Art Madrid (August 25, 1934 – June 6, 2025) was an American politician who was the mayor of

La Mesa, California La Mesa () is a city in San Diego County, California, United States, located east of downtown San Diego in Southern California. The population was 61,121 at the 2020 census, up from 57,065 at the 2010 census. Its civic motto is "the Jewel of ...

, from 1990 to 2014.

Background

Madrid was born in

New Mexico New Mexico is a state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States. It is one of the Mountain States of the southern Rocky Mountains, sharing the Four Corners region with Utah, Colorado, and Arizona. It also ...

on August 25, 1934, and moved to La Mesa as a teenager. He served in the

United States Marine Corps The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines or simply the Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is responsible for conducting expeditionar ...

and later worked for

Pacific Bell The Pacific Bell Telephone Company (Pac Bell) is a telephone company that provides telephone service in California. The company is owned by AT&T through AT&T Teleholdings, and, though separate, is now marketed as “AT&T”. The company has ...

Political career

Madrid became active in politics working for

Pete Wilson Peter Barton Wilson (born August 23, 1933) is an American attorney and politician who served as governor of California from 1991 to 1999. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, Wilson previously served as a United S ...

during Wilson's time as

mayor of San Diego The mayor of the City of San Diego is the official head and chief executive officer of the U.S. city of San Diego, California. The mayor has the duty to enforce and execute the laws enacted by the San Diego City Council, the legislative branch. ...

. Elected as a City Councilman from 1981 to 1990, Madrid was then elected Mayor of

in 1990 and then re-elected in 1994, 1998, 2002, 2006 and 2010. In 1993, the ''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' is an American Newspaper#Daily, daily newspaper that began publishing in Los Angeles, California, in 1881. Based in the Greater Los Angeles city of El Segundo, California, El Segundo since 2018, it is the List of new ...

'' said that Madrid was " San Diego County's most prominent Latino elected official" at that point. After 24 years as mayor, he was defeated by Mark Arapostathis in the November 2014 election. In 1994, mayor Madrid gained national and international attention when he started a program of publishing the names and pictures of individuals arrested for

prostitution Prostitution is a type of sex work that involves engaging in sexual activity in exchange for payment. The definition of "sexual activity" varies, and is often defined as an activity requiring physical contact (e.g., sexual intercourse, no ...

in his community. In 1995, the American Society of Public Administrators selected Art as

San Diego County San Diego County (), officially the County of San Diego, is a county in the southwest corner of the U.S. state of California, north to its border with Mexico. As of the 2020 census, the population was 3,298,634; it is the second-most populous ...

's Outstanding Elected Official. ''

San Diego Magazine ''San Diego Magazine'' is a multi-platform media company covering food, arts and culture, travel, health and wellness, social progress, and life in San Diego County, California. Its flagship monthly magazine has won multiple regional and national ...

'' selected him as one of their "50 People to watch in 2000." Madrid served as chair of the

San Diego Association of Governments The San Diego Association of Governments (SANDAG) is the metropolitan planning organization (MPO) for San Diego County, California. It is an association of local county governments, with policy makers consisting of mayors, councilmembers, and Coun ...

, SANDAG. He also served on the State Board of the

League of California Cities The League of California Cities is an association of cities within the state of California, founded in 1898. Most of the state's 482 cities are represented in the league. The League publishes ''Western City'', a monthly magazine, and holds an annu ...

and was President of the San Diego Division of the League. He served as President of the California Council of Governments (CALCOG). In the 1990s, white supremacist activist

Alex Curtis Alexander James Curtis (born October 24, 1975) is an American former white supremacist and neo-Nazi. He was one of the white supremacist movement's earliest popular internet figures and ran an online magazine called the ''Nationalist Observer'' ...

placed an (inactive) grenade in front of Madrid's house. For this and other crimes, Curtis was sentenced in 2001 to three years in prison.

Personal life and death

Madrid and his wife, Sally Lee Madrid, had four children. His wife died from cancer in 2003, fifteen years after one of their sons died, also from cancer. Madrid died at his home in La Mesa, on June 6, 2025, at the age of 90.

References

External links

San Diego Magazine website.
1934 births 2025 deaths 20th-century mayors of places in California 21st-century mayors of places in California California city council members People from La Mesa, California Hispanic and Latino American mayors in California 20th-century United States Marines {{California-mayor-stub