The 2022 Texas's 34th congressional district special election was held on June 14, 2022. ![]() "Judge Filemon Vela loses battle with stomach cancer". "Trevio, new commissioners take oaths of office". "Mayor wont seek re-election Wide open: Several officials consider running for citys highest office". ![]() "City Commission produces two mayoral candidates Election: Hernandez, Trevio to seek post". ^ a b "Dallas, San Antonio Mayors Reelected"."Blanca Vela announces interest in mayor's job". "Vela makes mark in four years as mayor". University of Texas at Arlington Center for Mexican American Studies. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k "Interview with Blanca Vela".^ a b c d "Brownsville's former and only female mayor, Blanca Vela, passes away"."Former Brownsville Mayor Blanca Vela dies". "Former Brownsville mayor, feminist 'trailblazer' Blanca Vela dies at 78". ![]() Her husband, Judge Filemon Vela, Sr., died on April 13, 2004. She was survived by her three children, Sylvia, Ralph, and U.S. Vela died of natural causes at her home in Brownsville on February 16, 2014, at the age of 78. Vela's official portrait, which was hung in commission chambers, was also unveiled on June 10. In a speech following his oath of office on the same day, her successor, Mayor Eddie Treviño Jr., thanked Vela for her service as his first act as mayor. Vela issued as statement thanking her family and the citizens of the city as her last act in office. In the runoff election 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. 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. Her departure set off a competitive 2003 mayoral campaign between city commissioner Eddie Treviño and former Mayor Henry Gonzalez. 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. Vela garnered 3,003 votes (56%), while Gonzalez placed second with 2,379 votes (44%). She defeated Gonzalez in the city's mayoral election on May 1, 1999. 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. Blanca Vela also became the first woman to hold a seat on the Brownsville National Bank's board of directors. She and Betty Dodd co-founded of the Brownsville Public Library Foundation in 1994. 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 later earned both her bachelor's degree and a master's degree. Vela began her college career by taking the bus from Harlingen to Brownsville to attend Texas Southmost College, a community college. The couple had three children: Filemon Vela, Jr., Rafael (Ralph), and Sylvia. federal judge on the United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas. ![]() She married her husband, Filemon Vela, Sr., in 1962. Blanca Sanchez, who was the eldest of her parents' nine children, was raised in Harlingen. Her father worked for the Missouri Pacific Railroad while her mother worked as a homemaker. "Cuca" Sanchez, were Mexican immigrants who moved to the United States from Linares, Nuevo León, and Zacatecas, respectively, when both were teenagers. Vela was born Blanca Sanchez in Harlingen, Texas, on May 27, 1936. Vela was married to the late United States federal judge Filemon Vela Sr., while her three children include U.S. She remains the only woman to hold the mayoral office to date. Vela, who served as the Mayor of Brownsville from 1999 until 2003, was the city's first female mayor. Blanca Sanchez Vela (– February 19, 2014) was an American politician and matriarch of one of the most prominent families in Brownsville, Texas.
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