| Raul Gonzalez Salinas | |
 Laredo Mayor Raul Salinas at the 2008 Veterans Day ceremony at Laredo Community College |
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Mayor of Laredo, Texas
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| Incumbent | |
| Assumed office June 17, 2006 |
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| Preceded by | Elizabeth "Betty" Garcia Flores |
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| Born | November 8, 1947 Alice, Texas |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Profession | Former FBI agent, businessman |
Raul Gonzalez Salinas (born November 8, 1947) is a private security consultant, a businessman, and a retired Federal Bureau of Investigation agent who was elected mayor of Laredo, Texas, on June 17, 2006. A self-styled political outsider, Salinas defeated 8-year city councilman John Clifford Galo (born 1958) by almost exactly 1,000 ballots in a low-turnout election: 9,665 votes (52.75 percent) to 8,657 (47.25 percent).
Salinas is a native of Alice, the seat of Jim Wells County east of Laredo. He is a graduate of the University of Maryland, College Park.
Salinas opposes the construction of the border wall along the Rio Grande. He claims that the wall would devastate Laredo economically. Salinas said that Mexican laborers sustain the Laredo economy by 40 percent. He opposes a border fence, saying such a structure would be "like a slap in the face." He urged the U.S. Congress to revise the border fence plan and to consider citizen input along the border.[1]
Salinas faces voters for a second two-year term in May 2010. Already, City Council member Gene Belmares, an hotel sales and marketing director, has announced that he will challenge Salinas for mayor.[2]
References
- ^ Kahn, Carrie (2006-07-08). "Immigration Debate Divides Laredo". NPR. http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5543027. Retrieved 2007-09-28.
- ^ Joe Rutland, "Councilman Belmares announces bid for mayor", Laredo Morning Times, September 24, 2009, p. 3A
| Preceded by Elizabeth Garcia "Betty" Flores |
Mayor of Laredo, Texas
Raul Gonzalez Salinas |
Succeeded by Incumbent |
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