Ray Salazar
| Ray Salazar | |
|---|---|
| Mayor of El Paso, Texas | |
|
In office 1977–1979 |
|
| Preceded by | Don Henderson |
| Succeeded by | Tom Westfall |
| Personal details | |
| Born | August 25, 1931 El Paso, Texas |
| Died | April 27, 2016 (aged 84) |
| Spouse(s) | Dolores Salazar |
| Alma mater | Texas Western College |
| Profession | Accountant |
Reynaldo "Ray" Salazar (August 25, 1931 – April 27, 2016) was an American accountant, politician and veteran of the United States Navy, who served as the Mayor of El Paso, Texas, from 1977 until 1979. Salazar was El Paso's second Hispanic mayor, following Raymond Telles, who had previously held the office from 1957 to 1961.
Salazar was born in El Paso, Texas, in 1931 to Guadalupe Chaparro (Raul) and Reynaldo Salazar. He was one of four children, including a brother, Frank Salazar Sr., and two sisters, Olga and Alice. He graduated from El Paso High School in 1949, enlisted in the United States Navy for four years, and served in the Korean War. During the 1950s, Salazar enrolled in Texas Western College (now known as the University of Texas at El Paso) during the 1950s, and graduated with a Bachelor of Business Administration (BBA) in accounting in 1957. He was a certified public accountant by profession.
In 1977, Salazar was elected Mayor of El Paso, defeating incumbent Mayor Don Henderson. He served in office for one term from 1977 to 1979. He oversaw the construction of the new, present-day El Paso City Hall, which was constructed near Union Plaza.
As mayor, Salazar opposed a proposed border fence along the U.S.-Mexico border between El Paso and Ciudad Juarez. In "The Cactus Curtain", an article published in Texas Monthly in 1977, explained his opposition to the barrier, telling the magazine, "We don't want a Berlin Wall between our two cities...Besides, a seventeen-mile fence won’t keep illegal aliens out. They’ll just go to the end of the fence and come in around it. If the fence runs the entire two thousand miles from Chula Vista to Brownsville, they'll just cut holes in it. There's no way a barrier like that can be maintained without spending millions and millions of dollars. And the only result is going to be increased hostilities between neighbors."
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