John Sparacino, Martinez’s first elected mayor and a man described as a gentleman and “Mr. Martinez,” died Tuesday at home at 92. Sparacino was chosen the city’s mayor in 1973, then again in 1976 and 1978, when the post was a two-year-term position. “He deserves a public tribute. Everything he did was ‘first cabin,’” said Gus Kramer, Contra Costa County’s assessor. “He was always a gentleman.”

“John was ‘Mr. Martinez,’ and he will be missed by the entire Martinez community,” said Mayor Rob Schroder. “John was an icon in Martinez. A lifelong resident from a multigenerational Italian family, a business owner, a community volunteer and the first directly-elected mayor of Martinez,” he said