Garcia, Robert, 1933-2017

Robert Garcia (January 9, 1933 – January 25, 2017) was an American politician. A member of the Democratic Party, he notably represented New York's 21st and 18th congressional districts in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1978 to 1990.

Born in the Bronx to Puerto Rican parents, Garcia attended the New York City public schools and graduated from Haaren High School in Manhattan in 1950. He served in the United States Army from 1950–53 during the Korean War as a radio operator with the Third Infantry Division. He continued his education by attending the City College of New York, the Community College of New York as well as the RCA Institute. He worked as a computer engineer with IBM Control Data from 1957 to 1965. Garcia first ran for political office in 1965 for the New York state assembly in the 83rd District, winning handily. In the state assembly, Garcia earned a reputation as an advocate for housing issues, sponsoring a bill, later signed into law, that gave the New York City buildings department the power to subpoena recalcitrant slumlords.

In early 1967, Garcia entered a special election to represent portions of the South Bronx and Harlem in the New York state senate. Serving over a decade in the New York state senate, Garcia built a reputation as a legislative “workhorse,” according to a number of his colleagues. From 1975 to 1978, he served as deputy minority leader in Albany (an elected position). His legislative interests included prison reform, public housing, and narcotics control—all of which appealed to his inner-city constituents. In 1978, after the resignation of Congressman Herman Badillo, Garcia entered the race to succeed him, running as a Republican after failing to win the Democratic nomination. Endorsed by Badillo and Harlem Congressman Charles Rangel, Garcia won, resuming his affiliation as a Democrat once sworn into office in February 1978.

Garcia’s principal focus was steering federal dollars, projects, and jobs into his economically distressed South Bronx district. Garcia was the official representative of the United States Congress to NATO, and was instrumental in developing better relations between Spain and Latin America and both the Carter and Reagan Administrations. He was instrumental in the release of DEA Agents being held by Cuba, meeting repeatedly over several days with then-president Fidel Castro. Garcia also had a prominent role in designation of the Martin Luther King National Holiday. He joined with Republican Congressman Jack Kemp to draft and pass the Kemp-Garcia Enterprise Zone law designed to create jobs in inner-city neighborhoods. Garcia was a pioneer in helping American Hispanics achieve political representation and benefits to which they were entitled due to their growing population. He convinced President Carter to include "Hispanic" as an option for the first time in the history of the US Census Bureau in 1980. As the only Representative of Puerto Rican descent with a vote on the floor of Congress (Puerto Rico's Resident Commissioner could then vote in Committee, but not on the Floor), Garcia was the de facto Congressman representing 3.6 million US citizens on the Island-Territory, and was often called upon to represent their interests in legislation before the House.

Garcia’s promising House career unraveled in 1988 and 1989 when he was implicated in the Wedtech scandal. After being convicted on extortion and conspiracy charges, Garcia resigned his seat on January 7, 1990. He and his wife were sentenced two weeks later to three years in prison, which Garcia chose to begin serving before the conviction was overturned on appeal. Garcia was tried a second time and convicted again in 1991, but that conviction too was overturned. He died in San Juan, Puerto Rico.