Jose Gurrola Jr. was recently elected as mayor of Arvin. Gurrola, 23, was born and raised in Arvin and believes “Arvin is poised for tremendous growth and change.”

In 2012, at the age of 19, Gurrola decided to run for City Council while still attending Bakersfield College. He majored in political science and graduated from BC in 2013. He continued his education at CSUB, graduating in 2016 with a bachelor in political science and a minor in economics.

As mayor of Arvin, Gurrola’s goal is to improve the community he was raised in. He believes Arvin needs “good paying jobs, support for education, support for our police department, improve[d] public safety, improve[d] parks, roads and quality-of-life, protect our air, water and environment.” Gurrola wants Arvin to have a “city government that works for the people of Arvin.”

Gurrola was inspired to run for mayor because he wanted to improve the community of Arvin. “I have this undeniable belief that ordinary people can achieve extraordinary things and that a brighter future is within our grasp, as long as we are willing to work together to fight for it,” he said.

During Gurrola’s campaign season, he strongly supported Measure J, a bond that would potentially benefit Arvin. Gurrola hopes that the Kern Community College District will decide to build a facility in Arvin.

“Making higher education more accessible and affordable and attracting jobs that pay a living wage to Arvin will help everyone in our community reach their fullest potential. Additionally, Arvin needs to speak up and stand up for the values of equality, opportunity and justice,” said Gurrola about wanting every member of the community to be able to reach their fullest potential.

Arvin has already begun constructing new projects that the community can look forward to, including a skate park and the Garden in the Sun park, which are currently under construction and scheduled to open soon, according to Gurrola.

Recently, members of the community including Gurrola volunteered their time to clean up parks in Arvin on Jan. 16. Gurrola would like to see the community come together for clean-ups and other events that will happen throughout the year.

Gurrola has been supporting efforts to make Arvin a safer place. Gurrola said, “The most important task of any local government is to keep its people safe. As mayor, my number one priority is public safety.” According to some BC students, who attend classes that are offered at Arvin High School have reported that their safety is at risk. They have been advised to not drink water from the drinking fountains because the water may be contaminated.

Gurrola said, “It has been known that the arsenic levels found in Arvin water… are above what some governmental agencies [consider] to be safe.” Gurrola supported social media efforts like “#Agua4All”, which aimed to “bring safe drinking water to [the] community.” Gurrola says he is committed to working with the Arvin Community Services District to fix this issue.

Gurrola is “honored and privileged” to be serving as mayor of Arvin for the next four years. As for his political future. Gurrola said, “The problem with politics is that politicians focus too much on what their next job could be rather than working hard in the job they presently hold.” Gurrola is not one to think about his legacy that he will leave behind. However, he just hopes that after his term he will “leave a legacy of fighting for [his] community, bringing people together and work as hard as [he] can to move Arvin forward.”