New Mendota mayor selected, after prior leader resigns amid domestic violence allegations

Mendota Mayor Rolando Castro, who was to have been sworn in for a new four-year term on the City Council on Tuesday evening, abruptly resigned from the council in the wake of his arrest Sunday for allegations of domestic violence.

In a letter Tuesday to Mendota’s city clerk, Castro announced “I resign from my position on the Mendota City Council due to personal reasons” effective immediately.

“While I focus on my priorities, which is my family, I ask that the public and the media respect our privacy,” he wrote. “The media has created a detriment to my family and I with their recent senseless activities,” an apparent reference to reports of his arrest, which was publicly available information.

Castro did not attend Tuesday night’s council meeting. In his absence, newly sworn Councilmember Victor Martinez – the leading vote-getter from the Nov. 8 election – was chosen to serve as mayor. Libertad “Liberty” Lopez, who came in second in the election, was selected as mayor pro tempore.

The Mendota City Council includes five members elected at large by the city’s residents, and the mayor is selected from among the council members. Castro was the third-place candidate from the Nov. 8 election to win a new term and was to have been sworn in Tuesday night.

Castro, 38, was identified by a person who called Mendota police to report a domestic violence incident at a home in the 300 block of Blanco Street shortly before 4 a.m. Sunday.

Police said Castro had driven away from the location but was arrested during a traffic stop a few hours later. He was booked into the Fresno County Jail, and was released Sunday afternoon after he posted a $2,500 bond for bail of $25,000. He is scheduled to appear in court on Feb. 23.

Mendota City Clerk Celeste Cabrera-Garcia said the council has not made a decision on how to fill the vacancy left by Castro’s resignation.