“We continue to appreciate greatly your service to the state and the Legislature.  Thank you so much for the crucial role you played in the Highway 6 proposal.”

“Keep up the good work!  I am pleased to see you are concerned with important issues instead of ideological nonsense!”

“Thank you for your support for our schools.  We need more people like you who care about making education the number one focus.”

You Make a Difference" award for speaking out on important issues affecting the district and public education.

Vo has shown a refreshing willingness to work across party lines for the benefit of his constituents.

“When I came here, I barely spoke the language and had little more than the clothes on my back, but……you offered me compassion and equality and the opportunity to work hard. In return, I worked hard.”

“If Texas criminals have the right to see a lawyer, then Texas children should have the right to see a doctor.”

HOUSE MEMBERS CONTINUE TO BESTOW HONORS ON THEIR PEERS

Various members being noted while the House waits to adjourn.

Houston Chronicle | 6/9/05

Saigon was a shooting gallery in 1975, the year the city fell to the North Vietnamese and 19-year-old Hubert Vo escaped to make his way, country by country, to the United States. His father said America was the best place on earth for freedom and opportunity.

Thirty years later, State Rep. Vo, returned from a different sort of war - his freshman year on the floor of the Texas Legislature

“In my campaign, I had a very positive attitude. I tried to change the world,” Vo said.

Texas Monthly June 2005

Vo had been a long shot from the start. He had never run for public office, he had no fund-raiding experience, and he delivered his stump speeches in a pronounced accent.

Two cities / Immigrant's win in state House race shines a light on Houston's political and social future. (Excerpt)

THIS year's race for state representative, District 149, can be seen as a tale of two cities. In one city, year after year, the white Republican residents in the majority choose a white, Republican representative committed to low taxes and inadequate government services. In the other city, the population is diverse and growing more so. An immigrant from Vietnam is able to get slightly more than half the vote by expressing concern for children's health insurance, education and other social services.

The first city is an historical reference point. The second city constitutes today's reality and sheds light on Houston's future.

The Chronicle endorsed the candidacy of incumbent Republican state Rep. Talmadge Heflin, in part because of his assurance that he would work in the coming session to restore funds cut from children's health and other social programs. The Chronicle congratulates Democrat Hubert Vo on his apparent victory, secured by the slender margin of 31 votes.

Vo embodies Houston's open and constantly changing society. A native of Vietnam, Vo gained his education in Houston and made the most of his business opportunities. Vo's grass-roots campaign imparts the lesson that in evolving suburban districts, Republicans cannot take victory for granted.

Heflin faces another test: re-election
By RICK CASEY (Excerpt)

Chances are if you don't live in the Alief area of southwest suburban Houston, you haven't heard of Hubert Vo.

Vo, a successful small-business man who immigrated from Vietnam as a teenager in 1975, is considered by the party as one of its best prospects to knock off a Republican incumbent legislator.

And not just any legislator.

Vo's target is none other than Talmadge Heflin, the powerful Republican chairman of the House Appropriations Committee.

The 2000 census put it at 36 percent white, 21 percent Hispanic, 20 percent black, 18 percent Asian and 5 percent other.

What used to be a standard American suburb is now suburbia Houston-style. Among the minorities, Vo, who speaks Spanish as well as Vietnamese, expects Heflin to be hurt by his record of using his appropriations chairmanship to cut state school funding and children's health insurance.

Vo is running a well-funded, professionally staffed campaign. He expects to spend $300,000, and he has been personally knocking on doors since the beginning of June.

The conventional wisdom among the pros is that Heflin will win, though not by much. But then, the conventional wisdom was that Bill White wouldn't make a mayoral runoff.

Quorum Report | 10/27/2004

Vo's campaign has knocked on the doors of 19,000 people in the district. Vo, himself, has visited 2,300 homes.

Vo's message is a simple one. He has a strong belief in properly funding education…….he wants to close some of the tax loopholes He wants to restore funding to CHIP. He wants to see more responsive constituent services. And he stresses bipartisan efforts to solve problems.