On Oct. 3, Santa Maria Mayor Larry Lavagnino announced he won’t be seeking another term as mayor. Lavagnino has held the city’s top political position since 1996.
Born in Santa Maria in 1935, Lavagnino has seen the city grow to 10 times the size it was during his childhood.
When asked about his decision to retire Lavagnino said, “I’m 77 years old … you add four to that, you’re 81.”
He said he’s not leaving because of fatigue. There’s nothing pressing from other aspects of his life, and it’s not health issues. The fact of the matter is, while he doesn’t sound at all like he’s got three quarters of a century under his belt, he does—and he’s very aware of it.
“I never do anything that I can’t do full bore, and it’s hard to guarantee—well, you can’t guarantee anything—but from 77 to 81, you know,” Lavagnino said.
Unable to predict the future, Lavagnino said he’d like to finish out his term in 2012. He says that being mayor is a very demanding and stressful job, and he feels like it’s time he and his wife hit the road and do some traveling.
But it’s a bittersweet farewell to the position for him.
“I love being the mayor of Santa Maria,” he said. “There isn’t a job that’s better than being the mayor of your hometown. Nothing better than that.”
While he loves the job and isn’t counting down the days like an eager school kid toward the end of the school year, Lavagnino is looking forward to laying down the mantle after four consecutive terms.
Though the announcement was officially made on Oct. 3, there are already candidates willing to step up and run for the position in 2012, including City Council members Alice Patino and Mike Cordero. Lavagnino didn’t have anything to say about who might replace him other than “we’ll just have to see what happens.”
This article appears in Oct 6-13, 2011.