Joaquin Zamora
McAllen City Commissioner District 2
Assistant Criminal District Attorney
One of the first things a person notices about Joaquin Zamora, McAllen City Commissioner District 2 and Assistant Criminal District Attorney, is his welcoming attitude. Perhaps that is because he is so grateful to God for the life he is living.
Born and raised in McAllen in a colonia, Zamora learned his work ethics early from clerking in the family store, stocking the shelves, taking inventory and selling barbacoa on Sundays. At the same time his moral philosophy was being honed – always tell the truth, respect your elders, don’t talk back, do the right thing. Maybe it was partly this which, by the time he was in 5th grade, helped him know what he wanted in life. It was not the family business, but the city business.
“It was the ‘80s. I saw a lot of poor people who seemed to be abused on the news. It appeared there were a lot of injustices, and I wondered why it was that the bad guys got away with it,” said Zamora. “I felt I wanted to do something that would literally help people balance the scales of justice. I had this sense I would work in the Hidalgo County Courthouse doing something to help people and that at some point, I would also be serving the City of McAllen.”
Being an Assistant DA since 1998 and thrilled to now be a McAllen City Commissioner, Zamora’s goal is to use more of a one-on-one approach to solving problems.
“I want to allow more of a voice to the citizens of McAllen city wide and, more specifically, to District 2. If it’s personal to them, it’s personal to me,” he continued. “I believe we can’t ever feel complacent in what we do. I think we have to challenge what the city is doing. What is their objective? What do we accomplish by doing this? Just because we can does not mean that we should.”
Zamora followed his vision – first to UT Austin, then working in the courthouse, and now the City of McAllen.
“I’m not the smartest guy, but I’m darn well the most tenacious guy you’re ever going to find,” he said. “I’m going to plug and plug and plug away until I get the result I want. For this I thank God for He’s always been the leader in my life.”