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 MacLaggan, Corrie (2012-09-03). "For San Antonio mayor, reflections of American Dream in convention speech". Reuters. Retrieved 2012-09-03. 
  3. ↑ "Interview with Julian Castro". University of Texas San Antonio. 2005-11-09. Retrieved 2012-08-31. 
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 4.5 Jefferson, Greg. "What makes Castro run? It depends who is asked". San Antonio Express-News. Archived from the original on 2009-03-22. Retrieved 2009-08-17. 
  5. ↑ Fernandez, Manny (2012-09-03). "A Spotlight With Precedent Beckons a Mayor From Texas". The New York Times. Retrieved 2012-09-04. 
  6. ↑ Baugh, Josh; Gary Martin (2012-08-26). "Democrats view Castro as rising star". San Antonio Express-News. Retrieved 2012-09-03. 
  7. ↑ Garrett, Robert T. (2012-09-03). "Texan Julián Castro brings life of contrasts to Democratic convention speech". The Dallas Morning News. Retrieved 2012-09-04. 
  8. ↑ Lee, Oliver (2012-08-01). "7 Things to Know About San Antonio Mayor Julian Castro". TakePart. Retrieved 2012-09-03. 
  9. ↑ Duel, Chris (2012-09-01). "VIDEO & PHOTOS: Julián & Joaquín Castro’s Sendoff to Democratic National Convention". San Antonio Express-News. Retrieved 2012-09-03. 
  10. ↑ Chafets, Zev (2010-05-09). "The Post-Hispanic Hispanic Politician". The New York Times Magazine. Retrieved 2012-08-31. 
  11. ↑ Welch, Ben (2002). "Their Politics Is Local". Harvard Law Bulletin. Retrieved 2012-09-04. 
  12. ↑ "Speaker Biographies". Harvard Law School. 2012-08-27. Retrieved 2012-09-04. 
  13. ↑ "TRIBPEDIA: Julián Castro". "The Texas Tribune". Retrieved 2013-08-29. 
  14. ↑ Milanese, Marisa (2001). "'Man on a Fast Track'". Stanford Magazine. Retrieved 2012-09-04. 
  15. ↑ Russell, Jan Jarboe (2010-05-01). "Alamo Heights". Texas Monthly. Retrieved 2012-09-04. 
  16. ↑ "New mayor sets high goals for San Antonio". Houston Chronicle. June 9, 2005. Retrieved 5 September 2012. 
  17. ↑ http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2005-06-15-san-antonio_x.htm
  18. ↑ http://www.bexar.org/el45A.HTM
  19. ↑ 19.0 19.1 http://elections.bexar.org/reports/PDF/May%202011%20-%20Election%20Totals%20Report.HTM
  20. ↑ Henderson, Nia-Malika (July 31, 2012). "Julian Castro, Latino mayor of San Antonio, to keynote DNC convention". The Washington Post. Retrieved August 1, 2012. 
  21. ↑ Tau, Byron (July 31, 2012). "Julian Castro to deliver DNC keynote". Politico. Retrieved August 1, 2012. 
  22. ↑ Lilley, Sandra (September 5, 2012) "Julian Castro becomes first Hispanic to deliver keynote for Democrats", NBC News. Retrieved September 5, 2012.

External links

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Preceded by
Phil Hardberger		 Mayor of San Antonio
2009–present 		Incumbent
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Mark Warner		 Keynote Speaker of the Democratic National Convention
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