Valley Town Reinvents Itself With Electric Car Fleet and Gets Biden’s Attention

The western Fresno County farm town of Huron is on President Joe Biden’s radar thanks to Mayor Rey León.

Huron used to be a transportation desert. When he was a child, León told Evan Halper of the Los Angeles Times, it took three hours and 13 stops to ride a bus 53 miles to Fresno to visit a cousin in the hospital.

“That experience stuck with me,” León said.

Huron Mayor Ray León

Writes Halper: “The mayor took matters into his own hands. And now, as the Biden administration builds its multibillion-dollar blueprint for confronting deep inequities in the transition to green transportation, one of the few places it has to look for inspiration is Huron.

“Headquartered in a former diesel truck garage, the growing fleet of nine electric cars managed by León’s Green Raiteros program shuttles residents all over Fresno County free of charge.”

Read more from the Times about Huron’s innovative ride-sharing program here or here.

León Teams With Hollywood

To promote zero-emission efforts, León has teamed with actor Mark Ruffalo and “Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.” star Chloe Bennet on the “40 Million Reasons to Go Electric” campaign.

Gov. Gavin Newsom’s goal is for California to switch to zero-emission vehicles by 2035.

In 2020, the California Energy Commission inducted León into its inaugural Clean Energy Hall of Fame.

Watch: Huron Mayor Rey León Drives Like a Super Hero