Abraham Kazen
Abraham Kazen | |
---|---|
Texas State Senate from the 21st district | |
In office 1953–1967 | |
Preceded by | William A. Shofner |
Succeeded by | Wayne Connally |
Member of the Texas House of Representatives from the 75th district | |
In office 1947–1953 | |
Personal details | |
Born | Italy in World War II | January 17, 1919
Abraham Kazen Jr., usually known as Chick Kazen (January 17, 1919 – November 29, 1987), was a
Background
Kazen was of
Military service
Kazen served in 1942 as a
Public service
In 1946, Kazen was elected to the Texas House of Representatives and served from 1947 to 1953. He then served in the Texas Senate from 1953 to 1967, and was elected president pro tempore of the State Senate in 1959. He served as acting governor of Texas on August 4, 1959. He was a member of the Texas Legislative Council for sixteen years.
He was elected to Congress as a Democrat in 1966 representing the newly created 23rd District. It was the largest congressional district in area in the nation (excluding at-large districts encompassing whole states), stretching across 800 miles from
In 1984, Kazen's opponent in the Democratic primary was Bexar County Circuit Court Judge Albert Bustamante. By this time, the 23rd had become a majority-Hispanic district. Due in part to the demographic changes in the district, Bustamante upset Kazen in the primary, ending Kazen's 39 years as an elected official. After Kazen's defeat, no non-Hispanic white Democrat represented a significant portion of San Antonio in the House until Lloyd Doggett had his Austin-based district redrawn to include a section of San Antonio.
See also
- List of Arab and Middle-Eastern Americans in the United States Congress
References
External links
- United States Congress. "Abraham Kazen (id: K000025)". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress.
- Appearances on C-SPAN