In 1946, Kazen was elected to the Texas House of Representatives and served from 1947 to 1953. He then served in the Texas Senate from 1953 to 1967, and was elected president pro tempore of the State Senate in 1959. He served as acting governor of Texas on August 4, 1959. He was a member of the Texas Legislative Council for sixteen years.
He was elected to Congress as a Democrat in 1966 representing the newly created 23rd District. It was the largest congressional district in area in the nation (excluding at-large districts encompassing whole states), stretching across 800 miles from El Paso in the west to San Antonio in the east. It had been created when Texas' previous congressional map was thrown out by the United States Supreme Court in the case Wesberry v. Sanders. He was reelected eight more times with no substantive opposition.
In 1984, Kazen's opponent in the Democratic primary was Bexar County Circuit Court Judge Albert Bustamante. By this time, the 23rd had become a majority-Hispanic district. Due in part to the demographic changes in the district, Bustamante upset Kazen in the primary, ending Kazen's 39 years as an elected official. After Kazen's defeat, no non-Hispanic white Democrat represented a significant portion of San Antonio in the House until Lloyd Doggett had his Austin-based district redrawn to include a section of San Antonio.
Kazen grave with congressional emblem on tombstone at Calvary Catholic Cemetery in Laredo, TexasThe Kazen College Center on the Laredo Community College campus
abraham, kazen, usually, known, chick, kazen, january, 1919, november, 1987, representative, from, texas, 23rd, congressional, district, first, serve, that, particular, position, elected, 1966, kazen, served, until, 1985, having, been, defeated, 1984, democrat. Abraham Kazen Jr usually known as Chick Kazen January 17 1919 November 29 1987 was a U S Representative from Texas s 23rd congressional district the first to serve in that particular position Elected in 1966 Kazen served until 1985 having been defeated in the 1984 Democratic primary election by Albert G Bustamante Abraham KazenMember of the U S House of Representatives from Texas s 23rd districtIn office January 3 1967 January 3 1985Preceded byNew established districtSucceeded byAlbert BustamanteMember of the Texas State Senate from the 21st districtIn office 1953 1967Preceded byWilliam A ShofnerSucceeded byWayne ConnallyMember of the Texas House of Representatives from the 75th districtIn office 1947 1953Personal detailsBorn 1919 01 17 January 17 1919Laredo Texas U S DiedNovember 29 1987 1987 11 29 aged 68 Austin Texas U S Resting placeCalvary Catholic Cemetery in Laredo TexasPolitical partyDemocraticSpouseConnie RaymondRelationsGeorge P Kazen nephew ChildrenfiveResidence s Laredo TexasAlma materUniversity of Texas at AustinCumberland School of LawOccupationAttorneyMilitary serviceAllegiance United StatesBranch serviceArmy Air CorpsRankCaptainBattles warsNorth Africa Sicily and Italy in World War II Contents 1 Background 2 Military service 3 Public service 4 See also 5 References 6 External linksBackground editKazen was of Maronite Lebanese descent and is related to the powerful Khazen family He was a lifelong resident of the border city of Laredo He graduated in 1937 from Laredo High School renamed Martin High School He then attended the University of Texas at Austin from 1937 to 1940 In 1941 Kazen graduated from the Cumberland School of Law in Lebanon Tennessee since removed to Birmingham Alabama Military service editKazen served in 1942 as a United States Army Air Corps pilot at the since closed Lubbock Air Force Base During World War II Kazen fought in North Africa Sicily and Italy as a pilot in Troop Carrier Command He was discharged in 1953 with the rank of captain Public service editIn 1946 Kazen was elected to the Texas House of Representatives and served from 1947 to 1953 He then served in the Texas Senate from 1953 to 1967 and was elected president pro tempore of the State Senate in 1959 He served as acting governor of Texas on August 4 1959 He was a member of the Texas Legislative Council for sixteen years He was elected to Congress as a Democrat in 1966 representing the newly created 23rd District It was the largest congressional district in area in the nation excluding at large districts encompassing whole states stretching across 800 miles from El Paso in the west to San Antonio in the east It had been created when Texas previous congressional map was thrown out by the United States Supreme Court in the case Wesberry v Sanders He was reelected eight more times with no substantive opposition In 1984 Kazen s opponent in the Democratic primary was Bexar County Circuit Court Judge Albert Bustamante By this time the 23rd had become a majority Hispanic district Due in part to the demographic changes in the district Bustamante upset Kazen in the primary ending Kazen s 39 years as an elected official After Kazen s defeat no non Hispanic white Democrat represented a significant portion of San Antonio in the House until Lloyd Doggett had his Austin based district redrawn to include a section of San Antonio nbsp Kazen grave with congressional emblem on tombstone at Calvary Catholic Cemetery in Laredo Texas nbsp The Kazen College Center on the Laredo Community College campusSee also editList of Arab and Middle Eastern Americans in the United States CongressReferences editExternal links editUnited States Congress Abraham Kazen id K000025 Biographical Directory of the United States Congress Appearances on C SPAN Portals nbsp Biography nbsp Texas nbsp Law nbsp Politics nbsp Christianity U S House of Representatives Preceded byNew District Member of the U S House of Representatives from Texas s 23rd congressional district1967 1985 Succeeded byAlbert G Bustamante Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Abraham Kazen amp oldid 1216047739, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
