Judith Zaffirini
| Judith Pappas Zaffirini | |
|---|---|
Zaffirini in 2009
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| Member of the Texas Senate from the 21st district |
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Assumed office 1987 |
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| Preceded by | John Traeger |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
February 13, 1946 Laredo, Webb County, Texas, U.S. |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouse(s) | Carlos Zaffirini, Sr. |
| Relations | Charles Robert Borchers (brother-in-law) |
| Children | 1 |
| Residence | Laredo, Texas |
| Alma mater |
Laredo Community College University of Texas at Austin |
| Religion | Roman Catholic |
Judith Pappas Zaffirini (born February 13, 1946) is a Democratic member of the Texas State Senate from the 21st District, which includes her home city of Laredo in south Texas. On January 9, 2007, Zaffirini became the second in seniority in the 31-member Texas Senate, of which she has been a member since 1987. Zaffirini has been named among the "Top 100 Most Influential Hispanics in the United States" by Hispanic Business magazine, which has been published in California since 1979. Zaffirini is the first Mexican American woman elected to the Texas Senate.
Zaffirini is a graduate of the University of Texas at Austin. While she and her attorney-husband, Carlos M. Zaffirini, Sr. (born 1943), were attending UT, they worked in the late 1960s on the staff of District 21 State Senator Wayne Connally, brother of Governor John B. Connally, Jr. During this time, serious attention was focused on establishing a university in Laredo. Soon the satellite campus of Texas A&M University - Kingsville, then known as Texas A&I, opened in Laredo. In 1970, Laredo State University was launched with Billy F. Cowart as the president, and in 1993, Senator Zaffirini secured legislation creating the four-year Texas A&M International University on a separate campus off the Bob Bullock Loop. Zaffirini's work in the education field led to her being named "Laredoan of the year" in 2009 by the Laredo Morning Times.
Zaffirini studied two summers at Laredo Community College (then Laredo Junior College). On December 17, 2007, she was honored by the LCC board of trustees with its inaugural "Beacon Award", a creation from the college's sixtieth anniversary. According to LCC president Juan L. Maldonado, the award recognizes individuals whose altruistic efforts have improved and advanced the welfare of the Webb County community. Maldonado said that the beacon "evokes the flame of the lamp of learning, which represents the role of the individual in bringing enlightenment and hope to others.... Senator Zaffirini embodies all of these admirable traits... and make her the ideal recipient of this award." In 2004, LCC named its new south campus library in honor of Zaffirini.
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