![]() ![]() 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. It was not immediately clear how Vela’s seat would be filled until the next Congress, but in one scenario, Gonzelez could resign from his district in south-central Texas to run in a special election, setting up another special election in the 15th District.Blanca Sanchez Vela (– February 19, 2014) was an American politician and matriarch of one of the most prominent families in Brownsville, Texas. Like all departing House members, Vela will be subject to a one-year ban on lobbying the legislative branch, though he may still provide some level of strategic guidance. Vela also did not respond to a request for comment.Īkin Gump was the second biggest federal lobbying practice in 2021, according to public Lobbying Disclosure Act filings, disclosing $53.4 million from such clients as Amazon, Gila River Indian Community, Oneida Indian Nation, Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America and the U.S. "We do not have any comment on Congressman Filemon Vela or his plans after retirement while he is still serving in Congress," said Akin Gump spokeswoman Sarah Richmond in an email. But he would have carried it by 16 points under the new congressional map, according to Inside Elections. Biden carried the district by 4 points, according to a data analysis by Daily Kos Elections. He won his 2020 election by 13 points, down from a 20-point victory in 2018. Vela, 58, is a vice chair of the Democratic National Committee whose wife, Rose Vela, was named by President Joe Biden to serve as director of the Commission on White House Fellowships.įilemon Vela, who is in his fifth term, had been floated as a potential nominee for Biden’s Cabinet. Vela informed the House Ethics Committee in January that he would recuse himself from any matter involving Akin Gump “as a result of my negotiation or agreement regarding future employment or compensation,” according to a document filed with the committee and reported by Forbes. Gonzales rates the 34th District race Solid Democratic. Vicente Gonzalez, who represents the 15th District, is running for the seat. Vela, who represents Texas’ 34th District along the Mexican border, announced last year that he would not seek reelection. He confirmed the report with the Texas Tribune, according to reporter Abby Livingston. Vela’s plans were first reported in a Tweet Thursday morning by Punchbowl News editor Heather Caygle. Filemon Vela of Texas reportedly plans to resign from Congress in the coming weeks to take a post at the Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld lobbying firm. ![]()
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