Ukiah Mayor Josefina Dueñas
Deaf Latina mayor tells of her journey from Mexico to northern California and the importance of education
Ukiah Mayor Josefina Duenas: "I am representing diversity. Not only the Latino immigrant but also the deaf, the disabled, and the poor."
October 2024: Disabled people with ambitions to succeed in politics are often confronted with obstacles non-disabled persons don’t have to face. There are the obvious obstacles that stand in the way of disabled people, but there is also the perception of colleagues, rivals and members of the public that disabilities prevent a person from carrying out their allotted tasks and duties properly. Josefina Dueñas, the mayor of Ukiah (California), has experienced it first-hand.
As a five-year-old, Josefina Dueñas was diagnosed with severe hearing loss in both ears. Some 60 years later, she became America’s first deaf Latina mayor.
Dueñas grew up in Puebla, Mexico, where members of her extended family farmed but also published newspapers. Gardening became her first passion. As a pre-teen child, she strove to grow the tastiest, reddest tomatoes. Later, she discovered writing. Encouraged by her grandfather, who owned a newspaper, she started writing stories about gardening and local events. At the age of 15, Josefina Dueñas was already a regular contributor to the family newspaper.
In the late 1980s, fearing domestic violence, Josefina Dueñas migrated to the US, where she worked as an undocumented immigrant in California’s vineyards. While working in the fields, she signed up for part-time courses at Sonoma University, north of San Francisco, and began writing again for publications such as El Planeta and El Sol.
Ten years after she arrived in the US, Dueñas again faced domestic violence. She then applied for legal protection under the ‘Violence Against Women Act’ which offers help to immigrants who have been abused by a US citizen. One year later, Dueñas was granted permanent residency, and she became a US citizen in 2017.
In an interview, Josefina Dueñas acknowledged the help Ukiah’s city council had offered her and other female immigrants in her position. But she also felt that much more could and should be done for women, immigrants and people with disabilities. So, she decided to run for a seat on the city council and in 2020, she won.
While councillors are elected by voters for four years, Ukiah’s city mayors are elected by council members for one year. In 2022, Josefina Dueñas was passed over because a majority of council members felt that her hearing disability prevented her from fulfilling her duties. Twelve months later, in 2023, the council voted 3-2 to appoint her as mayor for 2024. Still, the then-incumbent mayor and one councillor voted against her, citing a lack of confidence in her ability to carry out the role. “Her disability would prevent her from presiding over council meetings and engaging with members of the public,” they maintained.
Dueñas’ supporters insisted that the City Council should fulfil its obligation to foster diversity, equity and inclusion. “We speak of inclusion and think it’s incumbent upon our body to do everything we can to facilitate and accommodate someone with a disability that has been elected to the body by the voters.”
One councillor who opposed Dueñas said, "I support diversity, equity and inclusion. But for me, it doesn’t substitute for qualifications. It’s not a free ride. So, I wouldn’t vote for her to be the mayor simply to add diversity, equity or inclusion.”
The mayor-elect thanked her colleagues for their trust and said she was clear about the expectations of the job. “I am representing the diversity. Not only the Latino immigrant but also the deaf, the disabled, and the poor. I think that the people voted for me for that reason. And it will be my honour to do the best I can.”
During her years as a city councillor and mayor, Dueñas has paid particular importance to education. “We tend to think about education only in terms of school. As an educator, I have seen just how vital school is in our lives—not only from what we learn in classrooms, but also what we gain by interacting with others, working together, and sharing parts of our lives,” she said. The city of Ukiah runs after-school education programmes which provide tutoring, homework assistance and exercise opportunities. The Mayor stresses that these kinds of supplementary programmes are vital even for a small town like Ukiah. “As a community, we all want to provide our kids with these kinds of nurturing opportunities, and as a city council member, I’m committed to protecting and strengthening them.”