Ralph E. Seitsinger (January 13, 1916 – March 30, 2016) was an American businessman, furniture merchant and politician. He served as the 36th
Mayor
In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a Municipal corporation, municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilitie ...
of
El Paso, Texas
El Paso (; ; or ) is a city in and the county seat of El Paso County, Texas, United States. The 2020 United States census, 2020 population of the city from the United States Census Bureau, U.S. Census Bureau was 678,815, making it the List of ...
, from 1961 until 1963. Under Mayor Seitsinger, his administration oversaw the development and early planning for several major infrastructure projects, including the
North-South Freeway through downtown El Paso,
Texas State Highway Loop 375
Loop 375 is a beltway that partially encircles the city of El Paso, Texas. The beltway is mostly a freeway, except for its northern section, which includes at-grade intersections. The highway passes through various areas of El Paso, funneling t ...
(the Border Highway), and the Lower Valley
sewer plant.
Seitsinger, who identified more as a businessman than a politician, cited the growth of city parks and the development of
El Paso International Airport
El Paso International Airport (EPIA, , ) is an international airport located four miles (6 km) northeast of downtown El Paso, in El Paso County, Texas, United States. It is the busiest commercial airport in West Texas, Southern New Mexico ...
as his greatest public accomplishments.
[ A proponent of the maquiladoras, or twin plant manufacturing concept between the U.S. and Mexico, Sietsinger's administration laid the foundation for the Chamizal settlement, which ended the Chamizal border dispute between El Paso and ]Ciudad Juárez
Ciudad Juárez ( , ; "Juárez City"), commonly referred to as just Juárez (Lipan language, Lipan: ''Tsé Táhú'ayá''), is the most populous city in the Administrative divisions of Mexico, Mexican state of Chihuahua (state), Chihuahua. It was k ...
in 1970
Events
January
* January 1 – Unix time epoch reached at 00:00:00 UTC.
* January 5 – The 7.1 1970 Tonghai earthquake, Tonghai earthquake shakes Tonghai County, Yunnan province, China, with a maximum Mercalli intensity scale, Mercalli ...
.[ Seitsinger was the oldest living former Mayor of El Paso at the time of his death in March 2016 at the age of 100.][
]
References
1916 births
2016 deaths
Mayors of El Paso, Texas
Businesspeople from Texas
American men centenarians
University of New Mexico alumni
People from Keokuk County, Iowa
20th-century American businesspeople
20th-century mayors of places in Texas
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