ROSENBAUM, THE LION OF SOUTHMOST, FETED AT BIRTHDAY BASH

Special to El Rrun-Rrun

This past weekend, one of Southmost's most notable sons celebrated a birthday. We won't tell you how old former Cameron County Pct. 1 commissioner Lucino Rosenbaum is, but let's say he's pushing into his 70s. In the 1980s, and exasperated by the conditions of the roads in his neighborhood off Maverick and Dakota roads, Lucino ran for commissioner of Precinct 1.

He didn't know it then, but he was taking on one of the most powerful politicians in South Texas, the late D. J. Lerma. He lost by a few votes, but Lerma had seen the writing on the wall, and when Judge Jack Goolsby died in office and Lerma was appointed interim county judge, he anointed Rosenbaum to succeed him in Precint 1.
The men – once bitter political enemies – became fast friends.

But that was far in the future when Rosenbaum's candidacy became known in the barrios. Pachanga after pachanga was thrown in his honor and the formerly passive, non-participatory electorate suddenly caught the excitement of having one of their own in the running for an important post. 

(In the photos of one of those pachangas, Lucino and his better half Bea (nee Galindo) stand at the late printer Joe King's pachanga with his late brother Juan on his left and Lucino III with his back to the camera. And, yes, that's Judge Ben Euresti campaigning for his first term behind Bea wearing shades. Below he dances with Samanatha, then just a toddler.)

After serving Lerma's term, Rosenbaum ran twice again and won. He lost after serving two full terms. Along the way he took on former County Judge Ray Ramon – and beat him in a  runoff by six votes. He then led the defection of a majority of the commissioners, all Democrats, and handed Tony Garza the county judgeship – the first Republican county judge in Cameron County since Reconstruction. His opponent was Rosenbaum's old nemesis, Ramon.

Garza, still a close friend, capped his meteoric rise in state and national politics by serving first as Txas Secretary of State, elected to the Texas Railroad Commission and later as George W. Bush's ambassador to Mexico. Lucino later served as a board member of the El Jardin Water District. 

There will always be valleys in a politician's career, and the Rosenbaums went through several trying periods. Nonetheless, we wish to extend our appreciation to Lucino – one of the first members of the "common people"  to hold public office – for pioneering political participation in the Southmost barrio and opening the door to popular representation. 

Feliz Cumpleaños Lucino!