Texas Border Business
Getting into a political arena is easy but challenging to finish successfully. It takes a monumental effort from the candidate, and anyone involved in the campaign. Ramiro Garza, Jr. just went through a campaign that lasted several months to win a position that serves the residents of the City of Edinburg, Texas.
On December 20, 2021, Ramiro was sworn in by Judge Ricardo Hinojosa of the U. S. Southern District of Texas.
What a great afternoon. The weather was perfect, the ceremony was held in the middle of the courtyard plaza next to the Gothic revival-style auditorium built in 1926. It was just the ideal place and the perfect timing for the beginning of Ramiro’s tenure as mayor. Edinburg is a city that roars every second. The fast-paced growth of its businesses and residents screams for the need for outstanding leadership.
Once Ramiro became mayor, he thanked everyone who worked on his campaign, and even those competing for the same position. He recognized his wife Maria for her support and his children for always being there for him.
“None of this would’ve been possible without the support by so many of you.” He continued, “I got here in the year 2000, I served this community as the Economic Development Director, also as a city manager, and today, the honor you bestowed on me to be elected as your next mayor is special to me.”
To the citizens of Edinburg, he said, “I want to thank you for giving me this opportunity to lead this city as your mayor. Whether you voted for me or not, I vow to work hard for every one of you. By electing me, you decided you would like a fresh start. And I have every intention to ensure that we bring back trust to our city government and that we do away with politics as usual.”
This day was the culmination of Ramiro’s inspiration and strengths, plus his motivation and vision for the future of the City of Edinburg.
Background
Ramiro was born in Brownsville and grew up in Port Isabel. His father was Ramiro Garza, Sr. and his mom is Anita Garza. He attributes his inspiration to his father, Ramiro Garza, Sr. who passed away when he was nineteen. “Because of his passing, I became the head of the household with my mother. But when he was alive, I learned a lot from him and my mother. She is still with us.”
My parents were very hard workers, so they’re my inspiration because even though they didn’t graduate from college, they didn’t serve perhaps in the roles that I have performed. Still, I’ve always learned from them,”
Anita, his mom, also worked in his campaign; she was with him every day. “She brought food for everyone during the campaign,” he said.
Academic Background
Ramiro earned a bachelor’s in business administration in finance from the University of Texas at Brownsville, now UTRGV. He has a master’s in business administration as well. “I’m a graduate of the Economic Development Institute from the University of Oklahoma,” he told Texas Border Business in Exclusivity.
In the year 2000, he was hired to become the executive director of the economic development corporation of the City of Edinburg (EEDC). To get acclimated to the city, he attended any civic activity, got acquainted with the community quickly, and felt support from everyone. “Everybody was accommodating and making sure that I knew what I needed to know so that we could come together to move the community forward,” he said.
Ramiro said that the strengths that qualify him as the new mayor are his experience in economic development and his old job as city manager. He said, “I have been there, running the day-to-day operations in the city is one of my biggest strengths.”
When in Brownville, he was in banking as a credit analyst. “I was just getting started, and out of college. I took part in the financial management internship program, which helped me to understand business and to analyze financial statements.” He was one of four interns selected to work in different banks and to get to know how businesses are evaluated for loans.
He said that when he moved to Edinburg almost 22 years ago, the population was half the one hundred thousand they now have.
An anecdote he shares with people is that during his first year as the executive director for the EDC, three large companies closed, dislocating approximately 2,500 jobs just in the first 12 months.
“What that taught us is that we had to diversify our economy and focus on growing our community.” A plan was developed, no more focusing on one industry only, but concentrating on bringing more small and medium-sized businesses and supporting the university.
“We worked together to execute it, and yes, it’s changed quite a bit since then. Immediately after, we started developing industrial parks.” “The next phase,” he said, “we then started focusing on retail.”
The EDC and City Hall saw that there were more and more rooftops, that’s a clear signal that the city’s population is growing. He said, “All that effort evolved into putting Edinburg in its new position of leadership to capitalize on the growing economy.” He pointed out that those 2,500 jobs lost have now been recuperated, doubled, or even tripled.
Ramiro shared that his motivation is simple, “I intend on keeping engaged with the community. Also, by learning about how we can serve them better.”
Without a doubt, there is no question Ramiro loves Edinburg. He can tell the story in a few words. He says, “Always, when this community wants something, they come together and get it done.” Like when they wanted higher education fifty years ago, they created a college that evolved into a university.
“When the people of Edinburg wanted a hotel/conference center, they established the Echo Hotel.” He continued, “It was the people of Edinburg that also wanted to bring industry. They formed an industrial foundation to bring Hager Clothing Company.”
“Not too long ago, many of us were witnesses of the creation of a school of medicine. The people of Edinburg came together again and fought hard to make sure that this city had a strong presence, and we have it,” he said.
“Aside from the 20/40 Vision Plan is to make this administration transparent to the public as to how we do business. The other fundamental matter is that we are adopting a code of ethics. That we are here to work and serve the public, with no more politics after the elections,” he finalized.
