Former Brownsville Mayor Emilio A. Hernandez dies

Former Mayor Emilio A. Hernandez passed away Thursday after a lengthy illness.

Hernandez, 78, a two-term mayor who served the city from 1979 to 1987, was also a former member of the Brownsville Public Utilities Board.

His nephew remembered Hernandez as a warm, compassionate man.

"It was always about the people," Hernandez’s nephew, former City Commissioner Ernie L. Hernandez Jr. said Friday.

The former mayor also will be remembered as a strong political figure and leader who never lost his cool or held grudges if a vote on the City Commission didn’t go his way.

"He had a strength and an ability to deal with many, many different types of people and especially adversaries. He was always a gentleman. If he had the votes, great, and if he didn’t, tomorrow was another day. It was no big deal. Nothing fazed him," Hernandez added.

From a family of eight brothers and sisters born and raised in Brownsville, Hernandez said that his uncle never forgot where he came from — his humble beginnings.

The former mayor eventually developed an extensive auto sales and home-building business and became very successful, his nephew said.

"I think he was one of the first people to finance cars himself. There were a lot of poor people who couldn’t get bank loans, but my uncle helped them. He helped a lot of people. I think that is why people were so drawn and mesmerized by him," Hernandez said.

In the former mayor’s re-election bid in 1983, he touted the accomplishments in his first term of office in the areas of education, arts and culture, neighborhood planning and improvements, housing, streets, transit, legislation, economic development, public safety, and recreation, his campaign re-election material reflects.

The late Hernandez also pointed to his priority of developing viable solutions to the issues confronting a growing community.

But he also noted that the greatest resources that this city had to offer were its citizens.

Funeral arrangements were pending.