By Harrison Power
Momentous social and cultural events marked American society in 1969, with NASA landing Apollo 11’s Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin on the Moon, The Beatles release of Abbey Road, the Woodstock Music and Art Fair, even the Sesame Street premiere on National Education Television. National achievement coincided with growing social movements and activism. 1969 marked a notable social and political achievement for Modesto as well, with the election of Phillip E. Newton to the Modesto City Council, the first person of color to hold elected office in Modesto.
Born in Muskogee, Oklahoma on October 9, 1934, Phillip Newton came to Modesto when his family resettled in California in the early 1950’s. Newton graduated from Modesto High School in 1952, and went on to marry his wife Anita McCoy in 1954. A resident of West Modesto, Newton came into adulthood alongside the rise of the civil rights movement and at a time when Modesto was sprawling north along McHenry with a focus on new neighborhoods and development.
By 1969, Newton was the Assistant Supervisor for Shipping at Borden Company, and was active in several community organizations: he was Vice President of the Modesto NAACP, member of the Board of Directors of the Westside Neighborhood Center, member of the City Crime Study Committee, chair of the Compensatory Education and Advisory Committee, Secretary of the Modesto Men for Civic Betterment, along with being active in Boy Scouts leadership and the Franklin School Dad’s Club. There was a sense that Modesto’s growth could potentially bring with it serious concerns of economic disparity between neighborhoods and government resource allocation, and it was these tensions which launched Newton to run for City Council.
An early campaign headline in March 1969 read, “How about ONE for the rest of us?”, running on a message of fair representation for all Modestans, from all parts of town. The campaign ad highlighted three tenets: “1. The average income family or below should be represented…2. We should plan for the community as a WHOLE, not rely on tossing ‘bones’ to some neighborhood. 3. Adequate facilities for cultural needs of ALL THE COMMUNITY should be developed.” As a candidate, he vowed to open new channels of communication between the City and Modesto’s varied populations.
Initial results of the April 15, 1969 election showed Newton’s opposing candidate and Planning Commissioner John Sutton as the winner by just two votes. However, it was discovered that an error had been made by a precinct worker when copying voting machine result sheet totals on a tally sheet during the election night count, which when corrected tipped the election in Newton’s favor by 6 votes. Newton received 3,400 votes, followed by Sutton with 3,394 votes, Art Baker with 2,198, and Joe Madeiros Jr. with 369 votes.
Phillip E. Newton went on to serve another term on the City Council, having been re-elected in 1973 and throughout his time in local office had served twice as Vice Mayor. He chose to not seek re-election, and following his notable elections to the City Council and advocacy in Modesto, Newton received the Liberty Bell Award from the Stanislaus Bar Association in 1977 in recognition of his “unselfish contributions toward a better functioning of the system of government and for his outstanding efforts toward fostering respect for the law.” Phillip and Anita Newton were married for over 60 years until Anita passed away in 2019, and Phillip later passed away in 2020.
Phillip E. Newtown’s advocacy as a voice for all and the underrepresented on the City Council was notable in 1969 as it is today, worthy of acknowledgement and commemoration by all Modestans, from all parts of town, for his passionate commitment to an inclusive civic discourse for all Modesto.
