Victor Lopez re-elected as Orange Cove mayor
ORANGE COVE, Calif. (KFSN) -- The city of Orange Cove re-elected a man who's no stranger to politics.
Victor Lopez, 71, says after some 34 years in public service, this will be his last term in office. Lopez spent the day shaking hands, saying thank you and telling his constituents about the promises he plans to fulfill.
"A big beautiful swimming pool, and a soccer field, and a picnic table, so the families can go and enjoy themselves. I promised them I was going to do it, and I'm going to do that," he said.
------
Click here for election results
------
Lopez says election night was exciting. He said he wasn't surprised at the outcome, wasn't surprised that he pulled ahead of Glenda Hill with more than 46 percent of the vote, and he credits a good chunk of those votes to his family members.
"I have quite a few, I'd say in the hundreds," said Lopez.
Family like David Lopez, who hit the campaign hard for his father.
"We physically walked the neighborhood. I don't know where my father gets his energy. Him being his age and me being my age, it was hard for me to keep up with him, and we went door to door," David Lopez said.
It was effort they felt they needed to make to make every vote count, as the political spotlight hasn't always been bright.
The Fresno County's Sheriff's Department launched an investigation into Lopez back in 2010, accused him of threatening the city's former police chief. The state withheld grant monies because of irregularities under his watch. And there was his son's arrest for drug possession -- all of which Lopez says were politically driven.
"In the political arena, if you're going to do something it's going to be challenging, and they'll always be watching you, and everybody will want to criticize you," he said.
He says there's no more investigations, no more accusations against him or his family. He's focusing on his past accomplishments and says the future is nothing but bright for the town which he credits for feeding the nation.
"We're all a family; we're one family in Orange Cove," said Lopez.
