Albert C. Zapanta

About Albert

Albert C. Zapanta, Mayor 2026 - 2029

Albert (Al) Zapanta was elected mayor of the City of Irving in May 2026. He was previously elected to serve three terms as council member for District 6.

Mayor Zapanta is President and CEO of the United States-Mexico Chamber of Commerce, which operates eight regional offices in the United States and eight in Mexico. He was the founding member and Chief Executive Officer of PAZ Resources, LLC, and was Chief Executive Officer of PAZ Energy. Al worked in upstream operations of Atlantic Richfield Co. (ARCO Oil & Gas) and retired as Director of Governmental Affairs. He was responsible for negotiations with U.S. and Mexican governments on oil and gas matters and coordinated ARCO’S effort to deregulate the natural gas market, which later became the Natural Gas Policy Act.

Mayor Zapanta is a retired Major General, U.S. Army. His military record includes the award of the Silver Star, 5 Bronze Stars for Valor, the Purple Heart, and 30 other awards during the Vietnam War era. He was awarded the Joint Service Commendation Medal for Desert Shield/Desert Storm, Restore Hope in Somalia and Restore Democracy in Haiti.

Mayor Zapanta held numerous Presidential appointments throughout his career, including White House Fellow with the U.S Department of Transportation, Senate-confirmed Assistant Secretary of the Interior for Management and Administration, U.S. State Department Advisory Committee on International Trade Technology and Development, and private sector delegate to the U.S.-Mexico Partnership for Prosperity and Chairman for the Reserve Forces Policy Board, U.S. Department of Defense.

Mayor Zapanta has a BA in Industrial Psychology, MA in Public Administration and has completed work for his PhD in International Political Economics from the University of Southern California. He graduated from the Harvard Graduate School of Business, the Inter-American Defense College at the National War College, Washington, D.C.

Prior Committees

Mayor Zapanta has an extensive history of serving on various city and community boards prior to being elected to city council. He was appointed to the 2006 Bond Committee, the 2008 Charter Review Committee, the Human Relations Committee, and the Tax Increment Reinvestment Zone No. 1 Board. As a council member, Mayor Zapanta was Chair of the Audit and Finance Committee, co-chair on the Board Appointment Committee, and served on the Transportation and Natural Resources Committee. He was also the Council liaison to the Irving Convention and Visitors Bureau Board, Irving Flood Control District, Section III and Sister Cities.

Family

Al has been married to his wife, Rochelle, since 1970. They have two daughters and one son.