Art Madrid (born about 1935), a La Mesa, California resident since 1958, has held elective office in La Mesa since 1981. Elected as a City Councilman from 1981 to 1990, Art was then elected Mayor of La Mesa, California in 1990 and then re-elected in 1994, 1998, 2002 and 2006.[1]
In 1994, Mayor Madrid gained national and international attention when he started a highly successful program of publishing the names and pictures of individuals arrested for prostitution in his community.
In 1995 the American Society of Public Administrators selected Art as San Diego County's Outstanding Elected Official. San Diego Magazine selected him as one of their "50 People to watch in 2000."
Art has served as chair of the San Diego Association of Governments, SANDAG. He also serves on State Board of the League of California Cities and was President of the San Diego Division of the League. He has served as President of the California Council of Governments (CALCOG).
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On February 20, 2008, Mayor Madrid and a La Mesa city finance department employee, Trisha Turner, age 35, were found in a state of drunkenness on a city street at about 10:30pm. City police understood that the two were heavily intoxicated, yet city police officers, in a move which has drawn fierce criticism, then quietly returned the two to their respective residences without further legal action.[2]