The Cattle Ranching Mayor

Border Security

Perry: Prayer has played a big role in Mision's growth

Mission area cities re-elect incumbents

Post Office helps Food Pantry

Election Results

The Cattle Ranching Mayor

By Mary Nichols

The Monday after Mother’s Day, Mayor Norberto “Beto” Salinas awoke at his ranch with his wife, Yvonne. He drank his coffee and enjoyed what the morning sunshine had brought to light on his ranch. Everything was in full bloom, beautiful—but a killer to his sinuses. Nothing a couple of Tylenol couldn’t take care of, he says. He spent the weekend at his ranch, like he does every week, and gave his wife a quarter horse as a Mother’s Day gift. It was a joyous weekend. However, once his tireless cell phone rang, it reminded him that on or off the ranch his work as mayor is never done.

Last Saturday, Salinas was re-elected for his fifth term as mayor of the City of Mission. For 12 years, he has untiringly worked to better the city. However, Salinas also loves sports, ranching, his family, and the endless opportunities life can bring.

The mayor says he is honored to serve another four years for the city.

“Winning by the margins we did tells me that what we have been doing for the last 12 years is right. I care about the City of Mission. I have been investing the same time into my job as I have always,” he said. “It’s very important that you care about what you are doing, to always have a priority, especially for a position that the people vote for. I have to continue doing what I have been doing and that’s taking care of the taxpayer.”

Salinas was first elected as mayor of Mission in May of 1998. He is a land developer and is the owner of S&F Developers in Mission and other businesses, including El Toro Builders, and Palo Rojo Inc. Yet another of his businesses, Saltillo Group, is currently developing three gated subdivisions in Starr County, Encino Estates, Inwood Estates and Las Villas del Rio Townhouses.

He also raises and sells registered cattle at his ranch located just north of Sullivan City. He has been an active member on many boards, representing the city. These include the Anzaluduas Bridge Board, Lower Rio Grande Valley Development Council, Texas Funeral Commission and Texas Department of Community Affairs, just to name a few.

The mayor’s involvement in a multitude of things does not stress him out, but gives him a sense of fulfillment as he sees the fruits of his labors. His office at his developing company is a reminder of just that. The office decorations show what he loves and has accomplished through hard work. Framed pictures with Governor Rick Perry, Rudy Giuliani, and other high-ranking officials, newspaper articles and photos of the ranch fill the room.

Though his schedule is hectic, he is composed and speaks with calmness, as if knowing the work will get done, no matter what. Everything seems organized and in its place. He wears a smartly-pressed, collared shirt with his initials, “N.B.S,” on his sleeves’ cuffs and he speaks knowledgeably and with confidence. The man is clearly a leader.

“I can tell you I have gathered my education from just living life, just by working and learning from all people and friends that were a lot older than me,” said Salinas.

Salinas was born in Cuevitas, Texas, and raised on his grandfather’s ranch—El Toro Ranch. Today, the mayor continues the family ranching tradition, and he has purchased more land, enlarging his ranching operation to 900 acres.

He graduated high school from Rio Grande City. After graduation, he moved to West Texas to be a farm worker. At the age of 18 he married and his eldest son Ricky was born. After his son’s birth, he moved backed to the Valley and started working hard to sustain his family.

He began working for Ceballos Funeral Home in McAllen, and in 1967 began his own ambulance service, Catalina Ambulance.

“I was very young when I started, but I have always worked for myself. At that time the funeral home started having problems with the ambulances. So I started my own. Mr. David Ceballos helped me a lot getting it started,” he said. “I worked it very hard. The Catalina company gave me a very good education. It showed me how to work with the City of McAllen, with all the doctors and nurses. I kept the company for 20 years.”

Salinas sold Catalina in 1986 after he was elected as Hidalgo County Commissioner in 1980.

“After a few years I had to make up my mind [and decide] if I was going to keep the company or seek re-election for commissioner,” he said. “I decided to sell it to my employees. They bought it and I stayed on as county commissioner for 12 years.”

A savvy entrepreneur, he was juggling not only serving as county commissioner, but also running a monument company and a car lot. Then, he moved his office to Mission where he owned Salinas Fine Furniture Store off of Conway, which he later sold.

In 1992, Salinas decided not to run again for county commissioner and focus on his business interests. After several years, he closed his other businesses but kept his real estate development company.

He ran for mayor in 1998 after much persuasion from local residents.

Salinas says he never had any intentions of being mayor. It was something that just fell into place, a natural calling he discovered.

“I was asked by the people to run. With all the experience I had as county commissioner, I thought I had the experience to run for office,” he said. “After I heard Richard Perez was not running for re-election I decided to put my name on the ballot, and we won. It all happened very fast.”

In 1999, Mayor Salinas’ father, Adan Salinas, passed away and the mayor and his brother, Leo, took over the ranch and the cattle business.

“I miss my dad… He used to run the ranch for us. He was 88 years old when he passed on. The ranch has that feeling that he’s missing,” said Salinas, pausing.

“When he was there the ranch was a bit more exciting. … He had friends come over and we enjoyed barbecue with him. He’s buried there and so is my mother. Hopefully we all get buried there. It’s a very good place to be,” said the mayor rancher.

The mayor re-married in 1983 to Yvonne Salinas and will be celebrating 22 years of marriage June 4. Yvonne says many people don’t know how strongly Beto feels about ranching and cattle.

“He is very passionate about ranching. He feels it’s his duty to continue his father’s legacy,” she said. “There are few people who do that out of sheer respect. He loves cattle and knows everything about it.”

At El Toro Ranch the mayor raises registered American red and gray Brahmas. The 900-acre ranching operation is a prized possession and Yvonne says if Beto didn’t have anything else but just the ranch, he would still be happy.

“Sometimes we will be driving by the cattle and he will say ‘a red one is missing,’ and I say, ‘How can you even tell?’” she said, laughing. “They all look the same to me, but it shows how passionate and knowledgeable he is about the cattle. He goes out there everyday and has made a lot improvements to the ranch.”

His passion for ranching is evidenced by the collage of ranch photos on the wall of his office.

“I love the property out there and working with cattle. I have done my part to improve the cattle breed and have them registered,” he said. “It’s something I really love to do. It’s a good business for me. The ranch is my relaxing area and my house is over there. Raising calves and taking them to the livestock show in March; I enjoy all of it.”

Salinas is also devoted to his family and friends. He has five children, 11 grandchildren and two great grandchildren. The mayor says he loves them all and they have all been a great part of his success.

“He’s a wonderful father, husband and friend. He has never given up on his children and has been there for them, and even accepted my daughter as his own,” said Yvonne. “The friends he has have been friends for 30-40 years. They were there to baptize his children and never left his side. He’s a true person to himself and everyone else.”

The mayor says though he is always working, whether as mayor, father, husband or businessman, it’s not tedious, but something he enjoys doing. However, there comes a time when he just wants to relax and he says television is his guilty pleasure.

“I enjoy watching T.V. when I get home. If I don’t have a television, I can’t deal with it,” he said laughing. “Because I like to watch the news and everything else that is going on in the world. It’s something that relaxes me.”

Yvonne says something many people may not know about the mayor is that he is like an encyclopedia when it comes to sports, politics and life’s lessons.

“He can tell you the name of every senator of every state in the U.S., even past senators. He can tell you every congressman and what party they belong to. He is genius when it comes to politics.”

Of course, his most obvious passion is public service as mayor of Mission.

Anna Carrillo, city secretary for the City of Mission, has known the mayor since he was Hidalgo County commissioner. After working for the City of Mission for six years, she has seen how the mayor has affected the success of the city.

“I have seen how the city has grown under his leadership,” said Carrillo. “Mission is in his heart. His mission is always to be out there doing what is best for the city.”

During the interview with the mayor, questions that were asked to get to know him better somehow always led back to talking about the City of Mission and the plans he has to make it more successful.

Yvonne says this illustrates how he doesn’t take his job as mayor for his own self- interest, but to serve the city and its people.

“He will not go to bed until he helps the man that has come to tell him he has no place to live,” she said. “If there is a street that is unpaved or there is a dirty alley that hasn’t been taken care of, he will make sure it gets done. His interest is what is good for the citizens.”

After 12 years as mayor, Beto Salinas is still dedicated to serving the City of Mission. He is already working on projects he plans to accomplish during this next term as mayor.

One of his priorities is to continue lowering property taxes for the citizens of Mission.

He also hopes to continue working with the city’s firefighters, despite Proposition 1. He says he is not bitter towards them, and appreciates their hard work and hopes to be able to provide them with anything they might need.

He is also excited about working on building a special events center in Mission, building a rail bridge and continuing to foster economic development in the city.

The completion of the Anzalduas Bridge, linking Mission with Reynosa, will be remembered as one of the major accomplishments of the city during his tenure as mayor.

“It’s the most gratifying thing I have done. I worked 12 long years to get a bridge built. Now it’s done…. It’s great to know that I had a lot to do with it,” he said.

Salinas says he has been asked to run for other positions, but says he has found his niche in being the mayor.

“I think it really just comes natural. It’s my forte. I enjoy it,” he said. “I have taken advantage of the lessons of life since 1980 and it has worked out very well for me.”

Salinas has thought about retiring one day, but says that’s unlikely. The idea of not doing anything would drive him crazy. So he plans to continue to take care of his businesses and ranch—and the city.

The mayor is a working man and that’s the life he enjoys. His wife says he doesn’t even turn off his phone on vacations. It’s important for him to be available to the people.

“I get all kinds of calls. It’s a means of me getting to know the people. They even come and visit me at my business. I try to help them any way I can, and if I can’t, I explain to them why,” he said. “I have had an open door policy for 12 years and that’s not going to change.”

Concluding the interview, the mayor’s cell phone that had been vibrating frantically for the last 45 minutes, finally got answered. The mayor was back to work once again.

Border Security: Not just a Texas issue

By Carina Brunson

MISSION — The funding to secure Texas borders from potential “spillover” violence from Mexico’s drug war shouldn’t rest on Texas’ shoulders, but be a shared concern with Washington, Gov. Rick Perry said last week.

During a visit here last Friday, Perry discussed his work to get White House officials like Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano to act on securing the state’s borders.

“She understands the issues of border security,” Perry said. “My request has been for some national guard troops to come in and augment our Border Patrol, our law enforcement, our Sheriff’s Department, etc., along with our state law enforcement, so we could send a clear message to those who would use our border as a means of criminal activity, particularly the drug cartels. We are not going to allow them to take over our borders.”

He also spoke of his meeting with the ambassador of Columbia, Luis Morales. They talked about the issues of Mexico – the drug issues.

Speaking of the efforts by Mexico President Felipe Calderon to fight the drug cartels, Perry said, “I hope this administration will be very supportive of President Calderon and his effort to fight the drug cartels, because they truly are a menace, a cancer to our society. If we don’t collectively work together to defeat them, they will have a very negative impact on our border region, and particularly trade.”

Perry said the government is supposed to do three major things: stand a military, deliver the mail, and secure our borders.

Washington has failed at two of those three things, he said.

“Until they get those three down, I’d rather they lay off telling us how to run our healthcare, or do our education of our children, or other things they want to tell us how to do,” he said.

Perry agrees that more money needs to be spent on border security. One of the things he requested of Napolitano was the use of predator drones as an additional intelligence-gathering tool. Perry expects to receive an answer about the use of drones in June.

“We could not, in all conscience, not supply the dollars to beef up our security efforts,” he said. “…There is a lot of work that the federal government can do to secure our border. And once we get the border secure, then, and only then, can we have a legitimate conversation about immigration reform.”

It’s not just counties along the border that are seeing the impact of drug cartels; it is throughout the state, he said. It is not only a border issue, but also a state issue.

Perry said the amount of money sent to help secure the border is only a pittance compared to what is needed.

“If they really cared about the border of Texas, if they really cared about the citizens on both sides of the border, [they would] fund border security at the level that needs to be funded, and it’s substantially more than the amount they have sent,” he said.

In response to a reporter’s questioning whether his rhetoric about border security has hurt economic development here, Perry said, “People want honesty. And the fact of the matter is, we have activities along the border that are of great concern to the citizens not only of Texas, but of Mexico and the rest of the country.”

Businesses are being actively recruited, with major businesses looking at Hidalgo and Cameron counties. The businesses know there is opportunity down here, but they also know there is a drug war going on across the border that is spilling into our region, Perry said.

In the end, Texans want action, Perry said.

“And I’ll tell you where we need action today is out of Washington, D.C.”