Bárcena named Bell Gardens mayor as Aquatics Center launch approaches
BELL GARDENS, CA — Bell Gardens Council Member Marco Bárcena was chosen as the city’s new mayor on Monday night, diving in just weeks before the grand opening of the long-awaited John Anson Ford Park Regional Aquatics Center.
Bárcena’s selection was approved 4–0 with Councilmember Isabel Guillén absent.
“I want to thank the mayor for all the work that he did,” Bárcena said after receiving the gavel from outgoing Mayor Jorgel Chavez, who was commended by numerous elected officials in attendance for his accomplishments as mayor.
“This is the most unified this council has been, ever, since I’ve been on council,” Bárcena said.
Chavez, who served for the past year, nominated Bárcena to serve out the roughly three months remaining in the current term allowing him to preside over the official opening of the Aquatics Center. Under municipal code, the council will reorganize again at its first December meeting later this year.
“It’s truly been an honor serving as your mayor this past year,” Chavez said while standing with Bárcena at the soon-to-open Aquatics Center in a video posted to social media last week. “Marco, I know how much this place means to you, and I know you’ll bring the same dedication and heart to serving as mayor.”
Bárcena began his city career as a teenage lifeguard at the former Ford Park pool, later advancing to an administrative specialist and de facto pool facilities director. During his first council run in 2018, he campaigned against downsizing the deteriorating pool. Soon after his election, Bárcena joined the Aquatics Center Construction Project Ad Hoc Committee and city staff was ultimately directed to secure funding for the newly designed and fully equipped facility.
“That pool had been in decay for many years—everything was rusted. Imagine filters that had plants growing inside of them for years, gutters of the pool literally falling off (in) chunks. (We’d) go to our public works department trying to get some repairs, and never really being able to address those needs, but still being able to serve over 350 kids, average per day, in the summer,” Bárcena said.
“When I ran for council, I knew that that pool was on the chopping block,” he said. “They wanted to reduce it to one-third of its size. That pool was operating at maximum capacity—we were teaching kids how to swim, how to be part of a community, how to have fun in a healthy way—and all of that got suspended for many years.”
“(The Aquatics Center) means the world to me,” Bárcena said. “This is exactly what got me into politics. I didn’t care about politics before—this was a gateway for me.”
The $31.3 million Aquatic Center was funded through a mix of federal, state, county and city sources, with the largest share—$14.6 million—coming from the city’s general fund, according to a staff report. The facility includes a 50-meter Olympic-size pool, a therapy pool, a fitness room, and a water play area with slides.
Bell Gardens uses a rotating mayor system in which the City Council selects a mayor and mayor pro tem from among its members, while the city manager handles day-to-day operations.
Under municipal code, the council reorganizes at its first December meeting in odd-numbered years, at the first regular meeting after the November municipal election in even-numbered years as required by state law, or at any time with a majority vote.
When asked whether he would seek a mayoral nomination in December, Bárcena responded by text: “Who knows.”
Councilmember Miguel De La Rosa will continue as mayor pro tem.
