Generations of Community Service

Rey ‘Sonny’ Landero continues family tradition

For more than 30 years, the name Landero has been associated with two things: Carson and community leadership. You mention the words Carson and community leadership and the name of Dr. Rey Landero at once comes to mind. You mention the name Landero and the city of Carson and community leadership at once come to mind.

It is not surprising that the Landero family and the city of Carson are intertwined. After all, the family's businesses have been situated in Carson for almost 30 years, and the family first lived in Carson when they came to California in 1968.

It is also not surprising that the name Landero would be associated with community leadership. After all, Dr. Rey Landero and his wife, Lydia, have been in the forefront of community service both within the Filipino community in Southern California and within the city of Carson.

It is, therefore, not surprising that their eldest son, Rey "Sonny" Landero would follow their footsteps, and become a community leader, too, in the city of Carson. In fact, Sonny Landero is running for one of two council seats up for grabs in that Southbay city on March 6, 2001.

The young Landero came to the launching of his candidacy recently at the Carson Hilton dressed in an immaculate white suit. He explained why: "I'm not getting married to any woman. But I think I'm getting married to a job."

He was, of course, referring to the job of city councilman, for which, he said, he has accepted a new challenge in his life. That challenge, he said, "is the clamor for change in the city that will insure better education for Carson's children, better health for the community, and an efficient public safety system -- including establishing a good working relationship with our local police force towards a strategy that will effectively reduce the occurrences of crime."

"It also means a challenge to protect our residents, especially our children, from any form of environmental hazard. This is a challenge to assure Carson citizens, young and old alike, of equal opportunities to get good jobs and secure a brighter future for them," he added.

The young Landero is known in the Carson community as a sports leader, having coached various teams in soccer, basketball and baseball in city leagues at the Veterans Park.

He is a native of Carson, having grown up in Carson and graduated from the St. Philomena Elementary School. The young Landero first studied at the Anna Lee Elementary School in Casa Dominguez, where the Landero family lived for five years (from 1969 to 1974). He then transferred to St. Philomena, where he graduated, and moved on to Palos Verdes High School, where he graduated with honors. The family had, by then, moved to Palos Verdes, but kept their businesses in Carson.

The young Landero is medical administrator of the family-owned businesses -- the Landero/Medsmart Medical Clinic, and the Carson Disability Evaluation Services Inc., which has a contract with the state of California as a regular evaluation service that tests state disability patients in the communities of Carson, Long Beach, Gardena and Torrance. He is also the administrator of the law office of his younger brother, Atty. Rey Ranier Landero IV.

Sonny Landero majored in biological sciences at the University of Southern California, and in Business Administration at the California State University if Los Angeles and University of Phoenix. While in college, he worked full-time with the Paracelsus Medical Corp., owner of a string of acute care facilities throughout the United States.

The young Landero learned his business and administrative skills as one of the youngest executives of Paracelsus. At 22, he was in charge of the accounting department for five hospitals operated by Paracelsus.

After Paracelsus, he joined the American Healthcare Management Corp. as an accounting consultant for the company's three medical facilities. He later opened a nursing registry business, which grew fast because of his good business and personal relationships cultivated in his previous jobs.

After developing his business and administrative skills, the young Landero decided to join his family's business as administrator of his father's Landero Family Medical Clinic/Medsmart Medical Clinic, which has been situated on Main Street for almost 30 years. He was later also named administrator of the Carson Disability Evaluation Services and the Law Office of Rey Ranier Landero IV. All three businesses are in the building owned by his father, Dr. Rey Landero.

Dr. Rey Landero was one of only two Filipino doctors in Carson (the other being Dr. Iluminada Diego) when he moved his family to that city in 1968 from Akron, Ohio, where they first settled when they came to the US in 1967. Sonny, who was born in Manila, was only six when they came to the US.

In 1972, Dr. Landero opened his medical clinic on Main Street in Carson. In 1977, he bought the building just beside his first clinic.

Dr. Landero became active in community activities in Carson and in Greater Los Angeles, The doctor worked actively for the election of Gov. Edmund Brown by mobilizing the Filipino-American community in Carson and other parts of Southern California. He also helped organize and headed the Confederation of Filipino-US Organizations (Confuso) in the early 80's.

Dr. Landero and his wife have been very active in community organizations since the time they arrived in Carson. Dr. Landero has also served as president of the Philippine Medical Association in Southern California, while his wife Lydia, a teacher by profession, once headed the PMASC-Auxiliary, which works for the benefit of the homeless and less fortunate both in Southern California and in the Philippines.

"I'm happy and proud to grow up in a family that is so attached to the people and to the community. My parents are both leaders of the community, and I certainly has derived rich experiences from their community involvement."

Rey "Sonny" Landero is now ready to elevate his family's community involvement to a higher level, by becoming a member of the Carson City Council. It's about time.