Celebrity Deathwatch: Henry B. Gonzalez, Former Texas Congressman, 84

["Deathwatch Central" <cdw@slick.org>]

http://www.cnn.com/2000/ALLPOLITICS/stories/11/29/bc.obit.gonzalez.ap/

Former Texas congressman Henry B. Gonzalez dies
November 29, 2000
Web posted at: 6:34 a.m. EST (1134 GMT)

SAN ANTONIO, Texas (AP) -- To many in San Antonio, former Rep. Henry B.
Gonzalez will be remembered as a trailblazer.

"He made a name for the Hispanics," said Elvira Encina, a 43-year-old
housing referral counselor and lifelong resident of San Antonio. "He came up
and said, 'We're here. We do exist, and we're smart, like any other culture,
any other race."'

Gonzalez, who retired in 1998 after 37 years on Capitol Hill, died Tuesday.
He was 84.

Family members took him to Baptist Medical Center early Tuesday after he
complained of feeling ill. The cause of death was not immediately
determined.

The intensely proud congressman was derided at times for his unwillingness
to work within the system, but San Antonio celebrated the unabashed populist
as a defender of the downtrodden.

"It is a sad day, but I think we need to remember the contributions that my
father made," said Rep. Charlie Gonzalez, choking back tears. "He was so
proud to represent this city."

The younger Gonzalez took his father's seat in Congress in 1998 and was
re-elected this month.

Henry B. Gonzalez was born in San Antonio in 1916 to Mexican immigrants and
rose from poverty through San Antonio College and St. Mary's School of Law
in San Antonio. He was a city councilman and state senator before being
elected to Congress in 1961.

"He was a really important figure for our community," said Norma Cantu, an
English professor at the University of Texas at San Antonio. "'Un
abrecaminos,' you would say. Making way for others."

A Democrat, he served as chairman of the powerful House Banking Committee
and dean of the Texas congressional delegation.

Unafraid of clashing with top Republicans -- he sought to impeach Presidents
Reagan and Bush -- Gonzalez also didn't shy from tangling with his own
party.

"I stand before you today, accepted, but seen by some as an inconvenient and
unwelcome obstacle," he told a closed-door meeting of House Democrats in
1996, beating back yet another challenge to his leadership.

Gonzalez was credited with crafting tough savings and loan bailout
legislation and helping expose the industry's 1980s excesses.

During his stint as banking chairman, Gonzalez opened investigations that
led to the resignation of the government's chief thrift regulator and the
conviction of S&L owner Charles Keating. Those hearings proved uncomfortable
for Democrats, spotlighting four Democratic senators' ties to Keating.

Gonzalez also probed the Reagan and Bush administrations' friendly dealings
with Iraq before the Gulf War. He unearthed evidence that U.S. agricultural
credits and illegal loans were used to help Saddam Hussein build his war
machine before the 1990 invasion of Kuwait.

In 1994, he earned the Profile in Courage award from the John F. Kennedy
Library for his investigations of the S&L industry and the Iraq scandal. The
award was a special honor for Gonzalez, whose office was dotted with photos
of President Kennedy.

Survivors include his wife, Bertha, and eight children.

Copyright 2000 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may
not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
This mailing list is brought to you by Slick.ORG at http://www.slick.org
to remove yourself from the list, send e-mail to majordomo@slick.org
and include the words "unsubscribe deathwatch" in the message (not in the
subject).  For web-based help, go to:

http://www.slick.org/cgi-bin/majordomo

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *