Twenty years as mayor seems like the limit

By Gregg Romero Wendorf

MISSION – Mission has a new mayor, which is no surprise to anyone who covers city news. In a runoff election last Saturday, Armando “Mando” O’Caña beat longtime Mayor Norberto “Beto” Salinas by 152 votes. What’s curious, though, are the parallels one can draw between Salinas and longtime McAllen Mayor Othal Brand.
Brand was elected McAllen mayor in 1977 and stayed in office for the next 20 years before Leo Montalvo beat him by 144 votes in 1997.
The next year, 1998, Salinas was elected Mission mayor and stayed in office for 20 years before losing to O’Caña last Saturday by 152 votes.
What are the odds of such a similarity?
Shortly after his election, this Monday, O’Caña was already rolling out his Plan of Action for his first 100 days in office. The plan listed 15 items, which include:
1) Budget $500,000 for Downtown Mission Revitalization project.

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