Jason Villalba (born March 26, 1971) is an American politician and attorney who is a Republican former member of the Texas House of Representatives for District 114 in Dallas County.[1] He works for the law firm Frost Brown Todd.[2]
Jason Villalba | |
|---|---|
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| Member of the Texas House of Representatives from the 114th district | |
| In office January 8, 2013 – January 8, 2019 | |
| Preceded by | Will Ford Hartnett |
| Succeeded by | John Turner |
| Personal details | |
| Born | March 26, 1971 Dallas, Texas, U.S. |
| Political party | Republican |
| Spouse | Brooke Villalba |
| Children | 3 |
| Residence(s) | Richardson, Texas |
| Alma mater | South Grand Prairie High School University of Texas School of Law |
| Occupation | Attorney |
Villalba was defeated in the Republican primary on March 6, 2018, by Lisa Luby Ryan,[3] who then lost the general election to the Democrat John Turner.
Early life and education
editA fourth-generation Texan of Mexican descent, Villalba graduated from South Grand Prairie High School in Grand Prairie in the Mid-Cities section of Dallas, Ellis, and Tarrant counties. He studied economics and finance at Baylor University, and earned his Juris Doctor degree from The University of Texas School of Law in Austin.[4]
Career
editVillalba has practiced law at Haynes and Boone LLP, Gardere, and Foley and Lardner.[5] He is currently a member in the Dallas office of Frost Brown Todd.[2]
Political career
editWhen Republican Representative Will Ford Hartnett did not seek reelection after twenty-two years in the legislature, Villalba won the Republican nomination in a contested runoff election in District 114. His opponent, Bill Keffer of Dallas, had been from 2003 to 2007 the representative in District 107.[6] Villalba was endorsed by Mitt Romney and U.S. Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison.[7] In the May 29 primary, the 1,138 votes (11.4 percent) polled by David Boone were sufficient to require a second round of balloting on July 31 between Keffer, who led with 4,745 votes (47.5 percent), and Villaba, who finished with 4,114 ballots. (41.2 percent).[8] In the Republican runoff, Villalba defeated Keffer by a narrow margin, 6,100 (51.8 percent) to 5,683 (48.2 percent).[9] In the general election, Villalba defeated Democratic former Representative Carol Kent, 33,970 votes (54.2 percent) to 28,762 (45.8 percent).[10]
In 2013, Representative Villalba voted to increase numerous requirements for clinics performing abortions, which opponents argued were so strict that they could lead to the closure of every facility offering such services, and to forbid the practice after twenty weeks of gestation.[11][12]
In his second month as a legislator, Villalba drew the opposition of conservatives opposed to implementation of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act when he conceded, with the U.S. Supreme Court's decision in June 2012 to uphold the federal health law as constitutional, that Texas should consider all available options in determining whether to implement state health-insurance exchanges to create a marketplace for those individuals without health coverage.[13]
In December 2014, Villalba introduced HJR55,[14] a resolution calling for an amendment to the Texas Constitution to protect freedom of religion. The measure would simultaneously strike down non-discrimination laws at the city and county level throughout Texas. The resolution was opposed by Democrats, Republicans, and business leaders and was eventually withdrawn.[15] Eric Nicholson of the Dallas Observer stated that Villalba proposed the amendment in "direct response to Plano's new LGBT protections."[16]
On March 10, 2015, Villalba introduced a bill that criminalizes photographing, recording, or documenting police officers from closer than 25 feet, or 100 feet if photographer has a concealed handgun license. Exceptions are made only for registered representatives of major new media organizations.[17] House Bill 2918 may conflict with the 2011 U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit ruling, Glik v. Cunniffe, which states that citizens have right to record police in action.[18] The bill has been described as follows: "Villalba's bill would also make it illegal for private citizens to record their own interactions with police officers. In fact, the language is so broad, in prohibiting "documenting" the police officer's activities, that taking notes during a conversation with an officer, about what was being said, the officer's badge number, etc., could be construed as a violation."[19] After heavy criticism about the bill on social media, he became the subject of a Dallas Observer blog about his blocking on Twitter of critics or even reporters asking questions.[20]
Villalba was a legislative ally of Joe Straus, the Moderate Republican Speaker of the Texas House of Representatives from San Antonio, who left the post in 2019. In 2014, Villalba said that the Texas Senate under Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick in 2015 would be "the most conservative in state history." He warned that a number of bills coming from the Senate would be killed by the more liberal House. Villalba said that the Straus forces would "obstruct Senate-passed reforms [through] the House Calendars Committee, where conservative bills will be strangled in the cradle."[21]
Villalba won renomination in the Republican primary on March 1, 2016, over challenger Dan Morenoff, 11,436 votes (55.2 percent) to 9,300 (44.8 percent).[22] He then defeated the Democrat Jim Burke, 37,588 votes (55.7 percent) to 27,367 (40.6 percent), in the November 8 general election.[23]
Villalba unsuccessfully ran for Mayor of Dallas in 2019, receiving only 6% of the vote in the first voting round.
Personal life
editVillalba and his wife, Brooke, reside with their three children in the Preston Hollow neighborhood in north Dallas. He is Methodist.[11]
References
edit- ^ "Jason Villalba". lrl.state.tx.us. Retrieved September 25, 2013.
- ^ a b "Frost Brown Todd Dallas Adds Three New Attorneys". frostbrowntodd.com. 26 October 2021. Retrieved 2021-12-02.
- ^ Ura, Alexa (March 7, 2018). "There are three Hispanic Republicans in the Texas Legislature. Only one is coming back". Texas Tribune. Retrieved 8 March 2018.
- ^ "Zac Crain, Is Jason Villalba the Future of the Texas GOP? Meet the only political candidate that Mitt Romney has endorsed". D Magazine. October 2012. Archived from the original on September 27, 2013. Retrieved September 25, 2013.
- ^ "High-Profile Corporate Lawyer and Texas State Representative Jason Villalba Joins Gardere in Dallas". Gardere.com. Retrieved 2015-07-09.
- ^ "Bill Keffer". lr.state.tx.us. Retrieved September 25, 2013.
- ^ "U.S. Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison endorses Jason Villalba". Texans for Jason Villalba. April 11, 2012. Retrieved March 2, 2016.
- ^ "Republican primary election returns, May 29, 2012". elections.sos.state.tx.us. Archived from the original on November 8, 2006. Retrieved September 25, 2013.
- ^ "Republican primary runoff election returns, July 31, 2012". elections.sos.state.us. Archived from the original on November 8, 2006. Retrieved September 25, 2013.
- ^ "General election returns, November 6, 2013". Texas Secretary of State. Archived from the original on November 8, 2006. Retrieved September 25, 2013.
- ^ a b "Jason Villalba's Political Summary". votesmart.org. Retrieved September 25, 2013.
- ^ "Wendy Davis Filibuster". Huffington Post. Retrieved September 25, 2013.
- ^ "Gromer Jeffers, Sr., Dallas state Rep. Jason Villalba draws fire from conservatives over health care law, February 4, 2013". Dallas Morning News. Retrieved September 25, 2013.
- ^ "A constitutional amendment relating to a person's free exercise of religion". Texas Legislature Online. Retrieved March 14, 2015.
- ^ "Lawmaker reconsiders 'religious freedoms' bill after business opposition". Houston Chronicle. 2015-03-10.
- ^ "Dallas State Rep. Jason Villalba Wants to Restrict Where Citizens Can Photograph Cops". Dallas Observer. 2015-03-13. Retrieved 2015-03-15.
- ^ Texas Legislature Online, Bill: HB 2918
- ^ "Texas Bill Would Make Recording Police Illegal". Huffingtonpost.com. 2015-03-13. Retrieved 2015-07-09.
- ^ Wilonsky, Robert (March 13, 2015). "Dallas state Rep. Villalba drawing fire for proposal that criminalizes 'cop-watching'". The Dallas Morning News. Dallas, Texas. Retrieved March 13, 2015.
Villalba's bill would also make it illegal for private citizens to record their own interactions with police officers. In fact, the language is so broad, in prohibiting "documenting" the police officer's activities, that taking notes during a conversation with an officer, about what was being said, the officer's badge number, etc., could be construed as a violation. Besides the fact that law enforcement agencies themselves have acknowledged the role that cameras can play in reducing both incidents and false claims of police brutality — as evidenced by the rising support for police body cameras — this bill directly contradicts established case law precedent allowing citizens to videotape police.
- ^ Young, Stephen (2015-03-20). "(Updated) Texas Rep. Villalba Blocks Student Journalist on Twitter For Asking Him a Question | Dallas Observer". Blogs.dallasobserver.com. Retrieved 2015-07-09.
- ^ Patrick Gleason (August 14, 2014). "Meet the Harry Reid of Texas". Forbes. Retrieved February 27, 2016.
- ^ "Republican primary returns". Texas Secretary of State. March 1, 2016. Archived from the original on March 6, 2016. Retrieved March 2, 2016.
- ^ "General Election Returns". Texas Secretary of State. November 8, 2016. Retrieved December 15, 2016.
