BROWNSVILLE — The first Latino to serve as Cameron County Judge has passed away.
County Judge Eddie Treviño Jr. said former judge Ray Ramon died Thursday morning. Ramon served as county judge from 1970 to 1981. He worked on federal, state, and local economic and social programs to help children, seniors and those most in need in Cameron County.
“Judge Ramon … was at the forefront of many initiatives and projects that impact many still today,” Treviño said. “He was a champion of the less fortunate.”
Cameron County Commissioner Pct. 1 Sofia C. Benavides worked with Ramon for 12 years. She said he brought Cameron County into the modern age.
She remembers Ramon instructing her to attend workshops so she could help him secure assistance for the county.
“So I did. I familiarized myself with what the criteria was to secure assistance. So when people came, I could start up the referrals from the judge to their office because he wanted a followup,” Benavides said.
Back then, everything in the county was done through the auditor’s office, Benavides said.
“If I needed a box of paper clips, I needed to secure it from the auditing department. There was no purchasing department. He established the first one. We didn’t have a personnel department or a planning department, or what is now what you’d consider an EMS department,” Benavides said. “All of this he brought about.”
One of Ramon’s most significant accomplishments was helping the San Benito International Bridge Company acquire a presidential permit from the U.S. State Department that authorized the construction, operation and maintenance of an international toll bridge, Benavides said.
The permit later was turned over to the county and led to the construction of the Free Trade International Bridge at Los Indios prior to the passage of NAFTA.
“I know he’ll be sorely missed, and he had a great impact on the county. … The ‘70s was a good time of progress in Cameron County, and it is important that we understand many of our projects or programs that we see or deal with today got started by someone else,” Treviño said.
Benavides recalled that his campaign slogan was “Ray Ramon, de corozón.”
“He led the war on poverty. … He paved the way for all future generations such as myself,” Benavides said.
