About Joe Gonzales

Joe was born and raised on the westside of San Antonio by his mother, a single parent. She worked the night shift at Kelly Air Force Base to support her 5 children, and she instilled in all of them a strong work ethic and a solid moral compass to do what is right “even when no one is looking.”

Joe grew up speaking both English and Spanish and is a third generation Mexican American. He witnessed his mother’s constant struggle to keep enough food on the table and provide basic school supplies for him and his siblings. He did not want to let her down, so Joe dedicated his life to getting an education and making her proud.

Because Joe came from a family of modest means, he had to support himself while pursuing his college education. He attended St. Mary’s University where he earned a B.A., with honors, in Political Science in 1981. While at St. Mary’s University, Joe was elected the Vice President of the Political Science Club, was an Officer of Lambda Chi Alpha Fraternity, and served as a Student Ambassador – all the while working odd jobs and part-time at McDonalds to support himself. He sought grants and student loans to pay tuition. He then went on to attend St. Mary’s University School of Law and received his Juris Doctor (J.D.) in 1988. That same year, Joe married his college sweetheart, Yvonne. Today they have one daughter, Marisa, who is currently attending college.

After graduating from law school, Joe began his legal career by practicing family law his first full year in practice. Joe then worked as a trial prosecutor with the Bexar County District Attorney’s office from 1990 to 1992 and then returned to work in that office from 1995 until 1998, under District Attorneys Fred Rodriguez and Steve Hilbig. During this time he prosecuted both misdemeanor and felony cases and tried well over 100 jury trials as an Assistant District Attorney.

In 1992, when Joe’s wife began her own law school journey, it required the young couple to move to Houston, Texas. While in Houston, Joe continued to work as a public servant by serving as a Harris County Assistant Criminal District Attorney until they returned to San Antonio in 1995. While serving in Harris County, Joe gained valuable trial experience handling serious felonies and was promoted to court chief prosecutor in one of Harris County’s juvenile courts.

Upon leaving the Bexar County District Attorney’s Office in 1998 to run for a county court at law bench as a Democrat, Joe opened his own law practice, The Law Offices of Joe D. Gonzales, where he continued to work as a criminal defense attorney for the last 22 years. Joe has also served as a Magistrate and Municipal Judge for the City of San Antonio for 7 years. And now, almost 3 years into his first term as the Bexar County District Attorney, Joe has accrued nearly 30 years of experience in criminal law.

As District Attorney, Joe has fought to provide the citizens of Bexar County with equal rights and opportunities under the law. However, he believes that there is still work left to do in pursuit of this goal. He and his team need the opportunity to finish the job they started. If you want another term of thoughtful determination and dedication to justice, vote to re-elect Joe Gonzales for District Attorney.