The Washington’s Birthday Celebration Association (WBCA) selected the Honorable Richard Peña Raymond, Texas State Representative for District 42 as the official Bridge Speaker for the WBCA/IGNC International Bridge Ceremony Sponsored by La Posada Hotel to be held Saturday, February 22, 2025.
“WBCA is honored to have Representative Richard Peña Raymond as our Bridge Speaker,” said WBCA President Fernando Montemayor. “His selection as the Bridge Speaker honors his substantial contributions to the Laredo community and to the great state of Texas.”
Richard Peña Raymond was born in Alice, Texas and raised in Benavides, Texas (population 1,900) where he graduated from the high school. Representative Raymond received a B.A. from the University of Texas at Austin, majoring in Government and minoring in History. He later received a J.D. from the University of Texas School of Law. He got involved in politics as a very young man fighting political corruption in his home county of Duval.
Before being elected to the Texas Legislature, he worked for United States Senators Lloyd Bentsen from Texas and Paul Simon from Illinois. He also worked for Texas Land Commissioner Garry Mauro and Texas Railroad Commissioner Bob Krueger. In 1992, Representative Raymond first ran for and was elected to the Texas House of Representatives, where he would represent a rural South Texas District that included the counties of Duval, Jim Wells, Live Oak, Wilson, Atascosa, McMullen and La Salle.
After serving in the Texas House for 6 years, he then ran for Texas Land Commissioner. Although he received nearly 1.5 million votes as the Democratic Party nominee, he lost to Republican David Dewhurst. Two years later, in January 2001, Representative Raymond was once again elected to the Texas House of Representatives, this time by the voters of Laredo, Texas, and has served in the House since.
In addition to his duties as a state representative, he is also the Chairman of the Defense & Veterans’ Affairs Committee while also serving on the State Affairs Committee. Representative Raymond has authored and passed many bills during his career which have aided job creation, higher education, transportation, health care and public safety. He also passed bills putting the words “In God We Trust” in the Texas House of Representatives Chamber and on Texas License plates. He is a proud father and lifelong, die-hard Dallas Cowboys and Texas Longhorns fan!
With this designation as the official 2025 Bridge Speaker, Representative Raymond becomes the newest WBCA Ambassador for the 127th Washington’s Birthday Celebration.
For updates on all upcoming events, visit www.wbcalaredo.org. Join us for the “Celebration with Something for Everyone!” The 127th Washington’s Birthday Celebration will span from January 16 to March 1, 2025, so save the dates!
