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| 3 | 4 | | |
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| 4 | 5 | | R E S O L U T I O N |
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| 5 | 6 | | WHEREAS, The citizens of Austin have lost a respected |
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| 6 | 7 | | activist and civic leader with the death of former city council |
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| 7 | 8 | | member John Treviño Jr. on April 4, 2017, at the age of 78; and |
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| 8 | 9 | | WHEREAS, John Treviño was born in Austin on October 18, 1938, |
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| 9 | 10 | | to Salome and Juan Treviño; he took on a number of odd jobs in his |
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| 10 | 11 | | youth, working in a laundry, moving furniture, and delivering |
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| 11 | 12 | | blueprints, and when he was seven, he became an altar boy, a role |
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| 12 | 13 | | that encouraged in him a lifelong commitment to the service of |
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| 13 | 14 | | others; and |
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| 14 | 15 | | WHEREAS, At the age of 17, Mr. Treviño secured his father's |
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| 15 | 16 | | permission and enlisted in the U.S. Army, where he was a |
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| 16 | 17 | | paratrooper in the 82nd Airborne Division; after his discharge, |
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| 17 | 18 | | Mr. Treviño returned to Austin and worked at several jobs before a |
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| 18 | 19 | | priest took note of his leadership qualities and urged him to "do |
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| 19 | 20 | | more"; in 1965, be became the first paid antipoverty worker at the |
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| 20 | 21 | | East First Neighborhood Center in East Austin; and |
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| 21 | 22 | | WHEREAS, Mr. Treviño's early efforts included bringing IRS |
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| 22 | 23 | | volunteers into East Austin to help residents prepare their taxes, |
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| 23 | 24 | | starting a neighborhood cleanup that evolved into the city's |
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| 24 | 25 | | official bulk trash collection program, and leading the effort to |
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| 25 | 26 | | establish health clinics and low-cost medical services in the |
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| 26 | 27 | | neighborhood; he also inspired social work students from The |
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| 27 | 28 | | University of Texas at Austin to work in the community, and under |
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| 28 | 29 | | his direction, members of the Volunteers in Service to America |
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| 29 | 30 | | (VISTA) program established the Austin Tenants' Council and the |
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| 30 | 31 | | Meals on Wheels program; and |
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| 31 | 32 | | WHEREAS, One of a group of young Mexican American activists |
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| 32 | 33 | | in the city who were dubbed by journalists as the "Young Turks" and |
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| 33 | 34 | | the "Brown Machine," Mr. Treviño became, in 1975, the first Mexican |
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| 34 | 35 | | American to be elected to the Austin City Council; his fellow |
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| 35 | 36 | | council members chose him as mayor pro tem, and he also served for |
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| 36 | 37 | | three months as interim mayor; and |
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| 37 | 38 | | WHEREAS, During Mr. Treviño's 13-year tenure on the council, |
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| 38 | 39 | | his efforts to promote the awarding of city contracts to businesses |
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| 39 | 40 | | owned by women and minorities led to the creation of the Small and |
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| 40 | 41 | | Minority Business Resources Department; he also worked to improve |
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| 41 | 42 | | infrastructure in minority communities and to ensure that women and |
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| 42 | 43 | | minorities were represented among the city's staff and on its |
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| 43 | 44 | | boards and committees; and |
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| 44 | 45 | | WHEREAS, Mr. Treviño left the city council in 1988 and went |
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| 45 | 46 | | to work at UT Austin, where he played a vital part in the |
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| 46 | 47 | | Historically Underutilized Business program; from 1997 to 2009, he |
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| 47 | 48 | | also served on the board of Capital Metro; in 2006, the city named |
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| 48 | 49 | | John Treviño Jr. Metropolitan Park at Morrison Ranch, along the |
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| 49 | 50 | | Colorado River, in his honor; and |
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| 50 | 51 | | WHEREAS, For more than half a century, John Treviño dedicated |
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| 51 | 52 | | himself to making the city of Austin a better place to live for all |
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| 52 | 53 | | of its citizens, and his commitment to social justice, inclusivity, |
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| 53 | 54 | | and equal rights will continue to inspire all those who follow in |
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| 54 | 55 | | his footsteps; now, therefore, be it |
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| 55 | 56 | | RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 85th Texas |
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| 56 | 57 | | Legislature hereby pay tribute to the memory of John Treviño Jr. and |
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| 57 | 58 | | extend heartfelt sympathy to the members of his family: to his |
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| 58 | 59 | | children, John, Mary Theresa, Peter, Michael, Mark, Patricia, and |
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| 59 | 60 | | Jesse; to their mother, Connie Loya Treviño; to his special friend, |
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| 60 | 61 | | Judy Ford; and to his other relatives and many friends; and, be it |
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| 61 | 62 | | further |
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| 62 | 63 | | RESOLVED, That an official copy of this resolution be |
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| 63 | 64 | | prepared for his family and that when the Texas House of |
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| 64 | 65 | | Representatives adjourns this day, it do so in memory of John |
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| 65 | 66 | | Treviño Jr. |
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