Marie Lopez Rodgers: From the cotton fields to Valley political leader

She is a Valley native who rose from the cotton fields of Avondale in the 1950’s to become a West Valley political leader.

BY BOB MCCLAY

Sep 17, 2015, 6:00 AM Updated: 2:03 pm

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Marie Lopez Rodgers (KTAR Photo/Bob McClay)

(KTAR Photo/Bob McClay)

KTAR News is celebrating Hispanic Heritage Month, paying tribute to the generations of Hispanic Americans who have influenced and enriched our community in a positive way. This week KTAR News presents profiles of five Arizonans who have become difference-makers in our state. This is part 4 of a 5 part series.

She is a Valley native who rose from the cotton fields of Avondale in the 1950’s to become a West Valley political leader.

“I grew up in Goodyear Farms in Litchfield Park where the migrant farm camps were at one time. It was all agricultural out here. We then moved to Avondale in my early years,” Marie Lopez Rodgers said.

She remembers a happy childhood where she felt secure in a close-knit community. When she was not in school, she helped her parents work in the cotton fields. She laughs as she remembers how hard the work was.

“After picking cotton, you’re hands are all scratched, bleeding, and sunburned because it’s hot,” Lopez Rodgers said.

Her dad was a Hispanic leader, and she joined in a march early in life.

“We were protesting city hall in Avondale,” Lopez Rodgers said. “I remember that I was about 11 years old and I was carrying this sign. I really wasn’t sure why. I just knew that something was bad, and my dad was trying to change it. I kind of got that bug of being involved.”

She attended and graduated from Agua Fria High School, the same school that her children would attend in later years. After high school, she worked as a telephone operator for Mountain Bell for about five years.

That is when she met her husband Eddie. He joined the military and served in Vietnam and Germany. After he left the service, the couple had three children. While Eddie went to work, Marie was a stay at home mom who was very involved.

“I helped at the school, so I became a teacher’s aide,” Lopez Rodgers said. “I had all boys, so I was a Cub Scout leader and was very active in the church. I became a religious education coordinator there, then I started work for Catholic Social Services, where I worked for a number of years.”

Marie became known as a “go-to” person in her community, willing to help wherever she could. That led to a life in politics that started in 1996.

“The former Mayor Tommy Morales asked me if I would run for council, and I said, ‘Oh No!’ Lopez Rodgers said. “But then he said, ‘You know, the only way that you can change things is through the policies that are created through the government.’ And I said, OK.”

She was elected to the Avondale City Council then became mayor in 2006. The city saw tremendous growth during that time period, and Lopez Rodgers says her main focus was to help people who moved to her city to get the educational opportunities to achieve good paying jobs that would enable them to own their own home there.

It was also a time when many Hispanics were marching through the streets of Phoenix, protesting for immigrant rights. Lopez Rodgers thinks that her Hispanic heritage helped to establish a good relationship between Avondale residents and their city leaders during that time.

“I think me sitting in that chair helped. I was accessible, and our council and staff worked really hard,” she said.

Lopez Rodgers later served as a county supervisor and is a past president of the National League of Cities and Towns. That enabled her to meet President and Mrs. Obama.

“My life has been fabulous,” said Lopez Rodgers. “I would have never dreamed that little girl in the fields was going to grow up and sit in the First Lady’s box at the State of the Union address and then sit across from President Obama and tell him about my city and how cities across the nation are hurting.”

She said that the president seemed very receptive to her comments.

Lopez Rodgers and her husband Eddie have now been married for 46 years. She now works as a consultant for Municipal Solutions, while Eddie is a building facilities manager for the Salt River Indian Community. In addition to their three sons, they have six grandchildren.

She became emotional as she talked about her sons having their own careers as firefighters and therapists.

“They’re all in the help field, and that makes me proud, because they realize how important that is,” Lopez Rodgers said tearfully. “I hope my grandchildren learn from that.”

And Lopez Rodgers hopes that all young Hispanics strive to get a good education and a better life.

“The future is going to be in their hands, and we want to make sure that they’re equipped to take care of it,” she said.