Commissioner Garcia was sworn in on January 2, 2003 as Commissioner of Precinct Two. Prior to her election Commissioner Garcia served as Controller for the City of Houston and before that served as the appointed Director and Presiding Judge of the Houston Municipal Court System. As Presiding Judge, she was responsible for a multi-million-dollar budget, coordinated a staff of 50 judges, and established the operation and administration policies of the courts. She enjoys the distinction of having served for an unprecedented five terms under two mayors.

Active in the Houston community, the Commissioner has served on more than 25 community boards and commissions, including the San Jacinto Girl Scouts, the Houston Hispanic Forum, the American Leadership Forum, the Texas Southern University Foundation and the Institute of Hispanic Culture.

Despite her duties as County Commissioner, Ms. Garcia has made the time and commitment to be the chairperson or honorary chairperson of numerous charity functions. These include the "1998 Girls Inc. Charity Gala", the kick-off for "America Walks for Strong Women", benefiting the National Osteoporosis Foundation and the "International Paella Festival and Polo Espanol" benefiting Casa de Esperanza and The Mercy Foundation.

During the past year both community leaders and the media have honored Commissioner Garcia. She was named "Humanitarian of the Year" by the National Conference of Communities and Justice and chosen as one of "Houston’s 25 Power People" by Inside Houston magazine. The Houston Press also named her "Politician of the Year."

Commissioner Garcia has also been honored with the Texas Woman’s University Board of Regents Woman of Distinction Award, the Hispanic Scouting Distinguished Citizen Award from the Sam Houston Area Council/Boy Scouts of America, and the Board Award from the San Jacinto Girl Scouts.

Before joining the City of Houston, Commissioner Garcia worked as an attorney for the Gulf Coast Legal Foundation and served on the City’s first Appraisal Review Board. She also served as administrative law judge for the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and headed her own law firm.