Monty Manibog
Filipino wrestler, American politician
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Monty Manibog (born Gonzalo Montilla Manibog Jr.; 14 February 1930 – 12 August 2016), was a Filipino athlete who competed as a wrestler in the 1952 Summer Olympics. He later emigrated to the United States, served in the United States Army, became a lawyer in California, and was elected as a city councilmember for Monterey Park, California. He would go on to also be the city's mayor.
14 February 1930
Monty Manibog | |
|---|---|
| Personal details | |
| Born | Gonzalo Montilla Manibog Jr.[1] 14 February 1930 Laog City, Philippines[2] |
| Died | 12 August 2016 (aged 86)[3] Los Angeles, California, United States[4] |
| Resting place | Resurrection Cemetery, Montebello, California[3] |
| Spouse | Jean (née Gingerich)[5] |
| Children | 6[4] |
| Education | University of the Philippines Loyola University |
| Nickname | Monty |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance | United States |
| Branch/service | United States Army |
| Sports career | |
| National team |  Philippines at the 1952 Summer Olympics |
| Sport | Wrestling |
| Sports achievements and titles | |
National finals | Gymnastics, Wrestling |
Early life
Monty was son of Gonzalo Manibog, who was the first Filipino American to receive a law degree, earning it in 1917.[3] He was raised in Hawaii.[5] He went on to attend the University of the Philippines.[3]
Sports career
In the 1950s, Monty earned two gold medals at the Philippines national championships in the sports of gymnastics and wrestling; for two years he was the "athlete of the year" at the University of the Philippines.[3] He competed in the men's freestyle featherweight at the 1952 Summer Olympics.[6] During the 1984 Summer Olympics he was an ambassador to Southeast Nations at the games.[3] In the 1990s he competed at Senior Olympics in California.[3]
Professional and personal life
Monty served in the United States Army from 1953 to 1955; he was stationed in Tokyo where he assigned to a psychological warfare unit.[5] He graduated from Loyola Law School.[3][5] In 1961, he passed the California Bar Exam.[7] In the 1960s and 1970s he was a professor at Van Norman University in Los Angeles, teaching law.[3] He also practiced law;[8] his law firm's office was located in the Temple-Beverly area.[9] Monty was a proponent of the concept of there being a Chinatown like Filipino Town in Los Angeles, purchasing a building on the street his law firm's office was located in.[10]
He was involved in various civic organizations, including the Cub Scouts, and organizing Philippine-American Friendship Day events.[5] He was the legal counsel of the Filipino Community of Los Angeles;[11] in this position he was involved in assisting with naturalization procedures.[12] He was one of twenty Filipino Americans honored by Representative Matthew G. Martínez in 1990.[13] The American Bar Association had awarded Monty a distinguished service award.[14] He died at Cedar Sinai Hospital in 2016; he was survived by his wife Jean, five children, and eighteen grandchildren.[4][a] A son, Dean-Carlos Manibog, was on the Philippine Olympic team during the 1988 Summer Olympics.[17][18]
Political career
In 1972, Manibog was first elected as a city council member for Monterey Park.[3][19] He became the first Filipino American to become an elected official in Southern California when he was elected to Monterey Park City Council; remaining on the city council until 1988, he served as the city's mayor several times.[20][b] In the 1974 election, Monty received the fifth most votes out of eight candidates for one of the three city council seats;[22] in his candidacy statement he wrote that he was an advisor to the California's 29th congressional district.[23]
He was elected as the city's mayor in 1976;[24][25] he won the mayoral race with a majority of the vote.[7] Monty served three terms as Monterey Park's mayor.[4] During his time as mayor, he kept the city's budget balanced;[26] partially through his efforts Monterey Park earned the All-America City Award in 1985.[26][27] He described himself as a moderate to conservative Democrat.[28] In 1982, Monty made an attempt to run for the California's 59th State Assembly district, receiving third place in the Democratic primary behind Charles Calderon, and Joseph Montoya's senatorial aide Mike Duffy.[29]
In the 2003 California gubernatorial recall election, Monty was a write-in candidate;[26][30] in running he was the first Filipino gubernatorial candidate in the mainland United States.[26] Calling his campaign "quixotic", he challenged Arnold Schwarzenegger to a debate and a charitable wrestling match.[26] He received eleven votes (ten from Los Angeles County, and one from Orange County) out of the more than five million votes cast during the election.[31]
Notes
- A son, going by the name of Monty Torres, became a news anchor at KMPH.[15] A daughter, Lisa Manibog Lew Brennan, won the Binibining Pilipinas crown in 1982.[16] A grand-daughter, Danae Manibog-Gatewood, succeeded in getting on the Philippines National Track and Field Team.[17]
- Lisa Lew, his daughter, claims that her father was the first Filipino elected in the Continental United States.[21]
