DOMINGUEZ TAKES ON 28-YEAR OLIVEIRA DYNASTY FOR TEXAS HOUSE DISTRICT 37

By Juan Montoya
No one thought former U.S, Congressman Solomon Ortiz would be defeated after 28 years in office.
And no one though that his son Solomon Jr. would lose his Texas House of Representatives seat either.
And few though that Tara Rios would be defeated by J.M. Lozano, of Kingsville in 2010.
But they were.
And now, Brownsville attorney Alejandro Dominguez is hoping that Distract 37 voters have had enough of incumbent Rene Oliveira, who's held that office for 28 years since 1991.
Alejandro announced his candidacy to take on Oliveira promising bipartisanship if elected and a willingness to give voters more visible representation and to interact with the voters of the district.
Apparently, Alejandro thinks the voters have signalled that the time is ripe for new blood.
He was an assistant Cameron County district attorney and opened his law practice in 2005.
Dominguez comes from a family of 10, six of whom are teachers, and he thinks that experience in the classroom will allow him to formulate creative solutions to school funding and improve education for the district schoolchildren. He has a Bachelor of Arts in political science from Rice University and a law degree from Arizona State University.
His campaign literature lists him as a member of the local bar association and as the president of the Los Diez Education Foundation, which has provided scholarships to graduating high school seniors in La Feria for 15 years, his alma mater.
“I am running because I believe that I can provide better representation for this district,” Dominguez told the local daily.
In facing Oliveria, Dominguez is aware that he is going against the latest of a powerful and influential family. Whether it's Ortiz, Lucio, or Oliveira, the names evince recognition for their lengthy permanence in public office.
However, some say that in recent years the state representative has lost touch with his constituents and is rarely seen at public events except when his reelection comes around.
Previous challengers have repeatedly pointed out Oliveira's role in the formation of the UTB-TSC partnership that left the community college district at the mercy of the powerful UT System and relied on the local tax base as a subsidy.
A majority of TSC trustees decided to separate the community college from the UT System and pushed through legislation to make the separation a reality. One trustee went as far as to attend the hearings in the House to make sure Oliveira carried out the boards' wishes. Oliveria and his cousin David, a TSC trustee, had argued against the separation.
More recently, others have questioned whether Oliveira still has the passion to serve the public after 28 years in Austin.
"Rene was groomed for the position," recalled a former fellow student at UT. "He knew that he was to graduate from law school, then to go home and with his family name get elected to public office. The plan was laid out for him and handed to him on a silver platter. Dominguez is one of 10 kids from a working-class family. There is a big difference."