Voters elected Rafael Anchia in November 2004 as the representative of House District 103 in the Texas House of Representatives. District 103 covers a western corridor of Dallas, including parts of North Oak Cliff, West Dallas, La Bajada, Los Altos, Love Field, North Park and portions of the cities of Irving, Farmers Branch and Carrollton.
In the 82nd Legislative Session, Representative Anchia also continued to serve on the Texas Sunset Advisory Commission, to which he was appointed by Speaker Joe Straus in November 2009. On July 1, 2011, Representative Anchia was appointed to the Advisory Committee for Trade Policy and Negotiations by President Barack Obama. This Committee advises the U.S. Trade Representative.
Representative Anchia maintains a genuine passion for helping people and true empathy for their struggles and aspirations. These qualities are a byproduct of his family background, varied professional training and numerous public, civic and volunteer commitments. During his service in the Legislature, Representative Anchia has worked on legislation to fight crime, improve public safety, protect our environment and improve health coverage for women and children.
Representative Anchia’s high school marks earned him a scholarship to Southern Methodist University, where he graduated with Honors before heading to Tulane University in New Orleans for his law studies. There he concentrated on international and public law and served as a volunteer advocate for immigrant detainees denied the benefit of counsel.
Representative Anchia began his public service at the local level where he was twice elected to the Board of Trustees of the Dallas Independent School District – the nation’s 12th largest. During his tenure as a Trustee, he helped lead the successful effort of the Dallas ISD to win public approval of a $1.37 billion school bond package. He is proud that thousands of children in DISD benefit from new, improved and less-crowded classrooms.
Representative Anchia is an attorney with the law firm of Civitas Capital Group. He specializes in public and corporate finance. Most importantly, Representative Anchia lives in North Oak Cliff with his wife, Marissa, and daughters, Sofia and Maia, and worships with the Catholic Campus Community at SMU.
