Bonilla, Henry, 1954-

Henry Bonilla (born January 2, 1954) is an American journalist and politician. He notably represented Texas's 23rd congressional district in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1993 to 2007.

Born in San Antonio, he graduated from South San Antonio High School before earning a Bachelor of Journalism degree from the University of Texas at Austin and then began a career in television news. Bonilla started as a reporter for two stations in Austin from 1976 to 1980 before moving to Philadelphia to serve as press secretary for Pennsylvania governor Dick Thornburgh for a year in 1981; this post would be his only experience in politics before he was elected to Congress. He stayed in the Northeast, working as a news producer for a flagship ABC station in New York City. In 1985 he returned to Philadelphia for a year to serve as an assistant news director for a local station, before becoming an executive producer for KENS-TV and settling in San Antonio in 1986.

In March 1992, Bonilla won the 23rd district's Republican nomination for a seat in the U.S. House of Representatives. While the 23rd had been a Democratic district since its creation in 1967, Bonilla won by a 21-point margin against Democratic incumbent Albert G. Bustamante, the largest margin of defeat for an incumbent that year. In March 1999, Governor George W. Bush named Bonilla as the only Texan on his presidential exploratory committee. Bonilla often represented Bush on national news programs and as a surrogate speaker. Although the 23rd had a slight Democratic lean, Bonilla developed a very conservative voting record. Largely because of his popularity in San Antonio, he did not face a credible challenge until 2002. A mid-decade redistricting by the Texas legislature made the 23rd district more reliably Republican in 2004 but ahead of the 2006 midterms, the U.S. Supreme Court forced new district boundaries that made the 23rd district more favorable to Democrats. After receiving a plurality of the vote in November 2006, Bonilla lost to Democrat Ciro Rodriguez in the December runoff.

Shortly after Bonilla left Congress, President George W. Bush nominated him to be ambassador to the Organization of American States, a body of delegates from nations in the Western Hemisphere that discuss policy affecting the region. Bonilla withdrew his nomination three months later, citing the U.S. Senate’s failure to confirm him for the position. He subsequently joined a lobbying firm.