The Election Results Are In...From 50 Years Ago

Way-Back Wednesday Feature

By Diego Garcia III | Editor of The Brownsville Beacon

 If you decide to run for office in Brownsville, you do not have to register your political party affiliation. If you've ever noticed, political signs belonging to city commissioner or mayoral candidates don't ever say whether they're a Democrat or a Republican (or a Communist, or a member of the Green Party for that matter).

 Local politics were very different even fifty years ago. There were political parties, but they weren't affiliated with any of the national parties. Local politicians formed political tickets and many times ran as an entire slate. In the November 1969 election results published in The Brownsville Herald fifty years ago to the day, the Greater Brownsville Ticket was successful in having their entire slate of four commissioners elected. Dr. Earle B. Griffey, Joe A. Besteiro, Louis Lapeyre, and Keith Cummins were all elected as city commissioners. The Greater Brownsville Ticket's mayoral candidate, Tony Gonzalez, would end up in a runoff against independent candidate George Saenz. The Better Brownsville Party's slate, spearheaded by mayoral candidate Tino Garcia, was soundly defeated.

 There are those who believe slate elections are held to this day. There are grumblings of political alliances and partnerships between the current sitting city commissioners. There very well may be, but it definitely is interesting to see how the old political machines worked trying to get entire slates elected. 

 Having one political machine control all the votes on the city commission can be dangerous if their intentions are self-serving. If they are working for the betterment of the community, it definitely makes things easier, but if they're working towards pushing through a hidden agenda, things can get messy.

 Perhaps the most interesting statistic of the election results is over half of the registered voters in Brownsville turned out to vote in the election. According to the Herald, that was the largest turnout in a decade. My hope and desire is Brownsville starts realizing what an awesome power the community can wield by voting. Voter apathy is a big problem that needs to be addressed. 

 Tony Gonzalez would be Brownsville's first Mexican-American mayor. If any of you have ever visited Gonzalez Park (or "G" park, as some of my friends would call it), to play soccer, basketball, or to watch one of your nieces play kickball, you've visited the park named for the head of Brownsville's "Greater Brownsville Ticket" party.

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