John Lujan
| John I. Lujan, III | |
|---|---|
| Member of the Texas House of Representatives from the 118th district |
|
| Assumed office February 9, 2016 |
|
| Preceded by | Joe Farias |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 1962 San Antonio, Texas, USA |
| Political party | Republican |
| Spouse(s) | Freda Plair Lujan (married 1984) |
| Children | Five sons (three adopted) |
| Parents | Mr. and Mrs. John Lujan, II |
| Residence | San Antonio, Texas |
| Occupation | Retired firefighter Businessman |
| Religion | Baptist Church |
John I. Lujan, III (born 1962), is a retired firefighter from San Antonio, Texas, who is a Republican member of the Texas House of Representatives for District 118 in Bexar County. He defeated the Democrat Tomas Uresti, a member of the Harlandale Independent School District in a special election held on January 26, 2016 to fill the year remaining in the term of Joe Farias, who resigned in 2015. Lujan defeated Uresti, 1,879 (52.4 percent) to 1,708 (47.6 percent).[1]
Background
Lujan's mother is a former educator and school principal; his father, a retired Baptist minister, has been an interim pastor at Southside Baptist Church. He and his wife, the former Freda Plair (also born 1962), have fine sons, three of whom are adopted. He retired from the Fire Department in 2012 and is engaged in the technology industry in the firm Yash & Lujan, which employs 350 persons. and founded Sistema Technologies of San Antonio. Lujan is also a former Bexar County sheriff's deputy, with six years of service.[2]
Political life
Turnout in the special House election was only 4 percent of registered voters. Lujan is the first Republican to represent the heavily Democratic South Side of San Antonio in the state House. Democratic county chairman Manuel Medina said that his party's defeat was "not about change, it was just a bad night for Democrats."[3]
Lujan carried the support of Robert Stovall, chairman of the Bexar County Republican Party[3] and the industrialist/philanthropist B. J. "Red" McCombs. He assumed his seat on February 9, 2016. Texas Supreme Court Justice Eva Guzman, a Republican, administered his oath of office, and Joe Straus, Speaker of the Texas House of Representatives from San Antonio, was the master of ceremonies. Lujan said that Republicans had bragged too much about his victory, which exacerbated anger from the large Democratic majority in the South Side. "This is not about the parties. It is about us moving forward," Lujan said.[4]
Lujan ran again on March 1, 2016, in the Republican primary election for nomination to a full term, which begins in January 2017. He defeated Robert A. Casias of Somerset, 5,317 votes (72.8 percent) to 1,988 (27.2 percent).[5] Lujan now again faces Tomas Uresti in the November 8 general election. Uresti, the loser of the special election, defeated Gabe Farias (born 1971) in the Democratic primary, 5,110 votes (59.2 percent) to 3,528 (40.8 percent).[6]
In his primary bid, Lujan was endorsed by the San Antonio Express-News. Both Uresti and Farias are members of prominent Democrat political families in Bexar County.[7]
References
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- ↑ "Lujan merits GOP nod in District 118 race", San Antonio Express-News, February 7, 2016, p. F2
| Texas House of Representatives | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by
Joe Farias
|
Texas State Representative for District 118 (Bexar County) John I. Lujan, III |
Succeeded by Incumbent |
