Alex Dominguez (politician)
{{Short description|Texas politician (born 1970)}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| name = Alex Dominguez
| image =
| state_house = Texas
| state = Texas
| district = 37th
| term_start = January 8, 2019
| term_end = January 10, 2023
| predecessor = René Oliveira
| successor = Janie Lopez
| birth_name = Alejandro Gonzalez Dominguez
| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1970|12|06}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.txdirectory.com/online/person/?id=62357&office=16798|title = Rep. Alex Dominguez - Texas State Directory Online}}
| birth_place =
| death_date =
| death_place =
| party = Democratic
| residence = Brownsville, Texas, U.S.
| spouse =
| children =
| occupation =
| religion =
| profession =
| education = Rice University (BA)
Arizona State University (JD)
| website =
}}
Alejandro Gonzalez Dominguez (born December 6, 1970) is an American former politician. He is a former member of the Texas House of Representatives from District 37. He represented the district from January 8, 2019, to January 10, 2023.{{cite web|url=https://lrl.texas.gov/legeleaders/members/memberDisplay.cfm?memberID=5827|title=Alejandro Dominguez|work=Texas Legislators: Past & Present |publisher=Legislative Reference Library of Texas}}
Early life and education
Dominguez was born as the sixth child of ten children born to a migrant farmworker family.{{cite web|url=https://alexfortexas.com|title=Alex Dominguez campaign website|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211206022528/https://alexfortexas.com/|archive-date=December 6, 2021}} He received a Bachelor of Arts in political science from Rice University in 1993 and a Juris Doctor from the Sandra Day O'Connor College of Law at Arizona State University.{{citation needed|date=April 2025}}
Texas House of Representatives
On May 22, 2018, Dominguez unseated incumbent René Oliveira in a runoff election for Texas's 37th House of Representatives district. He ran unopposed in the November general election.{{Cite web|url=https://www.themonitor.com/2018/05/22/dominguez-unseats-oliveira-in-district-37-runoff/|title=Dominguez unseats Oliveira in District 37 runoff|last=Tamez-Robledo|first=Nadia|date=May 22, 2018|website=The Monitor|language=en-US|access-date=February 2, 2020}}
Dominguez announced his campaign for the Texas Senate (District 27) on November 17, 2021, intending to replace Eddie Lucio Jr. who was set to retire and not run for re-election.{{cite web|url= https://thetexan.news/state-rep-alex-dominguez-officially-announces-bid-for-south-texas-senate-seat/|title= State Rep. Alex Dominguez Officially Announces Bid for South Texas Senate Seat|last= Friend|first= Daniel|date= November 17, 2021|website=The Texan|publisher= |access-date=|quote=}}
During his tenure, he received thousands of dollars in campaign contributions from lobbyists at SpaceX. While in office, Dominguez voted on measures that spurred development beneficial to the company. He also owned land near SpaceX's Starbase, selling it after he left the legislature for US$330,000, more than 180 times the value of the land when he bought it in 2007. When Dominguez was a county commissioner, he also supported subsidies supporting SpaceX's early expansions. Dominguez told Reuters that an attorney for the commissioners agreed that there was no conflict of interest in him owning the land and his role. He also told Reuters that the campaign contributions and the sale of the land did not affect his decisions in office.{{Cite news |last=Taylor |first=Marisa |date=September 20, 2024 |title=The Boosters: Liftoff at Musk's SpaceX base was fueled by wheeling-dealing Texas politicians |url=https://www.reuters.com/investigates/special-report/spacex-texas-musk/ |access-date=September 20, 2024 |work=Reuters}}
References
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{{succession box
| before=René Oliveira
| title=Member of the
{{Nowrap|Texas House of Representatives}}
from District 37 (Cameron County)
| years=2019–2023
| after=Janie Lopez}}
{{s-end}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dominguez, Alex}}
Category:Place of birth missing (living people)
Category:Democratic Party members of the Texas House of Representatives
Category:Hispanic and Latino American state legislators in Texas
Category:Rice University alumni