New mayors of Baja California
http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/mexico/tijuana/20041129-9...
November 29, 2004
The men who will take office Wednesday in Baja California's five largest cities include a multimillionaire racetrack operator, a retired director of a
beer distributorship and longtime government officials.
Mayors in Mexico serve a three-year term and cannot be re-elected.
Here is a look at the five new chief executives and snapshots of the cities:
Tijuana
Population: 1.5 million
Mayor: Jorge Hank Rhon
Party: Institutional Revolutionary Party, or PRI
Experience: Chairman of the board and general director of Grupo Caliente, which operates Tijuana's Agua Caliente Racetrack, the Pueblo Amigo hotel and
shopping center, a network of sports book betting facilities across Mexico, and export services to 13 countries.
Personal: Born Jan. 28, 1956, in Toluca. Moved to Tijuana in 1985. Married to Maria Elvia Amaya, 18 children, one grandchild. Estimates his personal
fortune at $500 million.
Education: Degree in industrial engineering from Anahuac University.
Goals: Has promised to work in three basic areas: public safety, cleanliness and education. Plans include modernizing the transportation system,
building more neighborhood parks, setting up a system of video surveillance cameras, providing police with better equipment and improving their
benefits.
City profile: About 60 percent of Tijuana's economic base is industrial, with 700 maquiladoras employing some 170,000 workers. The rest is divided
primarily between commerce and tourism.
Interesting facts: Tijuana has its own baseball team, Los Toros, and opera company, Opera de Tijuana, and is the seat of the Baja California
Orchestra.
Mexicali
Population: 850,000
Mayor: Samuel Ramos Flores
Party: PRI
Experience: Retired in June as director of the Corona beer distributorship in Mexicali after 36 years with the company. Longtime member of PRI and a
party official. Past president of Mexicali's Municipal Sports Council.
Personal: Born July 15, 1943, in Mexicali. Married to Graciela Salas, three children.
Education: Degree in accounting from University of Sonora in Hermosillo.
Goals: Improving public safety, bringing paving and better public services to more neighborhoods, building multipurpose sports facilities in more
parts of the city.
City profile: Mexicali, the Baja California state capital, has a varied economy based on agriculture, maquiladoras, commerce, tourism and fishing. The
Mexicali Valley is a major source of vegetable exports to the United States, including asparagus, radishes and green onions.
Interesting facts: The famed Italian tenor Luciano Pavarotti sang at the city's centennial last year in the Laguna Salada. The city has a professional
baseball team, Los Aguilas.
Ensenada
Population: 480,000
Mayor: Cesar Mancillas Amador
Party: National Action Party, or PAN
Experience: Several high-profile state government posts, including Baja California secretary of social development, state government representative in
Ensenada, and director of State Public Service Commission's Ensenada office. Owner of wholesale food distribution businesses in Ensenada.
Personal: Born May 21, 1958, in Ensenada. Married to Beatriz de la Torre, four children.
Education: Degree in chemistry from Autonomous University of Baja California in Tijuana.
Goals: Develop a 30-year plan to guide future growth and development. Improve public services, from lighting to trash collection to police protection.
Attract investment from California.
City profile: By area the largest municipality in Mexico, Ensenada has a broad economy that includes maquiladoras, tourism, fishing, horticulture.
Produces 90 percent of Mexico's wines.
Interesting facts: Ensenada has a large number of scientists and researchers, as it is home to three major research centers focusing on physics, earth
sciences, oceanography, telecommunications and education.
Rosarito Beach
Population: 120,000
Mayor: Antonio Macias Garay
Party: PAN
Experience: Fourteen years in public service, including Rosarito Beach councilman, representative of the state government.
Personal: Born Jan. 19, 1967, in Tijuana. Married to Mariana Medina Perez, four children.
Education: Studied architecture in Tijuana at the Instituto Tecnologico and the Universidad Iberoamericana, but did not get a degree.
Goals: Changing the tarnished image of the police force by creating a special tourist police unit that won't issue tickets or carry weapons, but focus
on assisting visitors. Creating order by following the city's urban development plan.
City profile: Economy is 70 percent geared toward tourism, though maquiladoras have been playing an increasing role. Cancun, Los Cabos and Rosarito
Beach are the fastest growing cities in Mexico.
Interesting fact: The city draws more than 8,000 bike riders in April and September for the biannual Rosarito-Ensenada Bike Ride.
Tecate
Population: 110,000
Mayor: Joaquin Sandoval Millan
Party: PRI
Experience: Extensive public service, including Tecate councilman, state government tax collector for Tecate. Former municipal president of the PRI.
Ex-director of technical school, CETIS 25, and adjunct professor of accounting at the Autonomous University of Baja California.
Personal: Born Aug. 16, 1948, in Camino Real de Piaxtla, Sinaloa; has lived in Tecate for 44 years. Married to Blanca Chavez, three children.
Education: Degree in accounting from the Autonomous University of Baja California. Graduate degree from the Universidad Estatal de Estudios Pedagicos
in Tijuana.
Goals: "A clean and safe city," Sandoval said. Plans include building a badly needed new landfill for the city, installing video surveillance cameras
at the city's entrances, promoting sports among the city's youth, and promoting eco-tourism.
City profile: Tecate has 120 factories, most of them maquiladoras. Home of Tecate Beer Brewery and Rancho La Puerta Spa. Known for its clay products
and ornamental ironwork.
Interesting facts: No. 1 producer of tile roofs in northern Mexico. The late actress Maria Felix once owned a house here.
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