Retired farmworker faces law enforcement officer in District 6 Madera City Council race
Residential developments are looming in the city of Madera’s District 6 — the southeastern part of town.
One large project, which aligns with an area plan initially approved by the City Council in 2007, intends to almost 1,000 homes immediately west of Highway 99. There is also the potential for hundreds of new units near Cesar Chavez School. The city’s population has grown about 11% since 2010, according to U.S. Census data, and current elected officials agree that there is a need for more housing in town.
Who on the Madera City Council will examine the details and impacts of these projects for District 6 residents as plans move along in the next four years?
In the Nov. 5 election, voters in District 6 will decide whether to re-elect Artemio Villegas, who is a former farmworker seeking a second term, or first-time candidate John Jasper, who is a U.S. Marine Corps veteran and law enforcement officer.
In an interview with The Fresno Bee, incumbent Villegas said his background as a farmworker who immigrated from Mexico helps him relate to District 6’s residents and working families. He highlighted the upgrades to public parks during his tenure and touted upcoming traffic control projects near schools in his district, both initiatives he said he pushed for.
If he wins the race, Jasper said he wants to focus on giving the city’s police officers better retention incentives. He told The Bee his experience as a local SEIU union leader will help him find the best outcomes for the city’s public safety workforce. Jasper also said he’s concerned that the 1,000-home development could put a strain on the city’s resources.
Below is an overview of what Villegas and Jasper said about their backgrounds, why they are the best choice to represent District 6 and what they envision for the future of Madera. The Bee used a digital random selector to decide the order in which the candidates are presented in this story.
▪ Fact: Madera County voter registration has increased 18.5% since 2020. That’s more than any other California county, according to the Secretary of State.
Artemio Villegas
- Age: 65
- Birthplace: Mexico
- Occupation: Retired. Previously worked in agriculture, restaurants and the steel industry.
- Education: Madera Adult School. Associate’s in business administration from Heald College in 2011. Bachelor’s in business administration from Fresno Pacific University in 2015.
- Offices held: District 6 seat on the Madera City Council since 2021.
- Endorsements: Mayor Santos Garcia, City Councilmember Anita Evans
Villegas immigrated to the U.S. from Mexico in 1976 and worked in agriculture until he injured his back while picking melons in 1986. He moved to Madera and started working in restaurants while studying to obtain his high school diploma, which he earned in 1989. The coucilman obtained U.S. citizenship in 1997.
He had been working in the steel industry when the economic crash of 2008 hit. He lost his job, but took it as another opportunity to go back to school. Villegas was in his 50s, but studied his way up to a bachelor’s degree in business administration from Fresno Pacific University. He had difficulty finding work afterward and ultimately returned to the fields to pick tomatoes.
Many Madera residents share that type of work history and immigrants story, Villegas said.
His message to potential Distrtict 6 voters is: “You are farm workers? Well, I’m a farm worker too. I know how hard you work to support your family, and that’s a big sacrifice.”
Villegas said he wants revenues that Madera generates from its retail cannabis industry — which is still in its infant stage — to be used for city-sponsored farmworker transportation that is safe and free of charge.
He decided to run for the District 6 Madera City Council seat in 2020 after receiving a letter that encouraged locals to run for office. Backed by Mayor Santos Garcia and some union contributions, Villegas ousted former Madera City Councilman Donald Edward Holley that year with more than 67% of the vote.
“There’s a lot of projects coming up,” he said, “a lot of work to be done.”
Apart from the potential 1,000-home development west of Highway 99 in District 6, there are also conversations with landowners who could build close to 400 homes near Cesar Chavez School. Villegas said the landowner would like to connect to the city’s sewer system, which failed twice this past summer and is still undergoing reconstruction.
Villegas said he has paid attention to existing residents, always responding to their questions as best he can. He said community engagement led to renovations at McNally Park, including new basketball courts and a revamped playground for children.
There are also traffic control projects in the works. Olive Avenue will be widened from Gateway Drive to Tozer Street with Caltrans dollars. Four light systems will be added along Olive Avenue: One at its intersection with Knox Street and another at its intersection with Roosevelt Avenue, where Sierra Vista Elementary School is located.
“I pushed for that,” Villegas said about these traffic projects. “People driving east from Gateway (Drive), they run fast, and too many children walk in this area. That’s why I requested those (projects).”
John Jasper
- Age: 49
- Birthplace: Madera
- Occupation: Supervising juvenile correctional officer for the Fresno County Probation Department. Reserve lieutenant for the Madera County Sheriff’s Office. United States Marine Corps veteran.
- Offices held: No public offices, but is the vice president of the local Service Employees International Union 521 unit.
- Endorsements: City Councilmembers Cece Gallegos, Steve Montes and Elsa Mejia. Madera GOP. Central Labor Council. SEIU Local 521.
Shortly after graduating from high school, Jasper enlisted in the U.S. Marine Corps during the Gulf War era. An injury cut his military career short when he was stationed at Camp Pendleton near San Diego, and the third-generation Maderan returned home. He worked for a security firm in Fresno before landing a job with the Madera County Probation Department’s bootcamp operation.
He dove into law enforcement training, getting certified as a medic and eventually graduating from the police academy in 2000. Jasper landed a job with the Fresno County Probation Department, where he’s worked ever since. Today, he is also a vice president with SEIU Local 521, a position he said has given him the experience of negotiating several multi-million-dollar contracts on behalf of employees.
Jasper was going to run for the District 6 Madera City Council seat four years ago, “but it just wasn’t the right time.”
“But in the last four years, District 6 really hasn’t had a voice,” he said. “It’s time for District 6 to have a voice.”
Jasper said the city has a great police chief, but also said Madera’s police and firefighter workforce is “stretched thin,” with some officials retiring and others transferring to other places. Meanwhile, he said, calls to police for service have increased in District 6.
If elected, Jasper said he would champion “giving them better equipment and giving them retention pay” in order to make positions in Madera’s public safety departments more competitive.
Jasper is also concerned with the potential 1,000-home development slated to go up between Highway 99 and the unincorporated community of Parkwood, although it could be years before the first homes are built there. His neighborhood is adjacent to the site of the future master-planned community, called Ventana.
Current Madera elected officials told The Fresno Bee that the city has planned out its housing developments responsibly. But Jasper said neighbors are worried that the Ventana project will put a strain on infrastructure, public safety departments and schools.
“What happens if nobody on the council is questioning this stuff?” he said.
Jasper did not say he would vote against such developments, but added that “impact studies definitely need to be updated or re-reviewed.”
In order to help the city’s homeless population, Jasper said Madera might need to add a day center where individuals could go after leaving the overnight emergency shelter. He said he is looking at how Madera will update its anti-camping ordinance, but added that he is not in favor of violating homeless people’s constitutional rights.
“We have to treat people with kindness and dignity and find out what the root problem is,” he said.
This story was originally published October 9, 2024 at 2:50 PM.
