Art Madrid, who led La Mesa for nearly a quarter-century and became one of San Diego County’s longest-serving mayors, died Friday at age 90.
First elected as a council member in 1981, Madrid helped guide the East County city through decades of growth and continued advocating for local issues long after he lost his last election in 2014.
His death was announced Tuesday by city officials. No cause was given.
“Art Madrid devoted his life to serving the people of La Mesa,” Mayor Mark Arapostathis said in a statement. “His leadership left a lasting mark on our city.”
Madrid was praised this week by friends and former adversaries alike, who ed everything from his quirks (using “Hail to the Chief” as a ringtone) to his strongly held opinions (he was pro-Octoberfest, anti-electronic billboards). The word “ion” came up more than once. So did his deep knowledge of the area.
Mary England, president and CEO of the La Mesa Chamber of Commerce, recalled that you could point at seemingly any building and Madrid would be able to tell you when it was constructed and who the developer was, a history lesson only interrupted by ersby wanting to greet their longtime leader.
“He was a celebrity in the streets,” England said.
Madrid was born in 1934 in New Mexico. He moved to La Mesa when he was 17, served in the U.S. Marine Corp and had a 35-year career at Pacific Bell. His roles at the telephone company included directing government relations.
Madrid didn’t enter elected politics until his 40s. But once he was in, he was in for the long haul. Madrid spent a decade on the City Council before winning six straight as mayor. “I think the most important thing an elected official has to do is listen to those you serve,” Madrid once told the Union-Tribune.
Much of his tenure was spent balancing the needs of an expanding population, especially as families who were being priced out of neighboring San Diego moved in, with a desire to preserve La Mesa’s small-town appeal. He helped oversee the construction of a new police department headquarters and library and ed efforts to spruce up the city’s historic downtown.
Some of his ideas were creative and controversial. After noticing the prevalence of prostitution in the area, Madrid pushed to publish photos in a newspaper of some of the people who’d been arrested for soliciting sex workers.
David Allan, a former council member who tried unsuccessfully to unseat Madrid as mayor, said his one-time rival eventually became a mentor. A similar story played out for Kristine Alessio. She and Madrid butted heads on the council regarding a number of issues, including smoking (she initially wanted to give residents more freedom to light up) and transportation (Alessio was less open to public transit) but the two later became friends.
Even after Arapostathis, the current mayor, finally beat him a decade ago, Madrid found himself back on the streets collecting signatures to oppose plans to install electronic billboards in the city. The proposal died.
“He was a firebrand,” Alessio said. “I wish we would have had more time with him to do more.”
Madrid also loved serving on the board of the San Diego Association of Governments, or SANDAG, and pushed La Mesa to be more environmentally friendly, which laid the foundation for the city’s activism to be featured in TIME Magazine.
One of Madrid’s biggest disappointments was failing to build a new City Hall.
Yet even as his public profile grew, Madrid’s son ed him as a regular presence. “He was an amazing father and grandfather,” Darren Madrid said.
Some of Darren Madrid’s best memories involved golfing with both his children and dad. Art Madrid taught Darren Madrid how to golf when the boy was only 9 years old, although it took several decades until the son could regularly win.
“He was my best friend,” Darren Madrid said.
Madrid’s other son died of cancer in 1988. His wife died in 2003, also of cancer. Madrid is survived by Darren Madrid, two adult daughters and three grandchildren.
