11 Feb Q&A: Albany Mayor Reflects on Cultural Identity and Indigenous Heritage

Albany Mayor Robin D. López, who has roots in Richmond, San Pablo and his Mexican and Purepecha ancestry, is seen in City Council chambers. (Denis Perez-Bravo / The CC Pulse)

Interview, Denis Perez-Bravo

Albany Mayor Robin D. López says his experiences as a youth in Richmond and San Pablo continue to inform his leadership today. His work is also deeply influenced by pride in his Mexican and Purepecha roots.

As a father of two, López has had to balance family life and politics, especially during his son’s early days. In addition, he is a Ph.D. candidate in the Department of Environmental Science, Policy and Management at UC Berkeley. He graduated from De Anza High School in 2007 before earning degrees at Contra Costa College, SF State and San Jose State.

López became both Albany’s first Latino mayor and its first Indigenous mayor when he took office in January. He was elected in 2022 to the Albany City Council, members of which take turns serving as mayor and vice mayor for one-year terms. López was vice mayor in 2023.

In his new role, he emphasizes the importance of community engagement, diversity in representation, and supporting local businesses. While the city faces fiscal challenges, including the closure of the Golden Gate Fields horse racing track, the mayor remains committed to transparency, public safety and advocating for vulnerable communities, especially undocumented residents.

This interview has been lightly edited.

CC Pulse: Can you share your thoughts on the term “Hispanic” and how you personally identify?

Robin López: I don’t subscribe to the identification of Hispanic. There’s a lot interconnected with that. It’s very problematic. But I do identify as a Latino, Indigenous, mixed Indigenous.

>>>Commentary: Why I Am Letting Go of ‘Latino’ as Part of My Self-Identification<<<

CC Pulse: What does it mean to you to recognize and connect with your Indigenous roots?

RL: We’ve got greatness embedded in our DNA. Everyone should be proud of where they’re rooted from.

CC Pulse: Can you tell us a little about your family’s origins?

RL: Many of them are from Michoacán, [Mexico], but they have also held territory where my family’s from in Guanajuato.

CC Pulse: What do you think needs to be done to better support these communities?

RL: What would it look like to have a Mayan cultural center? We have Latino cultural centers. There’s other cultural centers for specific ethnicities or national identities, but where is it for folks who come from this Indigenous experience? Where do they fit in? Where do they get their translators? Where do they get their resources? Where do they get their healthcare? Where do they get their advocacy? Those are things I started recognizing in my early 20s around how people are severely mistreated.

CC Pulse: What is your message for the community about cultural pride and identity?

RL: Once you start that journey, you can be proud of where you come from, and that pride becomes a powerful force for positive change.

CC Pulse: How have your experiences growing up in the Bay Area shaped who you are today? How has the Hyphy movement, the Bay Area culture, and even things like scraper bikes influenced you?

RL: Growing up in the Bay Area in a very particular era, particularly in the East Bay, it definitely made me appreciate living today. Anyone who’s grown up in that area knows if you’re still alive, you’re damn near an OG. If you grew up in Richmond, San Pablo, or any of those areas, most definitely Oakland, the city—you know these hotspots in the Bay Area, like East Palo Alto, Vallejo… I’m starting to name off all the cities, but if you grew up in any of these spots where things were popping off, you know what I’m talking about.

CC Pulse: You mentioned the impact of those formative years in shaping who you are today. How does that relate to your role as mayor now?

RL: All those experiences contribute to who I am today, especially growing up in a place where you had to navigate a lot. The culture that comes with that, like the Hyphy movement, scraper bikes, it was all so influential. All these things made me who I am, and they definitely gave me a perspective on resilience and pride in where I come from.

CC Pulse: Two years ago, you got into politics. How was it balancing your role as a politician while raising your son?

RL: When I was campaigning, my partner was pregnant with him, and then she got hurt. She had fallen down the stairs and fractured her leg in three places. Three weeks later, he came. They couldn’t sedate her to do the surgery. She had to stay awake. All they could do was local nerve blockers. There were chances she wouldn’t survive, he wouldn’t survive. She did her surgery and three weeks later, in the cast and all, gave birth. That happened late September and in November, I was elected.

I couldn’t even soak in that I got a council seat or that I became the first Latino-Indigenous person elected to the City Council. It was like, my son has arrived. The universe had voted for him.

CC Pulse: But despite all that, you continued to pursue your goals. You even paved a route as the first Indigenous mayor of Albany. Was this something you had planned?

RL: As soon as I was elected, it was etched in stone that I was going to be mayor in two years. Those are the policies for the city. Based on the number of votes you get, you’re put in a queue to become vice mayor and then mayor. So I was put in the queue to become vice mayor after one year and then mayor after two years.

CC Pulse: So within these two years that you knew you were going to become mayor, what did you work on or how did you prepare?

RL: I prepared professionally and politically for this role. It definitely took a lot of mentorship from the two previous mayors who were actively on council. Learning from what they built off of because we, I think more or less, share a similar political ideology.

You go by what you see. You try to emulate that or you try to perfect it to be better. I’ve seen what other people have done on council, and I was like, OK, what can I do? What can I change? I learned about the craft of writing memos to council to propose changes in policy. Learned how to present my point in an effective manner where it doesn’t come off as too abrasive. That was something I had to learn a little bit about, because I’m so used to just being me all the time. I don’t need a code-switch, but I do need to understand what my delivery looks like so people understand the point I’m trying to bring.

CC Pulse: What are some things you love about Albany that you wouldn’t want to change?

RL: Albany has a strong sense of community and engagement, especially in terms of representation. When I was elected, both I and my colleague John Miki, an Asian American, were voted in, showing the city’s need for diverse representation. The business district is a highlight — it’s small, walkable and filled with unique mom-and-pop shops, many owned by people of color. I was surprised by the level of support these businesses receive from the city. It’s different from larger cities, where smaller businesses often struggle. I’d love to eventually open my own shop here. Albany is a place where people support each other and local businesses thrive. Additionally, our low crime rate and solid foot traffic make it an ideal location for entrepreneurs.

CC Pulse: What challenges does Albany face?

RL: One major concern is the city’s fiscal health, especially after the closure of Golden Gate Fields, which significantly contributed to the city’s budget. We recently made the tough decision to sunset the Financial Advisory Committee to create a new standing committee that will allow for better access to information and more transparency with the public about the city’s finances.

CC Pulse: What’s the future of Golden Gate Fields?

RL: The future of Golden Gate Fields is uncertain. It’s under private ownership, and the owners can sell to various parties, including the state, the city, or another private group. The city is in communication with the owners and provides regular updates to the community. However, no serious movement has happened yet. A decade ago, the community voted on what activities could be allowed there, including recreational spaces and possibly a hotel, but not housing or industrial use. There’s also tension between the need for housing and preserving the area’s ecological richness.

CC Pulse: What about policing in Albany?

RL: While I acknowledge my own biases regarding policing, I’m generally satisfied with how Albany’s police conduct themselves. There aren’t widespread reports of issues like racial profiling, which is a positive change compared to the past. Historically, Albany had a reputation, especially among communities of color, for discriminatory policing, with stories of frequent traffic stops in the ’70s and ’80s. However, there’s been a noticeable shift in the culture of policing here, and compared to cities like Richmond, there’s less concern about people of color feeling unsafe just existing.

CC Pulse: What measures are you taking to safeguard public safety and prevent police misconduct?

RL: We are setting up a new Public Safety and Health Committee, which will have two council members working directly with the police and fire departments. We had a policing commission, but it couldn’t move things forward because volunteers didn’t have access to certain information. As an elected official, I do have access to that information, so I made the strategic decision to sunset the commission and handle accountability directly through the council.

I plan to use this position for better transparency and to ensure we’re making continual improvements. It’s also a chance to reaffirm Albany’s status as a sanctuary city, especially in light of the national climate where vulnerable communities, especially undocumented folks, are facing increasing stress and fear.