On today’s episode, we’re delving into the life, impact and legacy of the late Judith Valles. Valles passed away last month at the age of 93.
Valles, the former mayor of San Bernardino and lifelong public servant, was laid to rest Monday in front of family, friends and community members.
ANTHONY VICTORIA: Throughout the service, one message was clear — Valles leaves behind a legacy rooted in service. People who knew her remember her as a mentor who inspired generations of leaders. Others saw her as a champion for education, culture and music. Valles was born in 1933 to Mexican immigrants. She was one of nine children who grew up on San Bernardino’s westside during a time when Mexican families faced widespread discrimination.
Here’s Valles sharing her family’s experience with KVCR and IECN in 2022.
VALLES: “My brother Mike went swimming or wanted to go swimming to Perris Hill, and he went with his buddy who was Italian. So they went, and then at the gate they let the Italian in. But then they asked my brother, 'Are you Mexican?' And he said, 'Yes.'
'Oh, Mexicans can only swim on Fridays. Fridays was the day in the evening where they emptied the pool and they put fresh water on Saturdays. So my brother couldn't swim because he was Mexican. So, he watched his buddy swim and then they drove their bikes home and then he told my father. My father was furious. I remember. Well, guess what? We contacted some attorneys, and we integrated the pool at Perris Hill.”
VICTORIA: Valles was describing the moment her father, Gonzalo Valles, Ignacio Lopez and others, challenged racial discrimination in San Bernardino. Their lawsuit — Lopez v. Seccombe — would later be cited in the landmark Brown v. Board of Education decision which helped end legal segregation in public schools nationwide.
Gloria Macias Harrison, a former trustee of the San Bernardino Community College District who now runs KVCR, was also a friend and mentee of Valles…who she called “Mama Judy.” Harrison says Valles gave Chicanos like her and others on the westside the belief...
GLORIA MACIAS HARRISON: “...that you had something to aspire to, and so she provided that and her whole family provided that…it was always of opening doors and the leaving the choice to the people that she helped to walk past the threshold.”
VICTORIA: Like Valles, Harrison graduated from San Bernardino High School before attending San Bernardino Valley College.
She also followed her mentor into the classroom, teaching Spanish. But Harrison says Valles encouraged her to think beyond teaching…to build on her leadership as both an educator and a public servant.
HARRISON: “I think the fact that our culture, our culture does not promote women in leadership roles. Although, if you really look at families and even commercial endeavors on the west side, you find that the wife or the children, the women have been very instrumental, right?”
VICTORIA: Valles taught Spanish at SBVC through 1984 and rose through the leadership ranks at the college until becoming president of Golden West College in Huntington Beach in 1988. She would later serve as president of Los Angeles Mission College before retiring in the 1990s.
Diana Rodriguez, chancellor of the San Bernardino Community College District, says Valles helped shape her career. Rodriguez says Valles encouraged her to pursue leadership in higher education at a time when few Latinas held those positions.
DIANA RODRIGUEZ: “When you asked how was she authentic, or instrumental...because she dared me to compete. She told me that I had potential, just as she told others and that she helped remove any doubt as to why we needed to do this work.”
VICTORIA: In 1998, Valles made history as the first Latina mayor of San Bernardino. She served two terms. Valles is credited with helping address the city’s debt and expanding access to public amenities on San Bernardino’s westside. After her tenure as mayor, Valles helped establish the San Bernardino Symphony and continued promoting the arts.
Pat Morris, who served as mayor after Valles, says she epitomized the meaning of leadership.
PAT MORRIS: "She was a woman who set precedent, who led as an original. There were not many before her who could lead in the way she led. She listened to people. She understood the importance of team building. She did that in an elegant way in our city, so you know, I can't say enough about her devotion to the welfare of this place. She called it home, and made it home for all of us.”
For those who knew her, Judith Valles’ greatest legacy was not only the barriers she broke, but the people she inspired to walk through the doors she helped open.
