By Karen Gleason
The 830 Times
You know that thing they say about living in interesting times? Well, the last four years have certainly been interesting ones in Del Rio and like the purported saying, have brought both curses and blessings.
Seated in the council chambers at City Hall, Mayor Bruno “Ralphy” Lozano looked back on his four years in the mayor’s seat, four of the most turbulent years Del Rio has experienced in his lifetime. Lozano spoke about those years in an interview with the 830 Times June 27, just before relinquishing his role as the city’s top elected official.
Four years ago, on the night of his swearing-in, relatives, friends and supporters thronged the council chambers, chanting his name after he took the oath of office.
“That day changed my life forever. Putting my name on the ballot really changed my life, but being sworn in finally made it real. Then you begin to realize how much is on your plate, that you’re carrying the weight of the city on your shoulders,” Lozano said.
Lozano said he had studied state statutes, learning what he could and couldn’t do as a home-rule city mayor and studying the separation of duties of the council and the city manager.
“I really thought I was pretty well prepared, but there’s so much that you don’t know about. You become a board member for Middle Rio Grande Council of Governments, you participate in forums for the colleges, so many things. There’s just a lot that comes that I didn’t really realize at the time, so you have to be flexible,” he said.
Lozano said it took him a short while to find his footing, but then he was off and running. One of his priorities from the outset, he said, was not to hide from issues facing the community.
Some of the first challenges his administration faced was dealing with a ransomware attack on the city’s computer system and a widespread citizen outcry over utility billing issues.
“A year later when we had the forum (on utility billing complaints) in 2020, right before COVID hit, I made sure the council was present, that we were there and that we just listened. A lot of council members wanted to respond to the attacks, and I said, ‘This is not about us; this is about the frustrations of the community.’ People just needed to feel like they were being heard,” he said.
After the utility billing brouhaha, severe weather in the form of damaging hail and windstorms blew through the city, causing much damage.
But those challenges were just the beginning.
It is no exaggeration to say the challenges faced during Lozano’s administration were unprecedented in the history of the city.
“In March 2020, we had the onset of COVID-19 affecting our citizens, and the ongoing economic crises that arose from the pandemic. Then in 2021, we had two major winter storms, back-to-back, with snow and subzero temperatures. And then we had the immigration crisis, which peaked, for me, with the influx of Haitians camping under the city’s international bridge,” Lozano said.
“Those 12 days, in September 2021, were the most challenging of my term, because I really had to be the face of the community,” Lozano said.
Lozano reiterated, as he has many times in the past year, that he realizes that most Americans are the descendants of immigrants and that he fully supports anyone who wants to come to the United States legally.
“But what happened under the bridge was something that was not sustainable. It was a continuing, ongoing crisis of unsustainability. There hasn’t been real immigration reform in decades, and I believe that’s what’s contributing to the ongoing crisis,” he said.
“That being said, I was elected to represent the community of Del Rio. I was not elected to represent migrants who are crossing unlawfully, and that’s the fundamental truth. That doesn’t mean that I’m not going to do my best to make sure any migrants here are treated with dignity, that their treatment is humane, and that their treatment and care is not a burden to the city of Del Rio, because at the end of the day this is a federal issue, and I think that for me, it was something that I was very passionate about, where I made sure that our community came first,” Lozano added.
But Lozano also credits help from county, hospital and school board leaders, as well as U.S. Border Patrol Chief Raul Ortiz, Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott and the many law enforcement officers who responded, in bringing the crisis to a speedy and humane resolution.
Lozano also credited his own responses to being bullied as a child, working in the aviation industry and his hitch as a military police officer with providing him the tools to ready him for the crisis.
The mayorship also provided Lozano with a platform for issues close to his heart.
Throughout his time in the mayor’s office, Lozano, as Del Rio’s first openly gay elected official, has championed LBGTQI+ visibility.
In 2019, he helped create the first Pride event in Del Rio, a gathering on the lawn of the county courthouse and a parade/march to the amphitheater on the San Felipe Creek.
“I was the president of Del Rio SAFE, and we planned the event thinking we would have maybe 200 people, but no, we had a total of 700 to 800 people throughout the entire day. The amphitheater was packed, and we had people from all over. I wanted to make sure that people felt welcome here, and that’s what we did,” Lozano said.
He remembers a relative crying as he thanked Lozano for what he had done.
“He was crying tears of joy, because not only had I made an impact in the political sphere by being Del Rio’s first openly gay mayor, openly gay elected official, but I also brought Pride here, and he had grown up in an era when that was hidden, when they were hiding amongst everybody else. They could not be out, they could not be proud, they could not be their true authentic selves, and so 2019 had a really big impact,” Lozano said.
The Pride events and the community by and large embracing their gay mayor set the stage for the HBO show “We’re Here” to film an episode in Del Rio, Lozano said.
“It needs to be said that we had some pushback. There were a couple of pastors in 2019 saying that they were going to protest the parade, and in 2021, when ‘We’re Here’ came, 13 pastors wrote a letter to the city manager speaking out against it and they tried to blame it on COVID, but we’d already had large events that year,” Lozano said.
But Lozano said his real joy as mayor has been reaching out to the community’s young people.
“Prior to COVID – and I tried to do this even during the pandemic – what I tried to do was be present for the youth of Del Rio. I remember going to elementary schools, including my alma mater, Buena Vista, the middle schools, the high schools, and even to the academies and being visible at all the different campuses,” he said.
Lozano said he remembers as a child seeing the community involvement of Mayor Dr. Alfredo Gutierrez Jr.
“Mayor Gutierrez was always involved, and I remember that from being a kid in school, and that’s what I wanted to give back. These young people are learning about government, and they see the president’s picture and they see the senators’ pictures, and then they see the mayor, in person, in their class, and they really get a kick out of that,” Lozano said.
His passion for involvement also came through during every city parade, in which Lozano typically walked the entire parade route, moving from one side of the street to the other, pausing to shake hands or to take a selfie with young – and not-so-young – fans.
“Young people need to feel that sense of belonging in the community. So often, the youth gets left out of the conversation, and they’re the ones that will inherit everything that this council decides to do, in real time, and that was why my vision was always for the future,” Lozano said.
Lozano said another highlight of his term was being appointed chair of Segment 3 of the Ports-to-Plains Committee, from many other mayors and county judges from communities along the future I-27 corridor.
“Those moments I’m going to remember for the rest of my life,” Lozano said.
He gave much credit to his administrative team and the rest of the city staff, saying he will always remember their support and assistance. He said he will always remember, too, the pride on the face of his mother and his aunts on the night he was sworn in.
But in spite of – or perhaps because of – the accomplishments of the past four years, Lozano is looking to the future with anticipation and hope.
“In the short term, I’m going to be working full-time at Delta, going back to a full summer schedule. I picked up a shift to go to Copenhagen, so I will be going to Denmark for the first time. I’m finally going to new countries again for the first time in four years.
“I’ve picked up some trips to New York City, I’m going to Sacramento, and I’ll be going back to Dublin, my favorite layover with Delta,” he said.
And Lozano is considering other options as well.
“I’ve been interviewed over the years by yourself and by many other people, and I want to delve into possibly doing a YouTube channel or a podcast on Spotify and interview people that have influenced me,” Lozano said.
“I feel like I’ve learned so much from people, and I want to give that back, somehow,” he added.
Lozano also left the door open for future political involvement.
“You never know. Higher up, maybe. We’ll see,” he said.
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Contact the author at delriomagnoliafan@gmail.com
