Garcia, Robert, 1933-2017

<p>Robert Garcia (January 9, 1933 – January 25, 2017) was a United States Representative who represented New York's 21st district (South Bronx). He was elected to the New York State Assembly in 1965 and the New York State Senate in 1967, and then served in Congress from 1978 to 1990.</p>

<p>Garcia was born in Bronx, New York, of parents born in Puerto Rico. His father was born in Spain then immigrated to Puerto Rico and had worked in the Central Aguirre sugar mill on the island's south coast; his mother was born and raised in Ponce. They had migrated to New York City from the island in the 1920s; being born on the island, the Jones Act of 1917 had made them U.S. citizens, their ship bypassing Ellis Island and docking directly at Brooklyn. He 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 from 1953–57 by enrolling in the City College of New York, although he also attended the Community College of New York as well as the RCA Institute. After graduation, he worked as a computer engineer with IBM Control Data, from 1957–65.</p>

<p>Garcia's first experience in politics was circulating nominating petitions for John F. Kennedy's 1960 presidential bid, and he quickly became active in local politics along with Herman Badillo under the tutelage of Felipe Torres. Garcia was elected a Democratic member of the New York State Assembly in 1966 and 1967.</p>

<p>A veteran of New York state politics for over a decade, Robert Garcia succeeded Herman Badillo in 1978 to represent a South Bronx district in the U.S. House. Eventually the chairman of two subcommittees, Garcia focused on federal programs to attract businesses to blighted urban areas. Garcia’s signal piece of legislation—designating federal “enterprise zones” to promote job growth in depressed inner cities—highlighted a promising House career that ended abruptly when Garcia became enmeshed in the Wedtech scandal through his association with a defense contractor in his district.</p>

<p>Robert Garcia was born January 9, 1933, in Bronx, New York, to immigrants. His Puerto Rican father, Rafael Garcia, worked in a sugar mill before moving to New York City, where he founded an Assembly of God church in an aging storefront. Garcia attended the local public schools, graduating from Haaren High School in 1950, and served overseas in the U.S. Army’s Third Infantry from 1950 to 1953 during the Korean War, earning two Bronze Stars. He attended City College of New York, the Community College of New York, and the RCA Institute in 1957, before becoming an engineer at two large computer corporations, where he worked from 1957 to 1965. Garcia married the former Anita Theresa Medina, and the couple raised sons Robert and Kenneth and daughter Rosalyn before separating in 1974 and divorcing several years later. In 1980 Garcia married the former Jane Lee, a longtime resident of Puerto Rico who had served as a staffer in the U.S. House in the late 1970s.</p>

<p>Garcia first ran for political office in 1965 for the New York state assembly in the 83rd District, which encompassed Puerto Rican neighborhoods in and around Port Morris and Mott Haven in the South Bronx. In the September 14, 1965, Democratic primary he defeated Domingo Ramos, Jr., with 65 percent of the vote. In the general election, Garcia faced Republican candidate Paul Spitaleri as well as two lesser-known challengers from the Liberal and Conservative Parties. Garcia prevailed handily with 74 percent of the vote in the four-way contest. Since Garcia never had the full support of the regular Democratic organization, he faced a stiff primary challenge in 1966 from A. C. Acevedo, whom he defeated by roughly 70 votes out of the nearly 3,000 cast. Garcia’s base of support drew on local labor unions as well as on the Adlai E. Stevenson Independent Reform Democratic Club. 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.</p>

GARCIA, Robert, a Representative from New York; born in New York, Bronx County, N.Y., January 9, 1933; attended the public schools; graduated from Haaren High School, Bronx, 1950; attended City College of New York, 1957; Community College of New York, 1957; RCA Institute, 1957; served in the United States Army during the Korean War with the Third Infantry Division, 1950-1953; computer engineer, 1957-1965; served in the New York assembly, 1965-1966; New York senate, 1966-1978; deputy minority leader, 1975-1978; delegate to Democratic National Convention, 1976; registered as a Democrat but elected as a Republican-Liberal to the Ninety-fifth Congress, by special election, February 14, 1978, to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation of Herman Badillo; resumed prior party affiliation as a Democrat, effective February 21, 1978; reelected to the six succeeding Congresses and served until his resignation January 7, 1990 (February 14, 1978-January 7, 1990); died on January 25, 2017, in San Juan, P.R.