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Navy Reserve commander and local lawyer was nominated in June by President Barack Obama WASHINGTON — The U.S. Senate late Wednesday confirmed former state Rep. Juan Garcia as assistant secretary of the Navy. Garcia, a Navy Reserve commander and local lawyer, was nominated for the job in June by President Barack Obama, his Harvard Law School classmate. “I’m honored to be entrusted with this role in helping to shape history’s finest sea service: the United States Navy and Marine Corps team,” said Garcia, 43. “I grew up in a Navy family and have spent my entire adult life in it....

Texas Democrats were poised to pick up seats in the Texas Legislature, including their first gain in the Senate in a decade, but their dreams of grabbing a majority in the House faded in the wee hours Wednesday. Veteran Sen. Kim Brimer, R-Fort Worth, was defeated by Democrat Wendy Davis. Democrats also brought down a House committee chairman, Rep. Tony Goolsby, R-Dallas. But the Democrats had their share of losses, too, making it difficult to say how many seats each party would have when the dust settled. Two House races remained too close for The Associated Press to call. Rep....

Our friendly neighborhood liberals over at BurntOrangeReport feel compelled to praise State Rep. Juan Garcia in HD 32, claiming he’s one of the “strongest voices” in our Texas legislature today. Fascinating. A strong voice he may be---but the real question is: Is anyone listening? In 2007 out of the 15 pieces of legislation that Garcia managed to scramble together two of them managed to make it by their respective committee’s and onto the legislative floor. Although Garcia’s website boasts his agenda as being increasing: public resources, public safety, & public education, his record doesn’t show him being successful. Sure it’s...

State Rep. Juan Garcia has been fined $1,800 by the Texas Ethics Commission for campaign finance violations, including a failure to disclose a $12,500 campaign contribution. The commission also found that Garcia, a freshman Democrat, failed to disclose information about out-of-state donors in two instances and in 24 instances violated rules that require candidates to list the occupation and employer of donors who give more than $500. Garcia said the violations were technical difficulties that occurred in the final days of a tough campaign. "We had 950 individual donors," Garcia said. "That's 24 of 950." He said many gave through...