By shunning gay groups, Madera mayor betrays her city’s residents and her role | Opinion
A basic rule of politics is that an elected official should not shun the constituents he or she represents.
Yet Madera’s new mayor is guilty of that very thing.
One might chalk up Mayor Cece Gallegos walking out on a formal City Council recognition of the Madera High School Gay Straight Alliance Club as a rookie mistake. Except she has been avoiding all Pride Month honors made by the council since 2021, reports Bee staff writer Erik Galicia.
The latest shunning was particularly obvious.
As Galicia reports, the Madera council last week conducted several formal recognition ceremonies during its meeting.
One was a group photo with members from the Madera County Museum, which Gallegos took part in.
However, when it came time to recognize the high school group, Gallegos was not to be found. But she came back to the council afterward for a Juneteenth proclamation, Galicia said.
Gallegos, formerly a Democrat and Madera’s District 1 council member, became a Republican a little over two years ago. She was elected mayor last November.
That Gallegos turned her back on the Gay Straight Alliance members was not lost on some in the audience.
“It’s not even about us adults,” Angela Brooks, a Madera resident who is LGBTQ+, told Galicia. “They gave that award to kids. What are you telling these kids? That they don’t matter?”
This is all the more ironic given that Gallegos is a teacher in the Madera Unified School District.
How does she reconcile her actions with her position as mayor, and a teacher of local youth? We don’t know. She did not respond to Galicia’s requests for an interview, which itself is a problem. Elected officials have a duty to answer journalists’ inquiries.
Gallegos would do well to learn from the example of Fresno Mayor Jerry Dyer and his recognition of Pride Month in his city.
Pride Month recognition
In June 2021, Dyer initially planned to have the Pride flag raised at the newly created Unity Park in Eaton Plaza — separate from City Hall.
But before that occurred, Dyer attended a Pride flag-raising event at Fresno City College led by then college President Carole Goldsmith, who is gay.
Dyer heard LGBTQ+ people share their stories of being marginalized, and even rejected by their own families, and he came away with a new perspective.
“When the flag was raised this morning, I saw so many of the LGBTQ community, as well as family members, who were standing with them crying, almost as if they had been freed,” Dyer said at the time. “And I felt that same emotion inside of me that generated a lot of tears. It’s a moment in time I think I’ll never forget.”
Dyer, politically conservative and a professing Christian, admitted his newfound stance would alienate some supporters. But he valued human rights over politics.
“This is not a Republican or a Democrat issue. It is a people issue,” Dyer said. “I was elected to represent all of the people — the faith community and the LGBTQ community. I have a heart for people — for all people. I love people right where they are, just because I do. I can either say that, or I can show that. I choose to show them, which is why I will be attending the Pride flag raising ceremony at City Hall on June 11.”
What Cece Gallegos must do
There is power in recognition. When politicians do it, it shows a marginalized group that its members are worthy and important. When Gallegos refuses to even acknowledge gay members of her city, she does the opposite and communicates that they are not valued.
It used to be that Republicans stood for strong individual rights — that what a person did in their private life was up to them, as long as it did not break laws or hurt anyone else.
How far the GOP has fallen from that ideal.
If Gallegos is truly going to be the mayor of Madera, she must represent all its people. That is part of the mayor’s job description. She cannot pick and choose.
Her predecessor, Santos Garcia, understood this tenet. When the City Council first recognized Pride Month in 2021, Garcia said this: “As mayor of the city of Madera, I represent everyone. Our community is made up of all different kinds of residents. Madera welcomes everyone.”
As mayor, Gallegos does not have to understand or even agree with personal choices made by her city’s residents. But she does have to champion the corporate cause of making Madera a stronger, better community for all.
If Gallegos is unwilling to do that, then she is unfit to be mayor. There is only one thing left for her to do: Resign.
