Texas’s History of Jewish Elections
The independent Mexican nation formed in 1821 declared itself Roman Catholic, did not welcome immigrants of other faiths, and forced conversion upon any who settled.
The Declaration of Independence of the Republic of Texas in 1836 proclaimed that Mexico “denies us the right of worshipping the Almighty according to the dictates of our own conscience.”
Texas joined the Union in 1847.
The first Jewish election in Texas occurred in 1832 while it was still part of Mexico: German-born merchant Nicholas Adolphus Sternes (1801-1852) was elected alcalde (mayor) of the eastern Mexican town of Nacogdoches.
Jews won four elections while Texas was an independent state and thereafter won 194 in the U.S. State of Texas through 1920.
Its total of 199 Jewish elections ranked ninth in the country and occurred in twenty-one cities and towns.
The Texas Jewish population was 3,751 in 1877 and rose to 14,034 in 1917.
Texas Jewish Leadership Offices
Texas elected Jews to leadership offices thirty-four times, ranking ninth in the nation.
The Long Horn State elected eighteen Jewish mayors, tied with Oregon for second highest in the country.
The highest-ranking elected Jewish official was Harry Hertzberg (1883-1940), who served as president pro tempore of the state senate in 1921-1922.
Mayors
Fred Florence (1891-1960), Alto, 1919.
Leo Meyer (1873-1964), Belleville, 1895-1896.
Gabriel Raphael (1840-98), Brownsville, 1876.
William Levy (1818-1902), Bryan, 1881-1883.
Sam Levy (1860-1926), Bryan, 1914-1916.
Emanuel Tillman (1840-1915), Dallas, 1883-1884.
Sigmund Loeb (1842-92), Dallas, 1888-1891.
Solomon Shutz (1846-1925), El Paso, 1880-1881.
Adolph Solomon (1853-1905), El Paso, 1893-94.
Adolph Krakauer (1846-1914), El Paso, 1899 (did not serve).
Michael Seeligson (1797-1867), Galveston, 1853.
Isaac Kempner (1873-1967), Galveston, 1917-1919.
Gabriel Bodenheim (1873-1957), Longview, 1904-1916, 1918-1920.
Nicholas Adolphus Sterne, Nacogdoches, 1832-1833 (Mexico).
Nicholas Adolphus Sterne
Michael Levey (1836-1923), Schulenberg, 1883-1889.
Jake Levy (1852-1922), Sherman, 1891-1893.
Augustus Lewy (1857-1902), Temple, 1886-1889.
Sam Lewis (1862-1939), Yoakum, 1900-1902.
County Commission Presidents
Benjamin Kowalski (1854-1923), Brownsville, 1899-1901.
Samuel Klein (1852-1014), Dallas, 1891-92.
Source
- Mark Rutzik, Breaking New Ground: The Untold Story of Early America’s Jewish Electoral Pioneers – 1788 to 1920, 2025.
Mark Rutzick is the curator of this Jewish Officeholders exhibit.