LANSING, Mich. — Former Lansing Mayor Tony Benavides passed away Sunday night at the age of 84.
Those who knew him say he had an infectious smile and treated everyone with kindness, respect, and with dignity.
“I know that Tony was struggling with various illnesses for a lot of years,” said Joe Garcia, the CEO of the Cristo Rey Community Center, “but if you were fortunate enough to come across him, you'd always see that infectious smile, which always remained. I'll always see that fighter Tony on the council meetings or the images that we have of him at the center, you know, promoting Cristo Rey, and promoting the Hispanic community and being a voice for people in need.”
Benavides was the son of migrant farm workers and sometimes worked in the fields himself. He came to Lansing as a teenager, graduated from Sexton High School and later Michigan State University.
He went on to become the longest serving executive director at the Cristo Rey Community Center, as well as the first Latino member of the Lansing City Council, where he served for more than 20 years.
“I feel that Tony taught the Hispanic community how to be effective communicators, how to be heard, how to present ideas, the power of the word, and the openness as opposed to anything that might seem more aggressive, or more confrontational,” Garcia said. “Tony, a very effective communicator, very much a bridge builder. He taught many how to do the appropriate due diligence, have the communication, extend the olive branch and just sit back and watch the opportunities that would create itself from that.”
He became the first Latino mayor of Lansing in January of 2003 after Mayor David Hollister resigned to serve as the director of Michigan's Department of Labor and Economic Growth under then-Gov. Jennifer Granholm.
Later that year, Benavides defeated Virg Bernero by 258 votes in an election to serve the remaining two years of Hollister's term but lost when he and Bernero faced each other again in 2005.
“He had a heart of gold," said Lansing Mayor Andy Schor. "He was very caring. He was very nice to everyone. He was a strong leader. So, I greatly appreciate everything he's done for Lansing.
Schor said he had known Benavides for 20 years.
“There's really no words to explain the influence that he had with the Hispanic community, but really, for the whole city. He was concerned about the whole city, and he really had an incredible, incredible impact. And his legacy will be remembered,” Schor said.
Benavides is survived by his wife, Carmen.
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