BRITTANI HAMM | staff writer

Throughout his life, Mayor Rocha has worked to live out his motto to never give up, never give in, and never stop giving to the community of Azusa.

Mayor Joseph Romero Rocha, defied his label as a student that was “not college bound” in high school, refusing to be limited by people or circumstance. Instead, he strove to change injustices out of love for the people living in and around Azusa.

Mayor Rocha grew up extremely close to his family in the Spanish speaking quarter of East Los Angeles county termed “el Barrio.”

He entered Azusa High School in 1958, a year in which an experimental program divided his class into two groups. One was for students who were college bound, while the other was for those who were not projected to be successful scholars. Mayor Rocha was labeled “not college bound” and these labels created a division in the class of 1962.

“Do not let other people tell you what you can and cannot do, but whatever you do, do it honorably,” Mayor Rocha said.

At the age of 17, Mayor Rocha began evaluating the meaning of life when he noticed people close to him passing away.

“I began wondering what it’d be like not to have my mom and dad around, so that’s when my whole attitude changed,” Mayor Rocha said. “My mom would let me stay home from school every Monday just to be home with her.”

Upon graduating from Azusa High School in 1962, Mayor Rocha met his wife as a student at Citrus College. His involvement within the Azusa community inspired his heart for Azusans long before being elected mayor.

“I always liked to teach kids,” Mayor Rocha said. “I remember having the kids come to my garage and we would play school. I’d be the teacher and we’d do arts and crafts. I wanted to be a teacher and oceanographer.”

Mayor Rocha became an educator in the Azusa Unified School District for 38 years.

“I did give my telephone number to all my parents and my home address and told them that they could call up until midnight if they had any concerns,” Mayor Rocha said. “Especially if parents work late, I [wanted to make] myself available to them,” Mayor Rocha said.

In addition to teaching the city of Azusa’s youth, Mayor Rocha was a councilman for ten years.

“I saw things that I didn’t think should be happening here, and thought that we can change it,” Mayor Rocha said.

Councilman Uriel Macias knows Mayor Rocha on both personal and professional levels.

“He is very hands on, very giving, and very approachable,” Macias said. “He doesn’t have an ego, and always defers credit to someone else, but everyone knows he is the driving force behind a lot of things.”

With 1,843 votes, 53.5% of the total votes, councilman Joseph Romero Rocha became Mayor Rocha of the city of Azusa on Mar. 6.

“I enjoy being the mayor, but I tell people that Jesus doesn’t care if you’re the mayor or the president. When you meet Him there is not going to be a special line to heaven for dignitaries and a special line for regular people, because in His eyes, we are all on the same level. We’re all regular people,” Mayor Rocha said. “I’m happy and humble to be the mayor.”

About two months ago, according to Rocha, a young man who ran a red light on Alosta Ave and hit the car of Mayor Rocha, his wife, and young granddaughter.

“We were supposed to not have made [it through] the accident because of the impact, but the three of us survived,” Mayor Rocha said. “I knew that the Lord had something in store for me, because by all accounts we should not have made it.”

He was out of work for four months, but reflects on this defining moment in his life with newfound wisdom.

“Being a teacher, you know, you are always in control. You set your curriculum based on the guidelines set by the district and the school; I was in control,” Mayor Rocha said. “I found out that I wasn’t in control after the accident. [God] had to be in control.”

Four months before the accident, the mayor’s wife told her husband that although he went through the mechanics of going to church, he had not accepted Jesus as his Lord. One Sunday service, the pastor asked if anyone wanted to come forward and publicly profess that they received the forgiveness of Jesus.

“My wife said ‘I’ll go with you; you won’t go alone. He’s always been with you but you never let Him in,’” Mayor Rocha said. “That walk was the hardest walk, but she stood by me. That’s what I needed because I gave everything to Him.”

The Mayor noted that people noticed a difference in him. A close friend gave him a plaque that Mayor Rocha brings with him to council meetings.

“It says ‘Do not be afraid,’ because you can’t live in fear, and that’s what I was doing- living in fear. [I was afraid] that we were going to get hit again. I’m not afraid anymore. I am more at peace with myself,” Mayor Rocha said.

In 2000, five full-ride scholarships to APU were awarded to qualified students from surrounding high schools, such as Azusa High, the very school Mayor Rocha graduated from.

But even then, the relationship between APU and Azusa was in critical condition before Mayor Rocha took office. When he stepped in, however, he recognized that APU worked with the city in community service outreach programs, however he also recognized that the community wasn’t aware of this involvement. He met with the Director of Community Relations, Ginny Dadain.

“Azusa’s vision of APU was that APU was gobbling up the city by buying out more land,” Mayor Rocha said. “So I met with Ginny Dadaian and I said ‘you have a big white wall. People perceive you as the big white fathers coming to save the peons, and that’s not how it is.”

With communication, the city of Azusa and APU worked together to try and change the community’s perception of APU.

“Before, the door was ajar. Then the door swung wide open. And now there is no door, just a passageway, because now I see that we have a true partnership,” Mayor Rocha said. “The partnership is there and it’s growing.”

Mayor Rocha believes that APU and the community need to continue to work together. One of the current community needs that the mayor is currently addressing is poverty. There were 1,500 homeless children documented in the ‘06-‘07 year. The goal of this project is to bring forward all the resources that are available to the poverty-stricken.

Another community project dear to Mayor Rocha is Azusa’s Golden Days. This year features a baseball game in which the residents of Azusa will play against the cast members of CSI, as well as the annual parade.

“I’ve tried to go to every parade, sometimes by myself if some of the kids don’t want to go, and now I am humbled to be part of the parade,” Mayor Rocha said.

Mayor Rocha has developed a new community outreach approach. Rather than holding all council meetings in a boardroom, as was previously the practice, the mayor decided to move the meetings out into the city by meeting in public places.

“Mayor Rocha gives me a sense of professionalism that I’ve never seen,” Councilman Robert Gonzales said. “You can talk to him, and you can relate to him. I think people in the community see that and that’s why he’s adored.”

The directors all go to a meeting site and are available to answer concerns of community members that feel unheard. Within the next few weeks, the council plans on visiting the Barrio, something that has never been done before.

“I have known Mayor Rocha for some time and I have always been impressed by his consistent commitment and care for every person who lives in Azusa,” Director of Ministry and Service Matt Visser said.

Mayor Rocha encourages others to live by the motto that he, himself lives by.

“Never give up, never give in, and never stop giving.”