Blanca Alvarado

Blanca Alvarado (born 1931) is an American former politician and social activist. She was the first Latina elected to the City Council and Board of Supervisors in San Jose.^[1]

The daughter of a coal miner who was active in the union, she was born in the Colorado mining town of Cokedale. After the mine's closure, the family moved to the Santa Clara Valley in California. She was educated at San Jose High School; after graduating, she married Jose J. Alvarado, a local radio host. The couple divorced in 1968. She hosted her own radio program on KLOK radio. Alvarado also worked with Cesar Chavez to establish the Community Services Organization and was involved with the Chicano Employment Committee and the Opportunities Industrial Center. She was president of the local chapter of the Mexican American Political Association and was also an officer at the state level.^[2][1]

In 1980, she was elected to San Jose City Council for District 5; she represented East San Jose until 1994. Alvarado served two terms as San Jose's first Latina vice mayor. In 1995, she was appointed to fill a vacant position in the Board of Supervisors; she was elected to the position the following year and spent 12 years representing District 2. She retired from the Board in 2008 after 28 years in municipal politics. During her time in office, she fought for better representation of the Chicano community of San Jose, helped foster the arts and advocated on behalf of youth and minorities.^[2] Alvarado also served in several committees such as the Children and Families' Committee and Public Safety and Justice Committee.

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