Dave Lopez Wins Modesto City Council Seat in Runoff

Reported by Hispanic Business Journal: Central Valley

After several attempts to vie for a seat on the Modesto City Council, Dave Lopez has finally realized his goal. On Wednesday, December 19 at 6 p.m., Lopez will be sworn in as a new city councilmember at the Council Chambers located at 1010 Tenth Street in Modesto. This event is open to the public.

“The first thing I did when I learned I had won was kiss my wife and soon thereafter, I called my mom and dad,” said Lopez.

Lopez believes his approach to this campaign won him over with voters. He shared that in previous campaigns he held back his personal opinions on issues for the worry about not being politically correct. Although, his stand on district elections was not popular among some of his supporters, he stuck to his guns and believes this earned him their respect.

Some of the priorities Lopez has planned for his new role as city councilmember include learning the intricacies of serving on the council and engaging himself in all of the issues at hand. He would like to address the topic of building upwards rather than inwards when it comes to building communities. In particular, downtown Modesto, which over the past years, has become a hub of arts, entertainment and place to enjoy good food.

Lopez is the first Mexican-American and second Hispanic to sit on the Modesto City Council over its nearly 100 year history. He would like to think that as a Hispanic on the city council, that the general community will see that the Hispanic community shares the same needs, values, concerns and objectives for making Modesto a good place to live.

“My father is my hero. I inherited his heart and mouth,” Lopez responded when asked what leaders inspired him to continue on campaigning. One thing that is known for sure is that Lopez is not a quitter and it can only be expected for this new city councilmember to work just as hard, if not harder, for the community of Modesto.