Resurrection of a mayor

Wendy Alexander/The Madera Tribune File Photo

The John Wells Youth Center was so-named in honor of the man who gave so much to make the city of Madera what it is today.

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If anybody thought the City of Madera had seen the last of John Wells when the voters turned him out to pasture in 1976, they were badly mistaken. After 12 years on the City Council, he had been bitten by the political bug, and through the 1980s, he just sat back and bid his time.

Readers will recall that Wells had first run for the Madera City Council in 1962 and lost. Two years later, in a well-oiled campaign, he made another try — this one successful. Wells was returned to office in 1968, and in that year was chosen by his colleagues on the council to fill the mayor’s chair.

In 1970, the council again gave Wells the mayor’s gavel, and he continued to represent Madera until 1971 when, in a surprising political move, that same council took the gavel back and gave it to William Venturi. Undeterred, Wells continued to serve and added one more term to his record in 1972.