Jose Medina, who won election to the District 1 Supervisor seat last November with 51% of the vote, was sworn in last week at the first Riverside County Board of Supervisors meeting of the year.
“I’m very excited to join my colleagues on the Board of Supervisors and to work towards making Riverside County a more equitable and more prosperous county and making it the best county in the state of California,” Medina said at the meeting. “I’m just very happy to start, and I’m ready to do the work, so thank you all.”
Medina’s election to the board marks the first time Latinos hold a majority of the seats on the Riverside County Board of Supervisors. The other two are newly appointed Board Chair V. Manuel Perez, who represents District 4, and District 5 Supervisor Yxstian Gutierrez. The fact was not lost on Perez.
“Jose, I appreciate you deciding to run and being here with us today,” Perez said. “And, wow, times are changing.”
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Perez said he first met Medina when he was teaching at Riverside Polytechnic High School and Perez was still in college. Perez said he was able to take Medina’s lessons, ideas and teachings back to the Coachella Valley where Perez later became a teacher.
“He’s an exceptional guy, a great individual, and I appreciate him being on the board,” he said.
Medina was previously a member of the California State Assembly representing the 61st District from 2012-2022.
Prior to his time in state government, Medina built his career in education as a teacher in the Riverside Unified School District where he was involved in the Riverside City Teachers Association and served on the state council of the California Teachers Association, according to a county news release. He also previously served on the Jurupa Unified School District Board of Education and the Riverside Community College District Board of Trustees.
According to the news release, Medina’s passion for public service was instilled in him by his family. His father was a native of Panama who immigrated to the United States to study civil engineering, and his mother worked as a Spanish translator for the state government.
In other board action: The supervisors also approved a new childcare facility in the unincorporated community of Bermuda Dunes.
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