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By Karen Pearlman
June 10, 2025 (La Mesa) – Leaving behind a legacy of service, prolific leadership and unwavering commitment to civic matters, longtime La Mesa Mayor Art Madrid has passed away at age 90.
His leadership shaped the city, earning admiration and respect from residents, businesses and civic leaders around the region and across the country.
He passed away in his home in La Mesa on Friday, June 6, according to his daughter, Lisa Madrid.
Madrid was elected to public office in La Mesa six times, including two terms as a City Council member from 1981-1990 and four terms as mayor, leading the city from 1991-2014, including during the city's centennial celebration in 2012. He previously served in the U.S. Marine Corps, including a stint in Korea, then spent 35 years working for Pacific Bell before entering politics.
Barry Jantz, retired CEO from the Grossmont Healthcare District, is a community affairs consultant and former member of the La Mesa City Council, where he served with Madrid for 16 years.
“I got to know Art quite well,” Jantz told ECM. “At times our history was marked by political differences, no doubt. Yet that grew into mutual respect and even friendship in more recent years. He was fun to be around and had a larger-than-life personality. There was never any doubt he had a great passion for his community and his fellow citizens. He had a huge heart for La Mesa and he wasn’t shy to vocally stand up and fight for his city.”
During his time running the city of La Mesa, Madrid served as chair of the San Diego Association of Governments, held roles on the League of California Cities and led the California Council of Governments. His leadership extended to the state Fair Employment and Housing Commission, the Veterans Board, the San Diego Regional Airport Authority, and myriad other groups and organizations.
Born Aug. 25, 1934 in Springer, New Mexico, Madrid moved to La Mesa in 1958 and then embarked on a career in public service that would span more than three decades.
He was first elected to the La Mesa City Council in 1981 and served until 1990 when he won the mayoral seat. Madrid was re‑elected in 1994, 1998, 2002, 2006 and 2010. His political tenure ended in 2014, when Mark Arapostathis won the mayoral vote.
Madrid was often critical of Arapostathis -- and most recently called the current mayor out for issues related to the riots that wreaked havoc in La Mesa in May 2020.
In a statement to the media, Arapostathis said: “Art Madrid devoted his life to serving the people of La Mesa. His leadership left a lasting mark on our city. We are grateful for his many years of service and the legacy he leaves behind.”
Other East County mayors say their respect for Madrid is solid.
“I always liked Art Madrid and I was impressed by his fierce commitment to his community,” said El Cajon Mayor Bill Wells, who knew him for 25 years. “Art was a character, and I had some really memorable dinners with him. He always made me laugh.”
Santee Mayor John Minto said he and Madrid got along well, even with some friendly competition between the two cities.
“Art was an experienced municipal legislator who cared deeply about the city of La Mesa,” Minto said. “He always tried to do the best he could to make La Mesa the best it could be. I remember our time working together at the League of California Cities and the bantering that we did between the two of us. We always knew my city was better but he believed his was. Even though I haven’t seen Art in a long time he’s going to be missed.”
The La Mesa City Council was set to make note of Madrid’s passing at its June 10 meeting, possibly closing the meeting in his memory, Lisa Madrid said.
Bipartisan tributes to Madrid have been pouring in since his passing.
State Senator Steve Padilla issued this tribute to Madrid: “Art Madrid was a dedicated public servant, a thoughtful leader, and everyone’s friend. I had the pleasure to serve on the SANDAG Board alongside him for many years and during that time, developed a deep respect for his commitment to his community. He touched generations of La Mesans and San Diegans alike and leaves behind an enduring legacy. Today, we grieve this loss, but celebrate a life well lived.”
State Senator Akilah Weber, M.D., posted on Facebook, "I am deeply saddened by the passing of former La Mesa Mayor Art Madrid. He was more than a public servant. He was a dear friend, a man of integrity, and someone who always stood up for what was right. Art dedicated over 44 years of his life to serving the City of La Mesa, including 24 years as mayor. His leadership helped shape the city into what it is today. He never sought the spotlight. He believed in service and cared deeply about the people around him. I will always remember Art for his courage, his wisdom, and his steady moral compass. His legacy will live on in the community he loved so much."
Craig Maxwell, owner of Maxwell’s House of Books in the La Mesa Village, had an unsuccessful mayoral bid to unseat Madrid in 2006.
The two were fierce rivals for decades, but Maxwell said the two eventually came to terms with their disagreements, found some common ground and that Madrid was a regular visitor to his shop.
“When we started out, there was little love lost between us for a long time,” Maxwell said. “But time mellows a lot of things, softens a lot of things, in spite of all the things we said and ways we treated each other.”
Maxwell said he recalls an afternoon about six years ago when he was in line at the Costco in La Mesa when he heard someone talking behind him.
“I turned around and it was Art leaning on his shopping cart and he held out his hand, and we just started talking,” Maxwell said. “He started coming in the store about six or seven years ago, infrequently at first and then regularly. He was in here at least once a week.”
Maxwell said he was stunned when he learned about Madrid’s passing.
“His ringtone was ‘Hail to the Chief,’” Maxwell said, laughing. “He was a confident man. I fully expected him to be around another five or six years.”
ECM editor Miriam Raftery, who interviewed Madrid many times over more than two decades, recalled him as “a rarity among political leaders – willing to stand up for what he believed was right, even if that meant stirring up controversy or crossing party lines. He took stands to protect the environment, the dignity of homeless people, and to denounce hate speech. He once carried a torch during an equality run across East County." She added, "While irascible at times with opponents, he truly cared about the public he served. As a full-time mayor devoted to his city, he frequently dropped by local businesses or knocked on doors of residents who had written to voice concerns on traffic or other issues. He was accessible to the media as well, always willing to take a phone call and share his views. He will be deeply missed by many La Mesans.”
Photo: Mayor Art Madrid during a 2014 interview on East County Magazine's Radio Show. Hear audio of the interview.
In a 2014 interview with ECM, he cited passage of a bond measure that resulted in new public buildings including a police station and library among his greatest accomplishments, along with accessibility to the public. "Every weekend, I drive through at least a quarter of our city to see what needs to be done and be responsive to the needs of the city," said Madrid, who estimated he worked 60-70 hours a week for what was officially a part-time job."Accessibility is probably the most important thing that we have to offer as elected officials."
A man of strong convictions, Madrid often spoke on the importance of community, inclusion and civic stewardship.
Even after leaving office, he remained engaged by endorsing candidates, commenting on local issues in interviews and on social media, and also promised an autobiography at one time.
Among his wins was helping other groups in the city. He was instrumental in keeping the pediatrics department at Grossmont Hospital, said Alison Drew, who has been a pediatrics nurse for nearly 50 years.
Drew met Madrid for the first time in 1998, after kids at Lemon Avenue wrote letters to him thanking him for his service to the city.
“He was really touched by those letters,” Drew recalled. “In 2001, when they were talking about closing our pediatric department at Grossmont Hospital, I took it before the City Council and he was a champion for it… The following Friday, the Grossmont Healthcare District voted to keep our floor open. Art was extremely special. His vision and his touch has left La Mesa a better place. He is sorely missed.”
An environmental champion, Madrid was ahead of his time on sustainability,becoming the first mayor in San Diego County to sign the U.S. Mayors Climate Protection Agreement and advance drought resilience efforts long before it became de rigueur.
Madrid founded the Environmental Sustainability Commission in 2009, despite other City Council members not supporting it.
His legacy also includes transformative civic projects including the revitalization of the downtown Village, updating Fletcher Parkway, creating the La Mesa Walk of Fame, championing the installation of accessible elevators at the San Diego Trolley Station at Grossmont Center, and guiding nearly $21 million into the city’s general fund surplus.
In 1997, a publisher of a racist internet newsletter left literature defaming Mexicans on the lawn and stuck into the door of Madrid’s home, after he had denounced the spray painting of the La Mesa Community Center.
Madrid at the time had likened the perpetrators to “animals that come slithering out of the rocks and spew their venom at night.”
Madrid told the San Diego Jewish Press-Heritage that one piece of literature was a caricature of a person depicted as a Mexican “and as a greasy sloppy person who needed a shave.”
He said previously someone had pasted a sign on his door with a swastika and a skull and bones, “and it said ‘Get out beaner scum,’” Madrid told the Press-Heritage.
Madrid had one scandal during his tenure, when police officers responded to a 911 call and found him inebriated on the sidewalk near his personal Ford Explorer, which was pulled over close to his Eastridge-area home. He was found by La Mesa Police late at night in February 2008, along with an intoxicated city of La Mesa employee, who was in the driver’s seat of Madrid’s automobile. Madrid was not charged with any crime, and weathered the controversy to win reelection.
Mellowing Over Time
Former La Mesa City Council member Kristine Alessio, who started her service on the council in 2012, said she and Madrid initially “butted heads about everything,” but that as time went by, the two came to a mutual respect of one another.
“We’re both partially the same kind of people,” Alessio said. “He wasn’t the sort of person to mince words. And I think we discovered we both had a lot of things in common, with what we wanted the city to look like, with what was wrong and what war right. He was dissatisfied with a lot of growth and development and wanted to change that.”
She said Madrid stayed active in the community even after his time as mayor was over.
Alessio said Madrid was part of a group called Keep La Mesa Beautiful, which among other things stopped an initiative looking to place digital billboards along Interstate 8 near MacArthur Park.
“That was probably his last big political push, stopping that digital billboard,” she said. “That’s something that future generations of La Mesans can be very thankful for.”
Madrid was known for some bold initiatives. In 1994, he attracted national attention by pushing to publish the names and photographs of individuals arrested for prostitution, which he said was aligned with a tough stance on community safety.
His daughter, Lisa Madrid, said that beyond his achievements professionally and politically, Madrid “found immense joy” in spending time with his family as well as golfing and traveling. She said she lived with her dad for the last decade near Lake Murray.
“He was like my best friend, we spent so much time together,” she said.
Photo of Art Madrid in his later years, courtesy of Lisa Madrid
Art Madrid is survived by his children Dana Lynn (James), Lisa Dawn, and Darren Jay (Debby); and leaves behind three grandsons, David J. Swentkofske, Gabriel Madrid (Tassy) and Anthony Madrid.
He was preceded in death by his son, David Arthur Madrid, who passed in 1988 at age 18, and wife, Sally Lee Madrid, who passed away in 2003 at age 65.
Lisa Madrid said that less than one week before he passed, her father had visited David Madrid Field, a baseball diamond at the Lake Murray Little League Field at Sunset Park dedicated since 2001 to David Madrid, to check on a new sign honoring his son.
A celebration of Madrid’s life for family and friends will be held in his honor in July, with details to come.
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