Rey León has served as Mayor of Huron since 2016, running unopposed for re-election in 2018 and winning again in 2024. Now in his 50s, León grew up in a farmworker family in Huron, graduated from UC Berkeley with a degree in Chicano Studies with an emphasis in public health, and returned to his hometown in the 1990s after roughly three decades away. In 2026 he entered the race for Fresno County’s District 4 Board of Supervisors seat, a development worth watching for whether it affects his time as mayor.
Outside of his mayoral role, León founded and directs the LEAP Institute, a San Joaquin Valley environmental advocacy organization focused on clean air, clean energy, and green jobs in the Central Valley, and he is also credited as a founder of the San Joaquin Valley Regional Green Jobs Coalition and a co-founder of the Central Valley Air Quality Coalition.
As mayor, León has been credited with securing $31 million in funding for the “Heart of the Valley Bridge” project, elevating a flood-prone road and creek crossing, and overseeing roughly $100 million in city infrastructure improvements including a new city hall, police department, and council chambers. His administration converted the city’s streetlights to LED lighting, saving an estimated $60,000 a year, and renegotiated municipal bond terms for a similar amount in additional annual savings. He also started Huron’s first youth soccer league and partnered on a zero-emission vehicle promotion campaign. No documented controversies involving León were found in available public records.
