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Michael Padilla (born 1948/1949)[1] is an American politician who is the mayor of Topeka, Kansas, serving since January 2022. Prior to becoming mayor, Padilla was a member of the Topeka Police Department for 33 years and served one term on Topeka's city council.
Mike Padilla | |
|---|---|
| Mayor of Topeka | |
| Assumed office January 4, 2022 | |
| Preceded by | Michelle De La Isla |
| Member of the Topeka City Council | |
| In office April 2017 – April, 2021 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 1948 or 1949 (age 75–76) Topeka, Kansas, U.S. |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Education | Washburn University (BA) |
Padilla is a second-generation Mexican American.[2] He graduated from Hayden High School and Washburn University. He worked for Adams Business Forms but left the job in 1970 to become a police officer for Topeka's police department.[3]
In 2000, Padilla, then a police captain, ran for sheriff of Shawnee County as a Democrat. He won the Democratic Party's primary election in August,[4] but lost the November general election to the incumbent, Republican Richard Barta. Padilla retired from the Topeka Police Department in 2003 at the rank of major.[3][2]
Padilla was elected to Topeka's city council to represent District 5 in 2017.[5] In January 2021, the members of the Topeka City Council elected Padilla as deputy mayor.[6] After mayor Michelle De La Isla decided not to run for reelection in 2021, Padilla announced his candidacy for mayor.[2] Padilla defeated Leo Cangiani in the non-partisan election with 60.9% of the vote (9,209 to 5,862) on November 2.[5] He was sworn in as mayor on January 4, 2022.[7]
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