Truan announces he will run again

The longtime senator has focused on education at all levels

AUSTIN – State Sen. Carlos Truan, D-Corpus Christi, said Tuesday that he will seek re-election to District 20, vowing to fight for more professional programs and doctoral degrees for South Texas universities.

”I am submitting myself to the voters to be reviewed and hopefully supported for an additional term in the Senate,” said 66-year-old Truan, who has served 33 years in the Legislature.

Truan’s re-election plans were no surprise because he has been raising money, meeting with constituents and hinting that he would run again. He has spent half of his life in the Legislature. Few expected him to retire.

The Kingsville native made his remarks at a Capitol news conference touting the merits of Proposition 7 on the Nov. 6 constitutional amendment ballot.

The proposition would authorize the Veterans Land Board to issue as much as $ 500 million in general obligation bonds for veteran home loans.

He will make official re-election announcements today in McAllen and in Corpus Christi on Thursday.

Several sources said Truan has been energized lately by his efforts to keep water-damage coverage in the standard homeowners’ insurance policy in Texas. Homeowners want mold coverage, but insurance officials say the number of water-related claims in Texas has increased dramatically, and they can no longer afford to cover such expenses.

He was elected to the Texas House in 1968 to represent Nueces County and to the Senate in 1976.

During his more than three decades in the Legislature, Truan has focused on education at all levels, and many people call him the father of bilingual education in Texas.

Truan wrote the Texas Bilingual Education Act of 1969 when the state had an English-only law and an 80 percent dropout rate among Hispanics.

He also wrote the Adult Education Act of 1973 when about 25 percent of Texans had no high school diploma.

His higher education accomplishments include legislation that led to the merger of universities and colleges in South Texas with the Texas A&M University and the University of Texas systems.

He also wrote legislation expanding Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi to a four-year school.

”If we don’t provide for the education of our young people today, we will pay the price tomorrow,” said Truan, who has been in the life insurance business since 1960.

Truan is chairman of the Senate Committee on Veteran Affairs and Military Installations, vice chairman of the State Affairs Committee and a member of the education and finance committees.

Truan said he didn’t announce his re-election sooner because he was waiting to see how redistricting would change District 20.

The new Senate district includes all of Nueces, Jim Wells and Brooks counties and part of Hidalgo County.

Hidalgo County has the most population in the district, accounting for 315,832 people, compared with Nueces County’s 313,645 people.

But Nueces County has more voting age residents, 224,528, to 206,001 in Hidalgo County.



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