Celia Israel

Celia Marie Israel (born July 15, 1964) is an American politician. She has represented the 50th district in the Texas House of Representatives since 2014. She is a member of the Democratic Party.[2]

Celia Israel
Member of the Texas House of Representatives
from the 50th district
Assumed office
February 12, 2014
Preceded byMark Strama
Personal details
Born (1964-07-15) July 15, 1964[1]
Political partyDemocratic
Residence(s)Austin, Texas, U.S.
ProfessionRealtor

Early life and career

Israel was raised in El Paso, Texas. She moved to the Austin area in 1982 to attend the University of Texas at Austin. After graduating with a degree in government, she served in Governor Ann Richards' administration. Israel is a licensed Texas realtor.

Political career

Israel won a special election held on January 28, 2014, to represent the 50th district in the Texas House of Representatives to succeed Mark Strama.[3]

Israel is a member of the Legislative Study Group, the Women's Health Caucus, the Mexican American Legislative Caucus, and is a founding member of the Texas House LGBTQ Caucus. She previously served as Vice Chair of the Texas House Democratic Caucus, overseeing the Steering and Policy Committee. She has proposed legislation to introduce online voter registration in Texas.[4] In September 2019, she was chosen to lead the Texas House Democratic Campaign Committee, a political action committee tasked with electing more Democrats to the Texas House.[5]

Israel has served on numerous boards and committees focused on multimodal transportation, food scarcity, and empowering the next generation of female leaders. During her first term in the legislature, she was named Freshman of the Year by the Legislative Study Group, a Champion of Equality by Equality Texas, and a Progressive Champion by Progress Texas. In 2018, Israel was inducted into the Austin Women's Hall of Fame.

In January 2022, Israel announced that she would run for mayor of Austin in the 2022 Austin mayoral election.[6]

Personal life

Israel lives with her long-time partner, Celinda Garza,[7] and their dogs, Pippa and Libby, in northeastern Travis County.

References
  1. "Rep. Celia Israel - Texas State Directory Online".
  2. Eaton, Tim (January 28, 2014). "Democrat Celia Israel leads Republican Mike VanDeWalle after early vote in House District 50 race". Austin American-Statesman. Retrieved April 25, 2017.
  3. Walters, Edgar (January 28, 2014). "Israel Wins HD-50 Special Election Runoff". The Texas Tribune. Retrieved April 25, 2017.
  4. Tribune, The Texas (May 14, 2018). "How a federal lawsuit could open the door to online voter registration in Texas". The Texas Tribune. Retrieved May 15, 2018.
  5. "INTERVIEW: Celia Israel takes on new role to turn the Texas House blue". Everything Lubbock. September 30, 2019.
  6. "State Rep. Celia Israel announces run for Austin mayor". January 11, 2022.
  7. "Lesbian Lawmaker's Partner Left Out of Legislative Directory". March 4, 2015.
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