Mayor Mickey Cafagna

Mayor Mickey Cafagna POWAY --Mayor Michael "Mickey" Cafagna passed away on Saturday, April 11, 2009. He was born on July 26, 1943 in Detroit, MI. Mickey married his wife Sharon Green on July 31, 1965 and they have been residents of Poway for more than 30 years. Mayor Cafagna served on the Poway City Council since 1992 and became Poway's third elected Mayor in 1998. In addition to his service to the City of Poway, Mickey was the President of Square One Development Corporation, a real estate development and property management firm based in Kearny Mesa. Mayor Cafagna has served as Poway's representative on the Board of the San Diego Association of Governments (SANDAG) since 1998, including his election to the Chairman of the Board of Directors. He additionally represented Poway as the Chairman of the Regional Solid Waste Association since 1995. He also served as the designated alternate for the Metropolitan Transit System (MTS) Board of Directors. He previously was the President of the San Diego County Division of the League of California Cities and was highly influential in local as well as regional issues. He was known for his leadership, consensus building, and dedication to the economic vitality of cities. His notable accomplishments include: building consensus for the voter approved transportation sales tax initiative currently funding billions of dollars of transportation improvements in the region; fundraising and development of the Poway Boys and Girls Club; policy and financial leadership for the development of the Poway Business Park; development of the City of Poway Office Building Project; leadership during two catastrophic regional fires and the crafting of the Wildfire Defensible Space Program; support for energy efficient and award winning affordable housing developments in Poway; leadership and economic development activities for the City of Poway including the business park hotel, relocation of General Atomics and the business attraction of Costco and Gateway Computers; and his relationships with the Poway Business Park Association and the Poway Chamber of Commerce. Mickey was widely known and respected for his goodwill to all, ability to bring divergent points of interest together as well as his warmth, humility, and sense of humor. Mickey is survived by his wife, Sharon of Poway; daughter, Stacy (and husband Craig) Pollard of San Marcos; son, Kevin (and wife Shannon) Cafagna of Poway; grandchildren, Joshua, Jared, Grace, Reese, Ava; and brothers Dominic Cafagna of San Diego, Dr. Albert Cafagna of East Lansing, MI. Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated at 1 p.m. on Friday, April 17, 2009 at St. Michael's Catholic Church in Poway. The Committal will follow at Dearborn Memorial Park in Poway. A reception will be held immediately following the Committal at Poway City Hall.

In lieu of flowers, the Cafagna family suggests that memorial contributions be made in Mickey's name to one of his two favorite charities - "The Robert Figlin Kidney Cancer Research Fund" , payable to the City of Hope, 1500 Duarte Road - MOB Room 1001, Duarte, CA 91010 or " Cancer for College," 1345 Specialty Drive - Suite E, Vista, CA 92081, www.cancerforcollege.org. A special memorial page has been created at www.poway.org for those who would like to leave their names and condolences. Arrangements are by Poway-Bernardo Mortuary. Sign the Guest Book online obits.nctimes.com