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CONCURRENT RESOLUTION
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WHEREAS, The city of San Antonio and the State of Texas lost |
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an admired public servant and political activist with the passing |
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of Choco Gonzalez Meza on October 9, 2016, at the age of 64; and |
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WHEREAS, The daughter of Alfonso and Josefa Gonzalez, the |
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former Choco Gonzalez was born in 1952 in Zaragoza, Coahuila, |
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Mexico, and grew up in Eagle Pass; she settled in her adopted |
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hometown of San Antonio in 1971, when she enrolled at St. Mary's |
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University; and |
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WHEREAS, It was while in college that Ms. Meza first became |
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involved in public policy issues; as a research assistant, she |
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helped draft the 10-1 single member district plan for council |
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representation that was adopted by the city in 1977, and the same |
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year, she was recruited as research director for the Southwest |
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Voter Registration Education Project; in 1981, she became the only |
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Hispanic YWCA executive director in the country, and she went on to |
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serve as executive director of the Rockefeller Foundation Project's |
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Partnership for Hope beginning in 1988; four years later, she |
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relocated to the nation's capital and put her skills to work in the |
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federal government, serving as deputy assistant secretary for |
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intergovernmental relations and White House liaison for the |
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Department of Housing and Urban Development; and |
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WHEREAS, After returning to Texas in 1996, Ms. Meza became |
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senior vice president of the San Antonio Housing Authority, and she |
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later held the office of president for the nonprofit organization |
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American Sunrise, which provides support for at-risk youth and |
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families in San Antonio; she found success in her personal business |
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ventures as well, working as a real estate agent and operating her |
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own company, CGM Consultants; and |
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WHEREAS, An influential leader in the Democratic Party, |
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Ms. Meza championed voting rights and equal representation causes, |
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and she managed campaigns at the local, state, and national levels; |
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she was chair of the Bexar County Democratic Party, a member of the |
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State Democratic Executive Committee and the Democratic National |
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Committee, and the lead organizer for Hillary Clinton's |
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presidential campaign headquarters in San Antonio; and |
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WHEREAS, Ms. Meza also cherished her roles as a wife and |
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mother; she and her husband, Daniel Meza, shared a rewarding |
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marriage that spanned 44 years, and she took great pride in her |
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children, Danny Meza and Ivalis Gonzalez, and in her granddaughter, |
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Emma Maria; and |
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WHEREAS, Choco Gonzalez Meza devoted her life to addressing |
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the vital issues facing our communities, and the positive changes |
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she helped bring about will continue to resonate for many years to |
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come; now, therefore, be it |
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RESOLVED, That the 85th Legislature of the State of Texas |
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hereby pay tribute to the memory of Choco Gonzalez Meza and extend |
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sincere condolences to all who mourn her passing; and, be it further |
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RESOLVED, That an official copy of this resolution be |
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prepared for her family and that when the Texas House of |
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Representatives and Senate adjourn this day, they do so in memory of |
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Choco Gonzalez Meza. |