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All of Dora Olivo’s work across her nearly five-decade career as a public servant has been guided by her faith. The newest endeavor for the 80-year-old attorney, educator and former state representative is no different.
On Oct. 31, Olivo was appointed as the first Latina justice of the peace for Precinct 4 in Fort Bend County in over a decade. Olivo says her faith sparked her passions for community and public service.
It was through the church she started her grassroot work and became engaged with the community. She saw too many examples of Latino residents being turned away from voting or lacking a full understanding of the process.
She and her husband, Victor, and a few other church members came together and organized a group called the Southwest Voter Registration Education Program and taught members of the community about the voting process, status and voting registration.
Olivo wanted people to not only have access to the ballot box, but to feel empowered.
“(Don’t) just vote, but know what you're doing. Understand why you were voting, and who you're voting for,” she said.
Maria Rocha Emerson, Olivo’s former chief of staff, said her deep understanding of the community she serves makes her perfect for her role as justice of the peace.
“She fully understands the background and the issues that these communities (of color) have that are lacking too often in other communities,” Emerson said. “There may be that sympathy or even that empathy, but not that real understanding of the background of what people have gone through, of what causes some of the problems in their lives.”
From voting registration work, Olivo found a passion for education for adults and also children.
Her experience as a former kindergarten and second grade teacher in the Lamar Consolidated School district have helped prepare her for roles as a state representative, she said.
As a state representative, Olivo dedicated much of her time to supporting education. She worked on legislative bills to address high-stakes testing, worked closely to support local alternative education schools and encouraged the State Board of Education to ensure the contributions of Latinos in the development of Texas were included in the curriculum.
Olivo said one of the things she enjoyed the most during her time as a state representative is helping local alternative education schools. Olivo said she witnessed firsthand the lack of actual education taking place in these learning environments and wanted to help. With collaboration with school officials, Olivo said she’s working to identify problems and help create a plan to fix them.
She also spent a lot of time on committees directly related to furthering education, such as serving four sessions as a member of the public education committee, a member of the National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials Education Leadership Initiative and multiple appointments to the legislature’s education committee, among other leadership roles.
Commissioner Dexter McCoy said Olivo’s long career representing underserved communities will aid her in this new role.
“Judge Olivo’s appointment as Justice of the Peace for Precinct 4 is historic,” he said in a statement to the Abdelraoufsinno. “She has long been a champion for the unserved, underserved, and ignored for our community in her time as a State Representative in the Texas House, her illustrious legal career, and as a fierce community leader. Judge Olivo is committed to justice, and I have no doubt that on the bench she will continue her public service with scholarship, fairness, and compassion.”
Every day Olivo goes to mass at Our Lady of Guadalupe Church in Rosenberg, a church she’s been attending for nearly 50 years. She said she wasn’t nervous stepping into this new role because she has so many people praying for her.
“You just go in faith and move in faith,” she said. It's not easy. It's a lot of work. I have a lot to learn. But I've got good people helping me.”
As someone who’s spent years working on the ground in Fort Bend county with diverse communities Olivo said she understands the struggles some families face when they meet in her courtroom or even approach the office windows to pay off a ticket. Her goal now is to ensure she can use her training to help all people.
“It's about serving. That's what I've been doing all these years,” Olivo said.
Briah Lumpkins is a suburban reporter for the Abdelraoufsinno covering Fort Bend, Brazoria and Galveston counties. If you have any story ideas or tips for Briah, feel free to send her an email at [email protected].
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