A
MEMORIAL
EXPRESSING CONDOLENCES OVER THE LOSS
OF TEXAS STATE REPRESENTATIVE IRMA RANGEL.
WHEREAS, Texas State
Representative Irma Rangel passed away on March 18, 2003 after a long battle
with cancer; and
WHEREAS, Representative Rangel
was the first Mexican-American woman elected to the Texas state house, in 1976;
and
WHEREAS, Representative Rangel
was a passionate advocate for the poor, the needy and the underserved; and
WHEREAS, when she saw a wrong
she would fight it and if she saw a right she would fight for it; and
WHEREAS, Representative Rangel
served as chairwoman of the Texas house higher education committee, and she
authored the Texas state law that required Texas colleges and universities to
automatically admit high school students who graduated in the top ten percent
of their class; and
WHEREAS, Representative Rangel
graduated from St. Mary's university school of law in San Antonio, Texas; and
WHEREAS, Representative Rangel
closed her private law practice in 1993 to devote herself to the people of
Texas' forty-third house district; and
WHEREAS, Representative Rangel
was a role model for Hispanic lawmakers throughout Texas and the southwest; and
WHEREAS, her passion for the
people she represented should be modeled by all legislators in the United
States;
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED
BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO that condolences be
expressed to the family of Representative Rangel, the Texas house of
representatives, the Texas Hispanic caucus and the people of the state of
Texas; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that
copies of this memorial be transmitted to the family of Representative Irma
Rangel and to the Texas house of representatives.