"I am deeply saddened by the death of my friend and colleague, Senator Mario Gallegos.

"My son and I travelled to Houston on Sunday to spend time with Senator Gallegos and his family. He was resting peacefully and was surrounded by some of the countless relatives and friends who loved him and treasured his friendship—myself included.

"When he began his career, his goals and desires were to save lives—plain and simple. Saving lives was what he did for 22 years as a firefighter with the Houston Fire Department, and it was what he did in the Texas Senate. Ask anyone familiar with his work in the Texas Senate and they certainly will tell you that Senator Gallegos was a dear friend of law enforcement and public safety. Anyone familiar with his work in the Texas Senate will tell you that he fought passionately for health and human services for the very poor, the very young, the very old and persons with disabilities.

"Senator Gallegos never quit. Even those who disagreed with him politically admired his passion, his generosity and his sense of duty to his constituents. His firefighter's perseverance brought to mind Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's poem The Ladder of St. Augustine:

'We have not wings, we cannot soar;
But we have feet to scale and climb
By slow degrees, by more and more,
The cloudy summits of our time.'

"May God bless Senator Mario Gallegos, his family and his constituents."

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