Border Politics: The Election That Made History in my Small South Texas Town
Proof that barriers are made to be broken.
If you think elections rarely change the status quo, let me introduce you to Adan Munoz, Junior. Adan was a friend who broke barriers in my South Texas hometown of Kingsville - and made the State of Texas a safer place along the way.
He was the son of a Kineño (the Hispanic cowboys who have kept the legendary King Ranch in operation since the 1800s) who grew up on the King Ranch in Kleberg County.
After a stint in the Navy, Adan returned to Kingsville to work as a law enforcement officer. He served as a city police officer, a Kleberg County Sheriff's Deputy, and a District Attorney's Investigator for more than fifteen years.
His next career move would make history.
In 1988, Munoz declared his candidacy for Kleberg County Sheriff.
No Hispanic had ever held that position - and to win he would have to run against another friend of mine (and his former boss) - Sheriff Jim S. Scarborough, III.
Sheriff Scarborough had not only held that position for 16 years, he took over that office from his father who served as Sheriff before him for 37 years- J.S. Scarborough, Jr.
As if that wasn't enough, Sheriff Scarborough's Grandfather (James Scarborough, Senior) served as Kleberg County Sheriff from 1914-1922.
To say the incumbent Sheriff Scarborough had the benefit of name recognition in his campaign for reelection was an understatement. The Scarboroughs held that office in Kleberg County for over 60 years.
But Munoz - with his King Ranch roots and by then a 17-year history in local law enforcement - was also well-known and well-respected in the community.
And so, Adan Munoz, Jr was sworn in as the first Hispanic Sheriff of Kleberg County in 1989. And - not only did he break barriers - Sheriff Munoz left a legacy that would make a lasting impression despite serving in the position for just six years.
Sheriff Munoz targeted drug smugglers moving dope through his South Texas County as well as the dealers selling it there. He formed the County's first SWAT Team as well as a multi-county task force (which still exists) to take on the illicit drug trade. He also made frequent appearances at schools as part of a D.A.R.E. (Drug Abuse Resistance Education) program he established in Kleberg County.
Munoz will also forever be known in Kleberg County for campaigning for - and winning - passage of a $4.5 million bond for a new law enforcement center to house the sheriff's department and a new county jail.
Munoz continued to break barriers after leaving the Sheriff's office as the first Hispanic Executive Director of Texas Governor Ann Richards' Criminal Justice Division, and the first Hispanic to serve as Executive director of the Texas Commission on Jail Standards.
While in charge of the Jail Standards Commission, his investigation of a suicide at the jail in Nueces County (a neighbor of Kleberg County) so enraged the Sheriff there that he engineered a felony indictment of Munoz - which was later dropped amidst the outrage it caused.
"(Munoz) is a public servant who takes his job seriously, even if that means taking on some powerful interests. In today’s Texas, that’s pretty unusual." -The Texas Observer, (Sept. 21, 2010)
Munoz also served in the Texas Attorney General's office for six years, and - in 1996 came close to breaking another barrier when President Clinton nominated him to the position of United States Marshal for the Southern District of Texas. Unfortunately, the Senate Judiciary Committee failed to act on the nomination and the President did not renominate Munoz when the next Congress convened.
Munoz retired after a 41-year career in law enforcement in 2012.
In March of 2018, Kleberg County named its Law Enforcement Center for the sheriff who proposed its construction and successfully campaigned for voters to approve the bonds to finance its construction.
Kleberg County is so proud of Munoz's accomplishments that - as the Corpus Christi Caller-Times noted - on the building that now honors him his name is much larger than the name of the Law Enforcement Center itself.
Adan Munoz, Jr. died in January of 2020.
I am proud to have called him a friend.
Abrazos,
-Jack Beavers, US Border News
Aloha Jack - thanks for an awesome tribute to Munoz.
Thanks also for reaching out through Substack...looking forward to reading more of your work. I'm just getting started so using you as inspiration.