Richard Moya
Biographical Sketch of Richard Moya
County Commissioner Richard A. Moya is best known as the first Hispanic to be elected to any public office in Austin/Travis County, where he was initially elected in 1970. Moya was born in Austin in 1932 and attended local schools. He was inspired by the public service work performed by Roy Guerrero, who ran the Pan American Recreation Center. In high school he and two friends started a newspaper, which he edited, that was so popular even the teachers read it. He married soon after high school. Moya served in the army during the Korean War and became Sergeant First Class. He had been a printer before the war, and returned to that work when he returned. Later, he worked as an investigator for Legal Aid, a War on Poverty program. Moya was Deputy Chief of Staff for Governor Ann Richards. Once he began work as a County Commissioner, he quickly started to address issues he already knew about, including organizing the county government to better serve the people. During his four terms as County Commissioner, Moya created CARTS (Capital Area Rural Transportation system), expanded the road system, and created programs to help ex-convicts to get back on their feet. He passed away In February 2017
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