Madera County’s first Latino supervisor dies at 94. His impact was ‘more than people realize’

Erik Galicia
·6 min read

Jesse Lopez never planned on running for office.

Those who knew him say it was the level of respect for him in Madera County’s District 4 – a predominantly Latino area even in the 1980s – that led others to ask him to run. Minorities had never had a voice on the Board of Supervisors. (Today, Latinos make up about 60% of the county, according to the U.S. Census.)

Lopez had the looks, the charisma and the gravitas, said Baldwin Moy, an attorney with California Rural Legal Assistance in Madera.

But, “more importantly, local Latinos always looked to him,” Moy said.

Lopez, who won the historic election in 1982 and became the county’s first ever Latino supervisor, died Nov. 15. He was 94 years old.

Besides trailblazing in Madera County politics – the District 4 seat has been filled by a Latino since – Lopez was a husband to Sally Lopez and a father to six. One of his sons, David Lopez, died Nov. 3.

Lopez and his son were memorialized together Dec. 4.

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‘My life was good ... a huevo!’

Lopez’s grandson, Madera South High School wrestling coach Alvaro Lopez, was a young child when his grandfather was elected. But he was not too young to remember the pride he felt.

The pride his grandfather brought to the Lopez family has reverberated through the generations since, Alvaro said. He’s been asked what family he comes from many times in the 20 years he’s worked for Madera Unified School District.

When he tells them he is a Lopez, their eyes open up and they say, ‘Oh, I know who your grandfather is,’” Alvaro told The Bee.

But to Alvaro, Lopez was more than a man who made history in Madera County politics. His grandfather was “larger than life.”

Alvaro spent so much time with his grandfather that people began to think he was Lopez’s son.

“Growing up, I always wanted to be like him – someone people respected ,” Alvaro said. “Some people act a certain way in public and a certain way at home. He was the exact same person all the time, no matter where he went.”

Lopez, despite having lived through the tumult of all the decades since the ‘30s, always found a way forward. Alvaro said Lopez developed his own “famous” carnitas and menudo recipes when he was young and would pick up tripe that the slaughter yards were going to throw out.

“The Mexicans would get it and make something good out of it,” Alvaro said. “He would not give anybody that recipe, but he taught me how to make it.”

During one of their countless conversations at Lopez’s ranch, Alvaro asked his grandfather what the best times of his life were. While it wasn’t perfect, Lopez responded that just about everything in his life was good.

“’I made it good, a huevo!’” Alvaro said Lopez told him. “No matter what life threw at him, he did his best to keep moving forward with grit and dignity.”

Alvaro Lopez, standing, says he and his grandfather, the late Jesse Lopez, sitting, spent so much time together that people began to think they were father and son. “One of the most important things he taught me is that life will not always be fair,” Alvaro says. “And when it isn’t, you don’t pout about it. You press on and look for solutions.”
Alvaro Lopez, standing, says he and his grandfather, the late Jesse Lopez, sitting, spent so much time together that people began to think they were father and son. “One of the most important things he taught me is that life will not always be fair,” Alvaro says. “And when it isn’t, you don’t pout about it. You press on and look for solutions.”

A charro, a rider, a mariachi

Jesse Lopez Jr., one of Lopez’s sons, said his father taught him to be respectful, to work hard and to have pride in who he is.

To Jesse Jr., his father’s legacy is that of a leader, not just in local politics, but also in Madera’s equestrian scene and as an original rider in the Joaquin Murrieta Horse Pilgrimage from Madera to Arroyo de Cantúa in southwest Fresno County. The horse ride, started by Lopez’s friend, Sigurdur “Mexican Sigi” Christoffersen, intended to bring attention to the displacement of Mexican farm workers in Three Rocks.

Lopez took over the organizing of the ride after Christoffersen died in 2000.

“He loved anything having to do with horses,” Jesse Jr. said. “He was proud of his tradition.”

Alvaro said Lopez gave him his first horse.

Lopez found Madera Charros, an equestrian group that put on rodeos, in 1967. He owned a trucking company and would drive to El Centro in the Southern California desert, just across the border from Mexicali, where his brother, Marcelino Jr., lived. Lopez would go to the rodeos while in Mexico with his brother, and was inspired to start his own organization.

So dedicated to the group’s shows was Lopez that he would take off to Tijuana or Mexicali the night before to bring mariachis into town for an event, Alvaro said.

Lopez was himself a singer, as was his father, Marcelino Sr.

Jesse Jr., who also sings, remembers going to the National Orange Show in San Bernardino as a child and walking toward a stage to see mariachis playing and finding his father on stage.

“He loved to sing,” he said. “He would always sing at home, and a lot of people would come to see him.”

Horse riders continue their traditional July homage to Joaquín Murrieta

‘They need to name something to honor his legacy’

Lopez’s supervisorial race against a cattleman happened during a time when people didn’t think it was possible for someone of Mexican heritage to win that seat, Jesse Jr. said.

“At that time in Madera, there were parts of the community that you couldn’t go to as a Latino,” Moy said.

Moy added that Madera County had always been able to draw district lines in ways that kept Latinos from being represented. Things changed after the redistricting that resulted from the 1980 U.S. Census count.

California Rural Legal Assistance sued the county over its redistricting and, ultimately, the lines were redrawn, Moy said. Lopez was then elected in 1982.

“It was a big deal,” Moy said.

Jesse Jr., who had helped during his father’s campaign, said people “didn’t believe we won it fair and square.”

The Lopez campaign had registered more than 500 voters in District 4 in the lead-up to the election, leading to allegations that it had registered undocumented immigrants.

“After he got elected, they sent the sheriffs out to investigate,” Jesse Jr. said. “They found one out of 500. There was no pattern of any sort.”

Jesse Jr. and Moy both said Lopez’s priority as a supervisor was to help those less fortunate.

So committed to that was Lopez, that it also led to his replacement on the board, Moy said.

In 1993, California Rural Legal Assistance sued the county over what Moy said was an attempt to stop the construction of farm worker housing in the Parksdale community, an unincorporated neighborhood just southeast of the city of Madera. Lopez supported the construction of the housing, Moy added.

While the county ultimately lost the lawsuit and the housing was constructed, Moy said Lopez’s opposition linked him to California Rural Legal Assistance, which was labeled as “communist” by conservatives in the past.

Lopez’s district has since been represented by John Silva, Max Rodriguez and now Leticia Gonzalez.

“Just bringing a Latino voice to the dais was huge in and of itself, especially when we have a county that’s comprised of a lot of Latinos,” Gonzalez said.

As someone who stood up for minorities and low income people, Moy said Lopez’s “impact on the community is much more than people realize.”

“They need to name something to honor his legacy,” he said. “We’re going to try to push for that.”