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→Running for mayor
==Running for mayor==
==Running for mayor==
Flores announced that she would run for mayor in the fall of 1997, after the incumbent, Saul N. Ramirez, Jr., resigned to join the [[Bill Clinton|Clinton]] administration. Ramirez later became the deputy in [[Washington, D.C.]], to United States [[Department of Housing and Urban Development]] Secretary [[Andrew Cuomo]], since the [[governor]] of [[New York]]. Flores won the special election runoff in the winter of 1998. Then she ran for a full term in May 1998. She defeated an outgoing councilman, Alfonso I. "Poncho" Casso, who reappeared in 2012 to seek a position on the Webb County Commission and a previous city attorney, Fausto Sosa. In 2002, she was easily reelected to a second full term when she defeated a former city councilman, Felipe Cardenas, who had been recalled from office several years earlier, as permitted under the Laredo municipal charter, though there is no recall in Texas for state positions.
Flores announced that she would run for mayor in the fall of 1997, after the incumbent, Saul N. Ramirez, Jr., resigned to join the [[Bill Clinton|Clinton]] administration. Ramirez later became the deputy in [[Washington, D.C.]], to United States [[Department of Housing and Urban Development]] Secretary [[Andrew Cuomo]], since the [[governor]] of [[New York]]. Flores won the special election runoff in the winter of 1998. Then she ran for a full term in May 1998. She defeated an outgoing councilman, Alfonso I. "Poncho" Casso, who reappeared in 2012 to seek a position on the Webb County Commission and a previous city attorney, Fausto Sosa. In 2002, she was easily reelected to a second full term when she defeated a former city councilman, Felipe Cardenas, who had been recalled from office several years earlier, as permitted under the Laredo municipal charter, though there is no recall in Texas for state positions.
Flores was term-limited by the Laredo city charter, which was drafted during the administration of one of her predecessors, [[Aldo Tatangelo]], who served from 1978 to 1990. She was succeeded by Raul Salinas, but she and six of the sitting eight council members endorsed Salinas' opponent, outgoing city council member John Clifford Galo (born 1958), who in 2012 reentered politics to contest successfully as a Democrat a seat on the Webb County Commissioner's Court.
Flores was term-limited by the Laredo city charter, which was drafted during the administration of one of her predecessors, [[Aldo Tatangelo]], who served from 1978 to 1990. She was succeeded by Raul Salinas, but she and six of the sitting eight council members endorsed Salinas' opponent, outgoing city council member John Clifford Galo (born 1958), who in 2012 reentered politics to contest successfully as a Democrat a seat on the Webb County Commissioner's Court.
As mayor, Flores gained national recognition of her city. She was the chairman of the "Cities and Border Task Force" of the U.S. Conference of Mayors. She once ran for the presidency of the conference but was defeated by another woman.
As mayor, Flores gained national recognition of her city. She was the chairman of the "Cities and Border Task Force" of the U.S. Conference of Mayors. She once ran for the presidency of the conference but was defeated by another woman.
She was also in office when unemployment in the border city began to drop significantly after years of double-digit jobless figures. Laredo gained a reputation as a mecca for entrepreneurs and small businesses and grew rapidly in population.
She was also in office when unemployment in the border city began to drop significantly after years of double-digit jobless figures. Laredo gained a reputation as a mecca for entrepreneurs and small businesses and grew rapidly in population.
==Laredo Energy Arena==
==Laredo Energy Arena==
Flores affectionately calls the LEA, located off the Bob Bullock Loop, "the house that Laredo built." Ray Keck], a former president of Texas A&M International University in Laredo, said that the LEA clearly tops the list of Flores' accomplishments because she was "the driving force behind that." Keck also noted that Flores worked to keep the Laredo Philharmonic Orchestra together. Then City Manager Larry Dovalina (born 1947) said that when the LEC opened, "people looked at Laredo in a different light."
Flores affectionately calls the LEA, located off the Bob Bullock Loop, "the house that Laredo built." Ray Keck], a former president of Texas A&M International University in Laredo, said that the LEA clearly tops the list of Flores' accomplishments because she was "the driving force behind that." Keck also noted that Flores worked to keep the Laredo Philharmonic Orchestra together. Then City Manager Larry Dovalina (born 1947) said that when the LEC opened, "people looked at Laredo in a different light."
* Established a smoke-free Laredo, with all restaurants enforcing non-smoking policies.
* Established a smoke-free Laredo, with all restaurants enforcing non-smoking policies.
==References==
==References==
{{reflist}}
{{reflist}}
* ''Laredo Morning Times,' June 25–26, 2006
* ''Laredo Morning Times,' June 25–26, 2006