Mickey Cafagna
Michael "Mickey" Cafagna | |
---|---|
3rd Mayor of Poway | |
In office November 3, 1998 – April 11, 2009 | |
Preceded by | Don Higginson |
Succeeded by | Don Higginson |
Personal details | |
Born | La Jolla, California | July 26, 1943
Resting place | Dearborn Memorial Park Poway, California |
Political party | Republican |
Spouse | Sharon Green Cafagna (m. 1965) |
Residence(s) | Poway, California |
Michael "Mickey" Cafagna (July 26, 1943 – April 11, 2009) was the third elected mayor of the city of Poway, California, serving from 1998 until his death in 2009.
Cafagna was born in Detroit, Michigan,[1] the third son of Italian immigrants.[2] He moved to Poway (then an unincorporated part of San Diego County) circa 1975; following a successful career as a real estate developer, he was appointed to the Poway City Council in 1992, eventually winning the mayoral election in November 1998.
As Mayor, Cafagna represented Poway in the
Even his political opponents, such as Poway's first mayor Bob Emery, acknowledged that while they had been opposed to his philosophies at first (Cafagna was a real estate developer, while Emery advocated slow-growth policy), they began to see things from his point of view, just as he saw things from theirs, and they grew to respect his character and his genial attitude. Cafagna had in fact avoided doing his development business in Poway to avoid conflicts of interest, and as Mayor opposed helter-skelter sprawl throughout the region (often with the "How much do we have to grow before we destroy the reasons we live here" speech, as Emery termed it).[5]
In 2005, Cafagna was diagnosed with kidney cancer and underwent an operation to remove it. However, it returned nearly four years later, having spread to his lungs. His illness prevented him from conducting day-to-day city government, and as a result Deputy Mayor Higginson became acting mayor. Cafagna was admitted to Scripps Memorial Hospital in La Jolla on March 5 from what was previously thought to be pneumonia, but later determined to be septic shock; he died there on April 11, at the age of 65. After services at St. Michael's Catholic Church, he was buried a week later at Dearborn Memorial Park in Poway.[6]
Cafagna was survived by his wife of 43 years, Sharon Green Cafagna, as well as their two children, Kevin and Stacy, and five grandchildren.[7]
References
- ^ Michael "Mickey" Cafagna (1943 - 2009) - Find A Grave Memorial
- ^ POWAY: More than 1,000 people attend late mayor's funeral : North County Times - Californian 04-17-2009
- ^ Editorial: Mickey Cafagna's legacy - MyLocalNews.com Archived 2011-07-14 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Mickey Cafagna; longtime local leader, developer - SignOnSanDiego.com, 04-12-2009
- ^ My Town: The Mickey Cafagna I Knew - MyLocalNews.com Archived 2011-07-14 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ ^ Sign On San Diego
- ^ ^ Find A Grave