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Dennis Yates
By Imani Tate | itate@scng.com |
CHINO >> Mayor Dennis Yates has served 24 years on the City Council Thursday and it's time for others to lead and contribute to the community he's loved since moving to Chino in 1982.
He is not running for re-election.
"I'm 71 1/2-years-old. I think I've contributed enough and done enough damage," said the man equally well known around town for his sense of humor and booming baritone voice. "I don't want to die sitting up on the dais during a council meeting. I'd rather die with a fishing pole in my hand."
Yates, a retired retail corporate merchandising executive, has devoted his life since childhood to community and youth service. He said retiring from politics will give him more recreational and travel time with his wife, Rosemary, their children — Kevin, David, Janine, Jason and Denise — and 11 grandchildren.
First on his leisure-time agenda: sitting in the sun and fishing at a private RV park in Lytle Creek.
Yates was born in Oceanside, the second of nine children born to World War II Marine Edward Laverne Yates and his wife, Beulah Marie. When his dad was honorably discharged, he loaded his family into the car, drove north to Irvine, where he bought a watermelon and continued on to Pomona, where he stopped for a family picnic at Ganesha Park.
Liking the town, his dad said, "I'm going to find us a place to live. He left, then came back two hours later and had found a house for us," Yates said.
Growing up in Pomona, he went to Lincoln Elementary, Emerson Junior High and Pomona High schools. Always industrious, he got two jobs at age 10 as a Los Angeles Examiner newspaper boy and box boy at the Gold Strike Market in Pomona. At the latter, he moved up from box boy to night manager.
He balanced work, school academics and athletic play on the Pomona High football and track teams. Yates served in the U.S. Air Force from 1966 to 1970 during the Vietnam War era and was honorably discharged as a staff sergeant.
He completed his Associate of Arts degree at Chaffey College on the G.I. Bill. He retired as a Thrifty's Corp. merchandising executive after 38 years in retail work.
Moving to Chino in 1982, he immersed himself in projects and programs helping families, children and community. He served as president of Chino Pop Warner until elected to the City Council in 1992 and has been an active volunteer for the group's fundraisers and programs for 35 years.
He has been called "the Howard Cosell of Chino" as the voice of youth sports, announcing for the Puma Youth Track Club's Invitational Track Meet and Chino Relays for 22 years and Chino City Track meets for 24 years.
He also serves as master of ceremonies for Chino Youth Museum bingo fundraisers and, for the past 12 years, honorary chairman of the Chino Relay For Life. He was the first inductee into the Chino Relay For Life Hall of Fame.
He served 12 years on the City Council, from 1992 to 2004, when he was elected mayor. He's been re-elected mayor three times.
Yates said he enjoyed his time on the council "because members worked cooperatively to do what is best for the citizens and community. My achievements were not solo acts, but made possible because of the entire council's commitment to community and the people, businesses, agencies and organizations in the city."
Among the city's accomplishments during his tenure are the establishment of a Chaffey College community campus and its Information Technology Center; renovation of downtown Chino; construction of low-cost senior housing, the Carolyn Owens Community Center and the College Park residential development and the annexation of the agricultural preserve.
With the help of former Chino mayor Fred Aguiar during his tenure on California Gov. Arnold Schwarznegger's executive team, Yates saw the expansion of Ayala Park from 41 acres to 141 acres when the state deeded to the city acres formerly part of the California Institution for Men.
The city's retail success has made Chino the sixth largest sales-tax producer in San Bernardino County and 24th in California for cities with a population less than 100,000.
The city is fiscally healthy with $44 million in cash reserves. The city's fiscal stability allowed officials to avoid layoffs, service reductions or furloughs during recessions, Yates said.
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Imani Tate
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