John Lira

John Lira is a fourth-generation Mexican American from San Antonio's Southeast Side running for Congress in Texas' 35th District. The son of working-class parents who struggled to make ends meet -- his father worked graveyard shifts for the night differential pay while his mother held two jobs -- Lira qualified for free lunches and low-cost health insurance growing up. At 16, he got his first job bussing tables at La Mansion Hotel on the Riverwalk. After graduating from East Central High School, he enlisted in the U.S. Marine Corps at 17 and served 11.5 years including two combat tours in Iraq: with the 1st Marine Division at the launch of Operation Iraqi Freedom in 2003 and with 3rd Battalion, 25th Marines in Al Anbar Province in 2005. The first in his family to attend college, he used his GI Bill to earn degrees from San Antonio College, UTSA, and a master's from Carnegie Mellon. After witnessing the tragic loss of his great-uncle Alfonso Valdez, who was among the 168 federal workers killed in the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing, Lira committed his life to public service.

Fourth-generation Mexican American from San Antonio's Southeast Side. Grew up in a working-class family of four. His father worked graveyard shifts for extra night differential pay while his mother worked two jobs, yet the family still qualified for free lunches and low-cost health insurance. His great-uncle Alfonso Valdez was among the 168 people killed in the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing, an event that shaped Lira's commitment to public service. First in his family to attend college. Married to Dr. Michelle Espino Lira, a professor at the University of Maryland. Father to daughter Rozlyn, who is now in college. Roman Catholic faith.