Racquel Vasquez
Mayor of Lemon Grove, California
Assumed office
December 20, 2016
Preceded byMary Sessom
City Council of Lemon Grove, California
In office
2012–2016
Personal details
Born1969 or 1970 (age 53–54)[1]
Los Angeles, California
NationalityAmerican
Political partyDemocratic
SpouseJose Vasquez
Children2
EducationCalifornia State University, Northridge
Websiteracquel-vasquez.com

Racquel Vasquez (1969/1970)[1] is the mayor of the city of Lemon Grove, the first African-American women elected mayor in San Diego County.[2]

Biography

Vasquez was born in Los Angeles[3] and raised in Gardena, California.[4] In 1994, she graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Management of Radio, TV&Film from California State University, Northridge.[5] After school, she worked as a promotion specialist for the city of Newport News, Virginia and in 2000, she accepted a position as a public information officer for the city of San Diego.[1][5] In 2007, she was appointed as Planning Commissioner in Lemon Grove.[1] On November 6, 2012,[6] she was elected to the Lemon Grove City Council.[1] After 20-year incumbent mayor Mary Sessom retired, she entered the 2016 mayoral race.[7] In November 2016, she was elected mayor, defeating fellow City Councilman George Gastil and medical credentialing specialist Teresa Rosiak.[1] She was sworn in on December 20, 2016.[8] Running on a platform of fiscal responsibility, she was able to balance the budget in 2019, the first time in many years.[9] On November 3, 2020, she was re-elected as mayor[10] with 38% of the vote defeating Jerry Jones (32.50%), Kamaal Martin (20.25%), and Christopher Williams (9.22%).[11]

She is the recipient of the President's Volunteer Service Award.

Personal life

Vasquez is married to a 24 years Navy veteran Jose Vasquez;[12] they have two daughters.[2]

Work

Main roles have included:[5]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Pearlman, Karen (December 25, 2016). "Q&A with new Lemon Grove Mayor Racquel Vasquez". The San Diego Union-Tribune. Vasquez, 47, is San Diego County's first female African-American mayor.
  2. 1 2 Vasquez, Racquel (July 23, 2020). "Commentary: Black and Brown Americans continue to experience systemic racism. It's in our history even here in Lemon Grove". The San Diego Union-Tribune. Vasquez is the first Black woman mayor in Lemon Grove and in San Diego County (footnote by The San Diego Union-Tribune
  3. ↑ ""Home Is....Love" with Lemon Grove Mayor Vasquez". housingsandiego.org. June 2, 2020.
  4. ↑ "Charter-Cox Local Edition with Lemon Grove Mayor Racquel Vasquez interview by Brad Pomerance". Local Edition News. July 12, 2017.
  5. 1 2 3 Huard, Christine (August 24, 2012). "Racquel Vasquez, Candidate for Lemon Grove City Council". The Lemon Grove Patch.
  6. ↑ "Full Biography for Racquel Vasquez". www.smartvoter.org.
  7. ↑ "How To Run For City Office And Win". candidchronicle.com. December 23, 2016.
  8. ↑ Fields, JoAnn (December 22, 2016). "1st African American Woman to Lead as Mayor in the County of San Diego". The San Diego Voice & Viewpoint.
  9. ↑ Pearlman, Karen (August 16, 2019). "Lemon Grove Mayor shares "State of the City'". The San Diego Union-Tribune.
  10. ↑ Cook, Morgan; Peterson, Karla; Schroeder, Lauryn; Smolens, Michael (December 13, 2020). "Phenomenal San Diego women in elected office". The San Diego Union-Tribune.
  11. ↑ Williamson, Rebecca Jefferis (December 15, 2020). "Newly Re-elected Lemon Grove Mayor Racquel Vasquez Delivers Covi19-delayed State of the City Address". East County Magazine.
  12. ↑ "A note from Lemon Grove's new Mayor Racquel Vasquez". The East County Californian. January 5, 2017.


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