Vicente Gonzalez: “I have known Dean for a number of years, and we share a passion for the Spurs and he's homegrown, San Antonio. And Dean…”

“I have known Dean for a number of years, and we share a passion for the Spurs and he's homegrown, San Antonio. And Dean will tell you the story that his interest in politics was a result of watching my father, the late Henry B. Gonzalez, on Sundays when Dean was just a little boy. Now, I remember watching Dad. I was a lot older. But the thing was they didn't exactly give my father prime time. It was very early on Sunday mornings. And the reason that many of the children in San Antonio watched my father was that he came on right before the cartoons. So, Dean, I'm on to you. I know exactly why you were watching the television, and I'm glad that you watched Dad before the cartoons. Dean had the hardest job of anyone on Speaker Pelosi's staff. Every Thursday at 11:30, he would report to the Congressional Hispanic Caucus weekly luncheon meeting, at which time we were able to express ourselves and say many things that we couldn't say to the Speaker. We are confident that he conveyed some of it in more diplomatic terms. But, seriously, I think he took our message back to the Speaker. He was the conduit. The Speaker can't be in 200 places at one time, though we wish she could. So Dean was a very valuable player, obviously, in this whole organization and made, I believe, the Speaker's Office much more responsive to the needs of so many different Members of our very, very diverse caucus. And for that, Dean, we extend our grateful appreciation.”