About

Luis Molina was elected as the Mayor of Patterson  on November 2, 2010.  In his second run for the office, Luis defeated Councilmember Annette Smith, 54-44%, by walking all the precincts of Patterson, listening to voters, and sharing his vision for a better tomorrow.

Luis currently is also the president of the Stanislaus County Board of Education, which oversees a budget of $40 million that supports the dreams of 106,000 students throughout the County.  Luis is the only Latino elected official in Stanislaus County.  He has also served on the Planning Commission of Patterson.

Luis was born in Fremont, CA, and raised in Union City.  He served as an active duty US Marine and participated in the first Gulf War – Desert Shield/Storm.  He returned to the Bay area to earn an Associate of Arts Degree in General Education from Chabot College in 1995. He continued his education by transferring to California State University, Hayward, where in 1999, he graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Liberal Studies and a Minor in Chicano Studies. He was also recognized as a Templeton Fellow for Community Service & Service Learning.

Prior to working for the Children and Families Commission of Stanislaus County in Modesto, Luis worked at CSU Hayward as a Program Coordinator for a high school outreach program, HIRE Center’s Community Coordinator, and as Student Services Coordinator with the College of Education and Allied Studies. He also served in helping with outreach to the general community, k-12 students and families, especially low-income, first-generation college bound students. From helping students to go to college to helping children prepare for kindergarten to be successful in school to eventually go to college, Luis now works as the School Readiness Coordinator.

Luis is married to Graciela Molina.  Graciela is the Executive Assistant to the Chancellor of the Yosemite Community College District.

Luis and Graciela

Luis enjoys helping at his church, Sacred Heart Catholic Church, working with youth in the community, and developing new ideas to help improve the quality of life.  Luis serves on the Board of El Concilio in Modesto,  as a member of the County Asthma Coalition, and was president of the parish advisory council.