Incumbent and three others seek Madera mayoral post. See who The Bee endorsed | Opinion

Madera has grown 57.5% since 2000, and the approval of a 10,000-home subdivision on the western edge of the city limits — along with the expected opening in 2026 of the $400 million Mono Wind Casino and Resort in the north — foretell additional growth for the city of 68,000.

That places an emphasis on the mayoral post for this central San Joaquin Valley city where Latinos make up 81% of the population. That growth has not been duplicated in the financial well-being of residents — almost 31% of them live below the poverty line.

The Bee Editorial Board interviewed the four mayoral candidates, including incumbent Santos García who is seeking a second, four-year term. He is being challenged by former Madera finance director Wayne Padilla, council colleague Cece Gallegos, and Madera school board member Lucy Salazar.

It is a testament to civic responsibility that this race has drawn four qualified candidates, which gives voters a choice.

The candidates answered questions ranging from growth to homelessness to housing to downtown revitalization.

One of them deserves the mayoral title. The position pays $700 a month.

Mayoral candidates’ backgrounds

García, 67, retired from the U.S. Postal Service after 31 years. He was first elected to the council representing District 5 in 2018. He ran to combat City Hall corruption and bring the budget deficit under control. “We’ve taken care of the people’s money and we have not gone back to the days of running a deficit,” he said.

Padilla, 61, is a former finance director for the city. He also had similar jobs in Modesto and San Luis Obispo, while commuting from Madera. “I left (the Madera job in 2005) because I was disgusted with the fact that the City Council and city administration were failing to engage themselves with the needs of the community,” said Padilla, who said he values community engagement.

Gallegos, 57, was elected to the council in 2016. She failed in a bid for the Madera County Board of Supervisors in March. She has been a teacher with the local school district for 32 years. “I decided to run because the respect on this board and leadership is lacking,” said Gallegos. “I can bring that to the council and move us forward.”

Salazar, 64, has been on the Madera Unified School Board for six years, and has served the last two years as its president. She is a small business owner. Not all Madera has benefited from the council’s work, she said. “Our council has been trying to work on several of these issues (homeless) but they are divided now,” she said. “We need to make sure we are accountable to our citizens.”

Here are their responses to the main issues.

Dealing with the homeless

García: His main concern is that the homeless not be criminalized. The city should partner with nonprofit groups and the county to help homeless people in “a humane way.” Some homeless have drug, alcohol or mental issues, he said. “We can kick them out of our parks, but that’s not going to solve the issue,” he said.

Padilla: He wants an ordinance “to reflect the fact that we need to treat them as human beings, and respect their property.” Padilla said the homeless need physical and health services, showers and “other basic necessities.” He wants a more comprehensive approach to encourage people to change their ways, and a ban on single-serve alcohol.

Gallegos: She said the city has always treated the homeless as humans and with dignity. The unhoused, she said, need to be directed to behavioral health services. Some homeless who take up residence in the Fresno River bottom, she said, become aggressive with police. “That’s what’s made it very difficult for us,” said Gallegos.

Salazar: She wants more housing for the homeless, along with mental and drug treatment for those with substance abuse problems. “Even if we house them, we have to help them separately because they’re dealing with different issues,” she said. The city has 43% of the country’s homeless, so it should get 43% of the funds.

Downtown revitalization

García: The mayor said Yosemite Avenue, the major downtown street, is part of state Highway 145 and is the responsibility of Caltrans. García said a partnership with Caltrans will reduce the four lanes to two, widen the sidewalks, add landscaping, and replace some signals with roundabouts for easier traffic flow.

Padilla: He wants properties above a certain age to be enrolled in a mandatory inspection program, and make owners pay for an inspection and make repairs. “Our greatest difficulty, though, is this council approved a 10,000-home development three miles away, which has its own commercial development, which is going to make it very, very difficult to have a central core identity in Madera,” he said.

Gallegos: She said the council needs to speed up a $26 million housing project downtown for veterans and low-income residents. The Caltrans project won’t be done overnight, said Gallegos. The business owners need to spearhead the revitalization effort with new paint, brick fronts and other beautification efforts, she said.

Salazar: The longer the city waits to redevelop downtown, the more costly it will become, she said. Madera should work more with Caltrans to speed up improvements on Yosemite Avenue, she said. “We need to speed this up and get it done faster because the longer it takes, the more money it’s going to cost us,” said Salazar.

Housing, specifically Almond Grove

The question centers on the availability of water for this 10,000-home subdivision.

García: “As opposed to other communities, the city of Madera has been very aggressive in conserving and recharging our water supply,” he said. García said the city has sufficient water for the development, and is in the process of building another water tower. “We’re in a good place to be able to expand our housing,” said Garca, who added the city is in need for more residential development.

Padilla: Madera faces numerous challenges with water pipes that are breaking and with sinking ground, he said. “We are overdrafting the aquifer by about 100,000 acre-feet a year,” he said. Adding more housing will continue to drain the aquifer “no matter how much water you try to recycle,” he said. The city needs better control of development, he said.

Gallegos: That development, she said, has been in the general plan and growth “has been very responsible,” she said. “We have been very smart in developing and not leapfrogging and sprawling out development,” said Gallegos. Most of the approved housing won’t happen for another 10 to 15 years, she said.

Salazar: The school district has made infrastructure improvements, including streets, but is still waiting to be reimbursed from the city, she said. Another electrical substation needs to be built in that area, said Salazar. “I get along with all the city councilmembers. I know them. I talk to them. But I haven’t seen (its plans) going forward.”

Economic development

García: “We’ve made strides since 2022. In 2023, we lost our hospital. You cannot have a vibrant community without a community hospital. Those were good-paying jobs.” The casino opening near Avenue 17 is “a game changer,” he said. García said the city is looking to diversify its economy and bring in new industries.

Padilla: The city has landed some major employers, but it has been because of “dumb luck, not because we market ourselves,” he said. “We need to come up with a portfolio of information that is available to all of these site locators that allows them to make predetermined decisions about whether Madera is an attractive environment.”

Gallegos: The reopening of the hospital and the casino opening in 2026 are important, but “we have to make sure they’re guaranteeing that 90% of their workforce will be Madera residents,” she said. The city must collaborate with labor unions and others, she added, to train residents for those jobs. If they train in Fresno, they’ll stay in Fresno, she said.

Salazar: The council should be working “as one” to make sure the city is ready for economic development, she said. “The school district is preparing students with vocational training in construction and electrical jobs,” said Salazar. Housing must be available for new residents who take those jobs, she said. “We have to plan as a team.”

The Editorial Board believes García has made a positive difference in his four years as mayor by making sure the needs of neglected neighborhoods have been addressed. We recommend his reelection.