Former Somerton resident honored by Arizona Dems
Heredia inducted into party’s hall of fame
Luis Heredia says he’s happy working behind the scenes, but apparently he’s got a pretty high profile among Democrats.
The former Somerton resident this month was inducted in the Arizona Democratic Party’s Hall of Fame at a celebration held at the Talking Stick Resort in Scottsdale.
The honor recognizes his service over the years to the party and to his community, including stints as member of both the Somerton Elementary School District governing board and Yuma County Planning and Zoning Commission, his service as a field representative for U.S. Rep. Raul Grijalva and service as a former executive director of the party’s statewide organization.
Now a Phoenix-area resident who is district director for U.S. Rep. Ruben Gallego, Heredia said it wasn’t until the day before that he had an inkling he was getting inducted into the hall.
“I was given a call the day before to make sure I was attending,” he said.
“I was very honored, I felt very humbled, but it doesn’t end the work we need to do. Elections still matter.”
And he is getting behind candidates who share the party’s values. At present, he is on leave from his post with Gallego to serve as campaign manager for the congressman’s ex-wife, Kate Gallego, a Democrat running in the non-partisan race for Phoenix mayor.
Heredia was raised in Somerton, and in a speech during his induction ceremony Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Kyrsten Sinema joked that he was probably canvassing voters as far back as his preschool days.
Kidding aside, Heredia said it was during his youth that he became politically motivated by the stories his grandparents told him of their prior struggles as immigrants from Mexico.
Among his role models, he said, was his paternal grandmother who ran a fabric store in Somerton. Though never becoming a U.S. citizen, she was heavily involved in the Somerton Merchants Association, in her church and elsewhere in the community.
“She just stepped up and did what needed to be done,” he said.
“When you piece everything together, I feel it just gave me the passion to commit myself to causes that matter.”
Heredia attended Cibola High School and then graduated from Arizona State University. Later in life he was a founder of the Yuma County chapter of ASU’s El Diablito alumni association, which annually organizes the Somerton Tamale Festival.
He served as a field representative in Yuma and La Paz counties for Grijalva, a Tucson democrat, before becoming communications director for Union Pacific Railroad for Arizona and New Mexico. Then he took the reins of the Democratic Party’s statewide organization as executive director.
Following the Phoenix mayor election next month, Heredia plans to return to his responsibilities as Gallego’s district director, a post in which he provides a variety of services to constituents of the Democratic congressman.
Heredia says his aspirations include serving somewhere in the administration of a future Democratic governor of Arizona. He does not, however, rule out the possibility of one day running for office himself.
“If an opportunity is there, I would be willing to consider it. But I’m happy being the guy behind the scenes.”