Blanca Sanchez Vela (May 27, 1936 – February 19, 2014) was an American

politician A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking, a ...

and

matriarch Matriarchy is a social system in which women hold the primary power positions in roles of authority. In a broader sense it can also extend to moral authority, social privilege and control of property. While those definitions apply in general E ...

of one of the most prominent families in

Brownsville, Texas Brownsville () is a city in Cameron County in the U.S. state of Texas. It is on the western Gulf Coast in South Texas, adjacent to the border with Matamoros, Mexico. The city covers , and has a population of 186,738 as of the 2020 census. It ...

. Vela, who served as the

Mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well a ...

of Brownsville from 1999 until 2003, was the city's first female mayor. She remains the only woman to hold the mayoral office to date. Vela was married to the late

United States federal judge In the United States, federal judges are judges who serve on courts established under Article Three of the U.S. Constitution. They include the chief justice and the associate justices of the U.S. Supreme Court, the circuit judges of the U.S. Cou ...

Filemon Vela Sr. Filemón Bartolomé Vela (May 1, 1935 – April 13, 2004) was a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas. Education and career Born in Harlingen, Texas, Vela was a private in the Uni ...

, while her three children include

U.S. Rep. The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they ...

Filemon Vela Jr. Filemón Bartolomé Vela Jr. ( ; born February 13, 1963) is an American lobbyist, lawyer and politician who served as the U.S. representative for from 2013 until his resignation in 2022. He is a member of the Democratic Party. Vela was also vic ...

(D-

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

Early life and education

Vela was born Blanca Sanchez in

Harlingen, Texas Harlingen ( ) is a city in Cameron County in the central region of the Rio Grande Valley of the southern part of the U.S. state of Texas, about from the coast of the Gulf of Mexico. The city covers more than and is the second-largest city in ...

, on May 27, 1936. Her parents, Luis M. Sanchez and Maria R. "Cuca" Sanchez, were

Mexican Mexican may refer to: Mexico and its culture *Being related to, from, or connected to the country of Mexico, in North America ** People *** Mexicans, inhabitants of the country Mexico and their descendants *** Mexica, ancient indigenous people ...

immigrants who moved to the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

from

Linares, Nuevo León Linares is a small city in the state of Nuevo León, Mexico. The city serves as the administrative centre for the surrounding municipality of the same name and it is the largest urban centre of the so-called "orange belt" region. The city had a 20 ...

, and

Zacatecas , image_map = Zacatecas in Mexico (location map scheme).svg , map_caption = State of Zacatecas within Mexico , coordinates = , coor_pinpoint = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type ...

, respectively, when both were teenagers. They first met each other in Harlingen. Her father worked for the

Missouri Pacific Railroad The Missouri Pacific Railroad , commonly abbreviated as MoPac, was one of the first railroads in the United States west of the Mississippi River. MoPac was a Class I railroad growing from dozens of predecessors and mergers. In 1967, the railroad ...

while her mother worked as a

homemaker Homemaking is mainly an American and Canadian term for the management of a home, otherwise known as housework, housekeeping, housewifery or household management. It is the act of overseeing the organizational, day-to-day operations of a hous ...

. Blanca Sanchez, who was the eldest of her parents' nine children, was raised in Harlingen. She married her husband, Filemon Vela, Sr., in 1962. He was later appointed a U.S. federal judge on the

United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas The United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas (in case citations, S.D. Tex.) is the federal district court with jurisdiction over the southeastern part of Texas. The court's headquarters is in Houston, Texas and has six ad ...

. The couple had three children: Filemon Vela, Jr., Rafael (Ralph), and Sylvia. Vela began her college career by taking the bus from Harlingen to Brownsville to attend

Texas Southmost College Texas Southmost College (TSC) is a public junior college located in Brownsville, Texas. History Early history Texas Southmost College was established in 1926 under the name of The Junior College of the Lower Rio Grande Valley, as a subsidiary ...

, a

community college A community college is a type of educational institution. The term can have different meanings in different countries: many community colleges have an "open enrollment" for students who have graduated from high school (also known as senior sec ...

. She later earned both her

bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Middle Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate academic degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six ...

and a

master's degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is an academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice.

Career

Public service

Prior to her election as mayor in 1999, Vela served on the Brownsville Public Utilities Board (PUB), including a stint as the board's chairperson from 1995 until July 1998. She and Betty Dodd co-founded of the Brownsville Public Library Foundation in 1994. Blanca Vela also became the first woman to hold a seat on the Brownsville National Bank's

board of directors A board of directors (commonly referred simply as the board) is an executive committee that jointly supervises the activities of an organization, which can be either a for-profit or a nonprofit organization such as a business, nonprofit organiz ...

Mayor of Brownsville

Vela announced her candidacy for Mayor on August 28, 1998, as a challenger to incumbent Mayor Henry Gonzalez, who was seeking re-election for a third term. She defeated Gonzalez in the city's mayoral election on May 1, 1999. Vela garnered 3,003 votes (56%), while Gonzalez placed second with 2,379 votes (44%). On January 7, 2003, Mayor Blanca Vela announced that she would not seek re-election for a second term in a speech in front of the Market Square fountain. Her departure set off a competitive 2003 mayoral campaign between city commissioner Eddie Treviño and former Mayor Henry Gonzalez. Treviño and Gonzalez placed first and second (out of four candidates) in the election held on May 3, 2003, which qualified them for the runoff. In the

runoff election The two-round system (TRS), also known as runoff voting, second ballot, or ballotage, is a voting method used to elect a single candidate, where voters cast a single vote for their preferred candidate. It generally ensures a majoritarian resul ...

held on June 7, 2003, Treviño won 4,377 votes (64.13%), defeating Gonzalez, who earned 2,448 votes (35.86%) to succeed Vela as mayor. Vela left office on June 10, 2003. Vela issued as statement thanking her family and the citizens of the city as her last act in office. In a speech following his

oath of office An oath of office is an oath or affirmation a person takes before assuming the duties of an office, usually a position in government or within a religious body, although such oaths are sometimes required of officers of other organizations. Such ...

on the same day, her successor, Mayor Eddie Treviño Jr., thanked Vela for her service as his first act as mayor. Vela's official portrait, which was hung in commission chambers, was also unveiled on June 10. Vela died of natural causes at her home in Brownsville on February 16, 2014, at the age of 78. She was survived by her three children, Sylvia, Ralph, and U.S. Congressman

Her husband, Judge Filemon Vela, Sr., died on April 13, 2004.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Vela, Blanca 1936 births 2014 deaths American politicians of Mexican descent Mayors of places in Texas People from Brownsville, Texas Hispanic and Latino American mayors in Texas Hispanic and Latino American women in politics Women mayors of places in Texas Texas Democrats People from Harlingen, Texas 21st-century American women