BY CHRISTIAN DE JESUS BETANCOURT

CV Journalism Collaborative

In a race decided by just nine votes this month, Jose Moran was re-elected as mayor of Livingston – a razor-thin victory in a city with a population of less than 15,000 people. 

Moran’s win over Councilmember Jason Roth highlighted the fierce political competition in Livingston, a city known for its sweet potato festival and for being the headquarters for poultry giant Foster Farms.

Nearly 4,000 ballots were cast in the race, with Moran receiving 1,475 votes to edge out Roth’s 1,466. Councilmember Maria Soto trailed behind with 1,046 votes.

Moran’s re-election extends his leadership for another two years, allowing him to address key challenges such as public safety, fire protection and economic growth. 

As Merced County’s only Latino mayor, he also embodies the region’s shifting demographics and the push for more diverse leadership in local government. 

With the narrow win behind him, Moran’s next term will be marked by efforts to bridge divides and confront Livingston’s most pressing issues.

Those challenges include strengthening public safety and addressing the potential closure of a Cal Fire station that prompted the Livingston City Council to consider suing Merced County. 

Moran also will face questions about how he plans to bolster local economic development and address the needs of Livingston’s growing Latino population, which makes up a significant portion of the city’s 14,643 residents.

An immigrant from Zacatecas, Mexico, Moran’s story is one of persistence, growth, and commitment to public service. 

His journey began at age 12 when he and his family arrived in California. He spent his formative years in Gustine, Newman, and Los Baños before graduating from James Logan High School in Union City.

His career path followed that same spirit of service, focusing on education and community development. He became an English language development teacher and curriculum developer for Madera Unified School District, where he now serves as an ELD department site lead. 

His first foray into local politics came in 2020 when he was elected to the Livingston City Council. Two years later, he became mayor. 

Moran’s position as the only Latino mayor in Merced County adds significance to his re-election. 

In a region where Latino residents account for 71% of the population, his re-election reflects progress toward greater local government representation. 

His next two years in office will test his ability to meet the demands of a growing city, build community trust, and deliver on the priorities that matter most to Livingston’s residents.

Here’s what he had to say about his vision for Livingston’s future. This conversation has been lightly edited for clarity.

With a victory margin of just nine votes, what does this outcome say about Livingston’s electorate and the dynamics of this race? 

I was not expecting it to be that close. I had different expectations. We need to figure out what it was that we needed to change. At the end of the day, it’s when we realize that every vote counts. 

I think that we have always been concerned about the Latino population being very conservative about voting. Normally, within the Latino population, we see about 20-30% of the registered voters voting. There are roughly about 6,600 registered voters out of the 15,000 in the population. Sixty to 70% of the population in Livingston are Latinos. 

As the only Latino mayor in Merced County, how do you see your role in representing not only Livingston but also the broader Latino community? 

I had not thought about that, and I had to realize that I’m the only elected or current Latino mayor in the county of Merced. I think it’s a bigger responsibility, not only for me in Livingston but really for the broader Merced County, to be able to have a voice for the Latino population and to be able to best represent them.

I don’t think our responsibility should be to represent every (Latino). But then, seeing things from a different perspective, it does bring more of a responsibility to make sure that I am a role model for those coming behind me.

What advice would you give to young Latinos in Merced County who aspire to leadership roles in government? 

I would encourage them. I have two kids, they’re 22 and 20, and I think indirectly, I have been showing them to have some type of leadership in whatever role they get or they’re working. 

I think it’s important to make sure that we keep on encouraging new votes, new voices, young men and women in the community, to make sure that they participate. Like we have heard before, if you’re not at the table, you’re probably part of the menu. 

Livingston has faced challenges with its police department leadership. What are your plans to rebuild trust and improve public safety? 

When I was canvassing in 2020, I think that was a big concern coming from the residents and sharing their distrust in the police department. I think that has changed. I mean, it’s not completely done, but I think the residents are feeling more comfortable. 

We just appointed a new chief of police about two months ago. I think that the difference from two or three years ago is that much different (now). There’s more trust not only in City Hall – in the city itself, city employees – but also the big, bigger trust in our police department.

Please recap what’s been happening with the closure of the Cal Fire station and what plans you have to make sure there’s fire protection for the residents of Livingston?

We subcontract Cal Fire through Merced County. The county was making some rearrangements, and they were planning on consolidating their fire stations. They were planning on closing down Station 96 in the city of Livingston. 

We have an agreement in place that has already been approved by the City Council in Livingston. Now it just needs to be finalized with the county in regards to an 18-month contract to extend that contract beyond December 31, when it was scheduled for them to close down the fire station. 

(Editor’s note: Since the time of this interview, the Merced County Board of Supervisors approved the MOU with the city of Livingston to provide stop-gap fire service.)

In the next 18 months, we, as the city of Livingston, need to finish coordinating a plan to have our own fire department. And this last November, the city of Livingston residents approved a measure to increase a 1% sales tax.

…Also part of my goals has been the need for a second fire station, and so I’ve been working on that. Obviously it’s not going to get done in the next few years, but I need to do whatever I can to make sure that (plan) stays in place so it can be built within the next five years or so. 

What strategies will you focus on to attract businesses and strengthen the city’s economy in your next term? 

Every city needs additional businesses to come into their communities because that’s how we produce or create more tax revenue and more employment for local residents.

That is something that, once we have moved away from dealing with all the previous issues, that we need to put a bigger emphasis on – attracting more business, not only to create a broader tax base, but also to create additional jobs. 

…I need to continue a conversation with our city manager to see what strategies we’re going to put in place to be able to efficiently attract businesses to come into Livingston. 

How do you plan to address the needs of Livingston’s youth and families, particularly regarding recreation? 

I’m a full-time educator. My wife has been in education for 23 years. We have always been involved in education, and we believe in the youth, in creating a well-rounded citizen who can eventually do well and take care of our cities and our planet. 

I have always been a big advocate of recreation. 

At one time, probably in 2019, there were plans with the council at that time to get rid of the recreation department, which was an incredibly wrong way of looking at things. But fortunately, with the support of residents who were advocating to keep the recreation department (it remained open). 

I think having a recreation department is huge for any community. That way, we can create programs for our youth to be able to be involved and not be out on the street tagging and vandalizing and doing bad things. 

Recreation is very important right now. I think we have a very successful program in the city of Livingston. We service roughly over 800 kids, and (the program is) attractive enough to even pull kids from outside of Livingston, which tells us that we’re doing something right.

We’re in the process of building and breaking ground on a recreation complex, which should (happen) in the next few months. We’ve been big advocates of recreation, and I’m hoping to look for additional support to build more soccer fields for the community.

How do you plan to honor Livingston’s cultural heritage while addressing the needs of its evolving population? 

Through our recreation department, I think we have a big opportunity for us to learn more about our different populations. We have folklórico dance groups. We have a Punjabi dance group that is open to the residents and to the youth in the community. 

In the city of Livingston, if you drive around town, you’ll be able to see what we call the bigger-than-life statues. Those have been made with that in mind so that not only visitors, but residents can see themselves reflected in the things that we do around the community. 

Throughout the years we have, we do different activities that represent and resemble our different communities.

How do you plan to work with county and state officials, such as Sen. Anna Caballero and Assemblymember Esmeralda Soria, to further Livingston’s interests? 

Within the last few years since I’ve been mayor, we’re thankful that Senator Caballero, Assemblymember Soria, and Congressman John Duarte have visited. I have worked with all of them for the last two years.

I think that for the first time, we had more state and elected officials visit the city of Livingston than we have had in the past. And I’m very grateful to say that we have always had great communication, not only with them, with the elected representatives, but also with their offices.

They’ve been instrumental in furthering some of the projects that we have in Livingston this year. Senator Caballero was able to allocate $1 million for some of our water projects. We’re currently working with the office of Esmeralda (Soria) to help us with some other projects that are related to water infrastructure.

With current Congressman John Duarte, we have been working on some other projects and ideas about how to deal with water infrastructure. And I hope that we can continue that conversation and communication with incoming Congressman Adam Gray’s office.

Where do you see Livingston in the next two years, and how do you plan to make that vision a reality? 

I think Livingston is very unique, but at the same time, it’s like every other city. In order for us to do anything, it’s all about money. It’s all about funding. I wish I could see Livingston where we have a revitalized downtown, where we can have more and more stores. 

We have planned that in the next five years, we’re going to have a truck stop in Livingston. We want to hopefully have more housing, affordable housing, available in Livingston and continue improving on our safety, not only PD, but also the fire department.

I really hope that I can leave a program in place for the city to be able to build our second fire station, and then just continue making it an (attractive) place for people to live. 

We’re close to Merced. We’re close to Modesto. We’re an hour and a half from Yosemite, an hour and a half from the Bay Area. I just hope to continue doing more than we’ve been able to do to continue attracting people to come to our community.

Anything else you would like to add?

For those who are going to be reading this and have not been to the city of Livingston, I invite them to come over and just drive by and drop through the city of Livingston. 

We have some great Punjabi restaurants. We have some great Mexican food. We have great things to see.