Racquel Vasquez

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Racquel Vasquez
Mayor of Lemon Grove, California
In office
December 20, 2016 – Present
Preceded byMary Sessom
City Council of Lemon Grove, California
In office
2012–2016
Personal details
Born1969/1970 (age 51–52)[1]
Los Angeles, California
NationalityAmerican
Political partyDemocratic
Spouse(s)Jose Vasquez
Children2
EducationCalifornia State University, Northridge
Websiteracquel-vasquez.com

Racquel Vasquez (1969/1970)[1] is the mayor of the city of Lemon Grove, California, 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 City Council of Lemon Grove.[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 Navy veteran Jose Vasquez;[12] they have two daughters.[2]

Work[]

Main roles have included:[5]

  • 1997-99: Promotion Specialist at City of Newport News
  • from April 2000: Senior Public Information Officer at City of San Diego
  • from December 2016: Mayor of Lemon Grove, California.

References[]

  1. ^ a b c d e f 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. ^ a b 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. ^ a b c 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.

External links[]


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