FORMER CITY PLANNER, ROMAN MCALLEN, RUNS FOR TEXAS RAILROAD COMMISSION

Roman McAllen

Typically, if you ran into Ramiro Gonzalez, Roman McAllen was nearby.  Both worked in the City of Brownsville Planning Department and, in tandem, at town hall meetings, such as the one about doubling downtown parking rates held at Market Square.

McAllen used his free hours to restore two historic homes in downtown Brownsville, he and his wife Lisa living in one, a 450 square foot bungalow, also doing some work with the Brownsville Preservation Society, such as the alley cleanup in West Brownsville.

Now, McAllen, lives in Denton and is a candidate for the Texas Railroad Commission as a Democrat.

If he has his way, the department's name will be changed as it actually deals more with gas and oil issues than railroad.

Although, I always found McAllen gracious and personable, there was that one incident a few years ago, involving an irate citizen that resulted in McAllen taking some anger management classes.

Oh, the name "McAllen?" The city of McAllen, Texas is named for his great-great-grandfather. Alfred Barreda “Nene” McAllen.