Orlando Sanchez (politician)
| Orlando Sanchez | |
|---|---|
Orlando Sanchez
|
|
| Harris County Treasurer | |
|
In office January 1, 2006 – present |
|
| Preceded by | Jack Cato |
| Member of the Houston City Council from the At-large #3 District | |
|
In office January, 1996 – January, 2001 |
|
| Preceded by | Lloyd Kelley |
| Succeeded by | Shelley Sekula-Gibbs |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
October 14, 1957 (age 59) Havana, Cuba |
| Children | Aubrie |
| Residence | Houston, Texas |
| Alma mater | University of Houston |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance |
 United States of America
|
| Service/branch |
 United States Air Force Texas Air National Guard
|
| Years of service | 1976 - 1978 (USAF) 1978 - 1989 (TANG) |
Orlando Sanchez (born 14 October 1957 in Havana, Cuba) is an American politician, elected three times as Treasurer of Harris County, Texas (2006, 2010, and 2014.)
A naturalized citizen, Sanchez has made political history as the first Latino immigrant to be elected to a citywide position in Houston, when he won the at-large seat on the city council, to which he was twice re-elected in consecutive terms, serving 1995-2001. In 2001 and 2003 he ran for mayor of Houston, gaining an alliance with Republican Anglos and generating high voter turnout in the Hispanic community. Both times he made it to the runoffs. When elected as Treasurer of Harris County, he was the first Latino immigrant to win a countywide, non-judicial elected office in that county.
Sanchez was born in Havana, Cuba to native Cuban parents. His parents emigrated after the Cuban Revolution when he was a young child. The family stayed for a brief time in Venezuela, before settling in Houston in 1962. Sanchez has lived here since. Former Harris County Judge Roy Hofheinz hired Sanchez's father, Orlando Sanchez-Diago, as a broadcaster to be the "Spanish voice" of the Colt 45s baseball club, which subsequently was renamed the Houston Astros.
Sanchez grew up in southwest Houston, where he graduated from Bellaire High School (Bellaire, Texas). He joined the U.S. Air Force in 1976. After his tour, he enlisted in the 147th Fighter Interceptor Group of the Texas Air National Guard at the then-named Ellington Field. He attended the University of Houston and graduated cum laude with a degree in political science. In 1997, Sanchez was the University of Houston Social Sciences' Outstanding Young Alum and in 2001 received the Distinguished Alumnus Award.
Sanchez joined the Republican Party and first ran for office in 1992 as the Republican nominee for Texas House District 132. In 1993 he was a candidate for Houston City Council in District C.
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