Vela, Blanca

Blanca Vela is a former mayor of Brownsville, Texas, and wife of Federal District Court judge Filemon B. Vela.

From the guide to the Blanca Vela Papers 2011-15., (Benson Latin American Collection, The University of Texas at Austin)

Blanca Sanchez Vela was born Blanca Sanchez in 1936 in Harlingen, Texas, where she was raised. She holds both Bachelor's and Master's degrees and married Filemón Vela in 1962. Active in church and community, she began her political involvement campaigning in her husband's bid for state representative in 1963, stemming from his involvement in the Political Association of Spanish-Speaking Organizations (PASSO). Blanca Vela became a staunch political activist for Mexican-Americans in the Lower Rio Grande Valley of Texas. Together with other Mexican-American women, she founded the Democratic Women's Club in Brownsville, Texas. She was appointed to the Brownsville Public Utilities Board (PUB) where she pushed for better pay and educational benefits for laborers, and also served on the Texas Public Power Association and the American Public Power Association, both consortiums for community-owned utilities. She co-founded the Brownsville Public Library Foundation with Betty Dodd, and served as the first woman on the board of the Brownsville National Bank. She is the first woman to have been elected as mayor of the city of Brownsville, Texas.

From the description of Oral history interview with Blanca Sanchez Vela, 1999 [videorecording]. (University of Texas at Arlington). WorldCat record id: 314828499