Young gun: Edcouch voters turn to new generation to lead city

EDCOUCH - Robert Schmalzried went to his mother for advice when he contemplated a run for the Edcouch-Elsa school board.

Schmalzried, then an 18-year-old senior at the district's high school, thought his mother would eagerly support him in his newfound political ambition, but she told him it wasn't yet the time for him.

Rosa Schmalzried encouraged her son to first learn how the political world worked, which he did, gaining experience on a handful of school board campaigns and getting a political science minor at the University of Texas-Pan American under his belt.

When he decided seven years later that he was ready for his first shot at political office, his mother asked him for his reasons for running before backing him in his mayoral bid in Edcouch.

He replied that he was fed up with the city's problems and wanted to remedy them.

Now, he's in a position to help do just that. The young politico pulled in 45 percent of the vote in a race contested by two men twice his age, winning the mayoral seat his grandfather held in the 1960s and '70s.

In doing so, the 25-year-old joined the ranks of other 20-somethings elected to political office in the Rio Grande Valley.

Most of the young guns turned in nondescript performances that failed to attract much attention. Others such as former Hidalgo County District Clerk Omar Guerrero couldn't stay out of the spotlight - and not in a good way.

And a few - such as Hidalgo County Judge J.D. Salinas, who was elected county clerk when he was 29 - used their first election as a springboard to higher office.

Robert Schmalzried, a customer service representative for a medical equipment supplier, brushes away concerns about his age.

He admits he probably wasn't ready for political office when he was in high school. But after he sat back seven years and saw his hometown struggle with problems as varied as massive layoffs at its largest employer, the school district, to state receivership of its water plant, he had had enough.

"I felt like the city had been in shambles for a long time now," he said. "I kind of got tired of being the one complaining. I wanted to be the one who was doing something."

Eddy Gonzalez calls them kids, and he doesn't mean it as a slight.

To him, they are.

Gonzalez, Edcouch's 58-year-old mayor pro tem, lost by 60 votes to a man born three decades after him.

Another candidate on Gonzalez's slate in this month's election lost to Melody Galvan, 24.

But throughout his campaign for the city's top elected office, Gonzalez consistently said Robert Schmalzried was a better option than the city's former mayor, 68-year-old Jose Guzman.

At their first council meeting together, Gonzalez - who did not give up his council seat to run for mayor - took his customary place next to the mayor at the back of the room.

Gonzalez eagerly agreed with the young mayor's suggestion - upon reviewing a utility collections report that showed a huge number of late payments that coincided with school district pay periods - that the city ought to change its billing due date to coincide with when its residents are paid.

Earlier, Gonzalez said he would gauge what kind of success Robert Schmalzried will have as mayor once they attend a few meetings together.

He said he worries about the mayor's lack of experience, but he added that "everybody has got to start somewhere."

"Age can be a factor for anybody," Gonzalez said. "Either young or old. Pro or con."

Relying heavily on the advice of experienced members of the council helps those elected to office at a young age, said Patrick Kennedy, who was elected last year to a seat on the Weslaco City Commission at 21. The Texas Municipal League offers classes to elected officials - regardless of age - that give them an opportunity to learn about unfamiliar issues.

Kennedy's tenure hasn't gone without a hitch. When he was at a conference in a shirt and tie, other elected officials mistook him for a waiter.

But given the opportunity, he said, most 20-somethings have something to offer their cities, even if they might have to work harder to make up for the age and experience gap.

"The majority (of voters) gave me the benefit of the doubt," he said "I think I proved myself."

Throughout Robert Schmalzried's campaign, people told his mother her son was too young and inexperienced to be mayor. She responded to criticisms by telling them to give him a chance and arguing that his youth could come in handy if he's not jaded by the history of problems in the Delta.

Rosa Schmalzried, who works in the Edcouch-Elsa school district's migrant department, said her son talked as a teenager of following in his grandfather's footsteps and becoming mayor of Edcouch.

"He was one of those kids..." she said, trailing off. "I guess not just because he's my son, but I always expected him to do something good."

In a city with a multitude of problems, Robert Schmalzried says he's in for the long haul.

His goal of attracting new business to strengthen its sales tax base so residents won't spend money in the county's other cities won't happen overnight, he said. Other pressing problems such as an overworked sewage plant also don't have quick fixes.

The young mayor comes up with small ideas on how to better the city that he loves on his regular trips through the county to distribute medical supplies, he said. But it was a meeting with Hidalgo Mayor John David Franz during one of his first official duties as mayor that had him thinking big.

When Hidalgo built Dodge Arena, it put a city about the size of Edcouch on the map by transforming it into a local entertainment destination, Robert Schmalzried said. With the proposed Hidalgo County highway loop set to run past Edcouch, the mayor wonders what services his own city could offer if it thinks ahead.

When Edcouch hit "rock bottom," its voters decided to give a younger generation a chance to create positive change, he said. Despite the city's problems, he is proud to say he's from Edcouch.

"Everywhere I go, people bring us down," the mayor said, "and I tell them to have hope in the city of Edcouch."