HARLINGEN — Chris Boswell says he never wanted to be mayor.
But when city leaders asked him to run, his years in local politics helped him win the city’s highest elected post in 2007.
This year, a landslide victory over three opponents gave him his fourth term in office.
“I’m proud of the success our community has had over the last few years,” Boswell said.
Boswell’s deep ties to the area have helped drive him to work to better the city.
Born in San Benito, Boswell was the son of Jacqueline Buesing and L.T. Boswell Jr., co-owner of the Ford dealership his grandfather bought in 1938.
Raised on North Reagan Street, Boswell learned much of his early civic lessons from the Boy Scouts.
“Scouting has helped shape my life in a lot of different ways,” he said. “It really has been a factor that shaped my view of community service and public service.”
In 1977, Boswell became an Eagle Scout, but he’s continued to climb the ranks through his adult life.
“That is part of what influenced me to give back to the community,” Boswell said. “It teaches you how to set goals and accomplish them one step at a time. It also afforded me the opportunity for leadership as a scout — as a boy and as an adult.”
At San Benito High School, Boswell became involved in speech and drama while forging plans to become a lawyer.
“I wanted to be lawyer from an early age,” he said. “The idea of being able to advocate for somebody, to help someone — that captured my imagination.”
A 1976 graduate of San Benito High School, Boswell received a business administration degree in finance from the University of Texas at Austin in 1980 before earning his law degree from Southern Methodist University in 1983.
Before he took the Texas bar exam, he married his high school sweetheart, Anita Simmons.
“My friends said it must be true love because she married me before I got the bar exam results,” Boswell said with a chuckle.
In 1983, Boswell began to work with the law firm of Stapleton, Whittington, Curtis & Huddleston, where he clerked during the summer of 1982.
Politics, he said, “was sort of a gradual thing.”
“You get involved in different things in the community,” he said.
In 1995, Boswell was appointed chairman of the Harlingen Industrial Foundation board, the city’s economic development agency, serving in that role until 1997.
“I got interested in the economic development side of Harlingen,” Boswell said. “As I got involved in local government, I began to appreciate the value of local government.”
As the 1998 election loomed, law partner Randy Whittington, who served as mayor in the early 1980s, asked Boswell to run for a seat on city commission.
“Working in economic development and bringing industry and jobs to the community, I wanted to continue all that and I thought being on the commission was a good way of continuing in that role,” Boswell said. “I thought that was a way for me to stay involved.”
In May 1998, Boswell won his first term on the City Commission.
“I wanted to see more job creation,” he said, reflecting on his goals. “I wanted to see more educational opportunities.”
Soon, he was working with area leaders on plans to build the Regional Academic Health Center.
Nine years later, Boswell was ready to take the biggest step of his political career.
“I had always said I’d never run for mayor,” Boswell said.
“I thought all the ceremonial part of it took too much time.”
But he changed his mind.
“There were some folks encouraging me to run,” Boswell said. “I thought it was a good time to exhibit some leadership. I felt like I had the experience. After nine budgets you get to know what it’s all about — about the departments.”
In May 2007, Boswell won the mayor’s post in a landslide.
As he set the course of his administration, he wanted to chart a path toward the future.
“I felt Harlingen needed a plan,” he said.
So he launched the Harlingen 100 Plan.
“It was a good jump-start to get things going in the right direction,” Boswell said. “It was a real team effort of lots of people getting involved with moving the city forward.”
Today, Boswell looks back on his tenure with pride as he plans for the future.
“I’ve enjoyed my service to the city very much,” he said. “As long as you feel you’re getting something done, you want to stick around to do something more.”
