Gators take the lead: SFSU alumni make political history in 3 Bay Area cities
Robin López and his family attend his mayoral swearing in ceremony at Albany City Hall in December.
Two alums sworn in as mayor, another as city council member Three San Francisco State University alumni made history in late 2024 after two were sworn in as mayors and another won a city council seat. Robin López (B.S., ’15) became the first person of Latino and mixed-Indigenous (Purépecha) ancestry to serve as the mayor of Albany. Eddie Flores (MBA, ’19) is the first Salvadoran immigrant mayor in South San Francisco and in the history of the Bay Area. Belle La (B.A., ’04) is the first Asian American elected to Pleasant Hill’s city council. Elected in 2022, López and Flores rotated into the mayoral seat of their respective cities in positions they’ll hold for a year. Meanwhile, La ran and won her Pleasant Hill city council seat. Getting involved in local politics, they said, was about more than just solving problems in their communities. It was also about showing future generations what’s possible. “If we don’t see people who have similar experiences or shared values and cultural experiences, it’s really hard to project ourselves into those spaces,” López said. The whole community benefits from a government that’s reflective of the community, López added. “It’s more than the color of someone’s skin, or their national origin. It’s bringing in different experiences, different cultural perspectives to that decision-making table,” he added. “Sometimes when we think about solutions, we don’t always consider the impact it may have on someone, the way they live or the way they go about their lives. Having this type of representation as a leader of a community can go a long way.” All three alums recently shared their journeys to public office with SF State News, offering advice to students interested in serving their communities.
