Meet Madera City Council’s first Mixteca: Elsa Mejía

When Elsa Mejía threw her hat into the ring to fill a vacant Madera City Council post in January, a sitting councilmember declined to support her, saying the other candidate was “more of a mother figure” who had the needed “seasoning.”

The 33-year-old former journalist will make history when she is sworn (most likely in December) in as the first Mexican indigeneous on the council. Mejía – who won the Nov. 2 special election with 61% of the vote – is the first Mixteco to be elected to public office in the city.

Her opponent, Matilda Villafán, is the daughter of immigrants and a graduate of Fresno State with degrees in social work and Chicano studies. She serves on the city’s Loan and Review Commission.

Mejía’s election win is significant because at least 2,500 of Madera’s residents trace their roots to Santa María Tindú. Oaxacans from other regions help create a sizable portion of the city’s population. Mejía – whose parents immigrated from Santa María Tindú in the Mixteca region when they were teenagers – was born in Fresno and raised in Madera.

Her father still works in the fields.

She spent a year in Oaxaca helping migrant leader Rufino Domínguez in his work for the state’s migrant affairs institute.

Mejía said that representing central Madera’s District 5, which is nested south of the Fresno River and stretches mostly east of Highway 99, is a natural step for her after her community advocacy began at Madera High School.

“I don’t seek recognition,” she told the board at the January meeting where the council deadlocked four times trying to decide between Mejía and Villafán to fill the vacancy created when Mayor Santos García stepped up from his district position.

“My interest is simply in improving the place I live in because, honestly, who doesn’t want to improve their home?” she asked during a presentation delivered in English and Spanish.

Mejía’s campaign touted Mixteco roots

She promoted her Mixteco roots during her campaign against Villafán, who had the backing of the mayor.

“As a lifelong Madera resident, the daughter of Oaxacan immigrant farmworkers, granddaughter of a bracero, and a first-generation college graduate, I understand our district’s deep need for committed, efficient and responsive representation,” said Mejía, who is a communications specialist with SEIU Local 521 in Fresno.

Councilmember José Rodríguez said Mejía’s 10 years as a reporter at The Madera Tribune (she was also the editor of its Spanish-language edition) taught her about the city and its residents.

“She is more attuned to the community,” said Rodríguez, who voted for Mejía in January’s special meeting where the council failed to select a replacement for District 5.

Mejía said her priorities will be creating more economic opportunities for individuals and small businesses, and addressing the lack of affordable housing.

“Inadequate infrastructure and access to local government are only a few of the long-standing issues our district faces,” said Mejía, who majored in journalism and political science at Fresno State.

The district includes a big chunk of downtown Madera.

“The values of hard work and dedication that my family and my community instilled in me will help me work collaboratively to address these issues and toward building a better Madera for us all,” she said. “I am community grown and I am community driven.”

In a 2007 interview with Vida en el Valle, Mejía noted an increase in Latino political activity. “There were a lot of Latinos here. The difference now is that they are more involved in the community,” she said.

“When I was younger, they were always scared. My parents were afraid to come out to the streets and protest,” said Mejía, the second oldest of five children.

She co-founded a grassroots organization to increase voter participation, and has been involved with the Madera Coalition for Community Justice, the American Association of University Women, and the Lions Club.

Madera City Council is 100% minority

In 2007, there were no Latinos on the city council. A couple of years later the city switched from at-large to district elections.

Mejía joins a council that will have six Latinos and one Black. Latinos represent more than 80% of Madera’s 66,224 population.

García, the mayor who supported Villafán, welcomes Mejía to the council.

“I congratulate Elsa on stepping up and wanting to help her community by running for city council,” he said. “I believe I can have a good working relationship with her in making Madera a better place.”

García said having the first Mixteca on the council is just another series of firsts for the city, which also has the first farmworker and first Black woman on the council.

“If you look at the composition of the Madera City Council, we are already diverse,” he said. “This is just a continuation of us moving forward and moving our communities in government.”