Wife to fill in for lawmaker in National Guard

[rainbow4321]

http://www.mysanantonio.com/sharedcontent/APStories/stories/D879DHP82.html

As a major in the Army National Guard, Democratic state Rep. Rick Noriega of Houston will be on active duty in Afghanistan when the legislative session starts in January. His seat in the Texas House of Representatives will not be empty, though. His wife, Melissa Noriega, will fill in for him.

"This is really an honor, both that my husband would trust me with the responsibility and we've also gotten a lot of feedback from the district," she said. "This isn't something we just did. We've been discussing it with precinct judges and community leaders."

A state constitutional amendment approved last year allows lawmakers who are called to active military duty to designate their replacement until they return or their term expires. Noriega won re-election last year while on active duty in Afghanistan, where he is training that country's army to fight terrorists.


The procedures for how Melissa Noriega will replace her husband are not completely in place. Most likely, Rick Noriega will be sworn in from Afghanistan when the Legislature meets Jan. 11. Then, he will notify House officials of his choice of surrogate. The full House could reject Rick Noriega's choice, but it is expected to seat Melissa Noriega, a special projects manager for the Houston Independent School District.

[merci_me]

1. YAYE Melissa......

not that I trust the lege for a minute. Hopefully, they won't be so full of themselves trying to overturn other election results, that they decide to try to keep Melissa from being seated.

We plan to head to Austin for the Jan. 11 opening session to support Hubert Vo, in maintaining the seat he won in November and we'll be there for Melissa, too.

God Bless Rick. We love him!!!

Mary

[GetTheRightVote]

2. This is a way to honor his service to country and his family

Way to go !!!

:kick:

[antigone382]

3. Naturally it's a Democrat who actually puts himself at risk.

Republicans like to send others to do their dirty work.

:thumbsup: :thumbsup: to both Melissa and Rick, and good luck!

:yourock:

[rainbow4321]

4. No kidding....

It was on the news a while back that Texas' Martin Frost's wife just returned fom serving over there, also.