Capitol Weekly’s Top 100: Mark Macarro

88.  Mark Macarro

Mark Macarro is the long-time Chair of the influential Pechanga Band of Luiseño Indians, which was a leader in the fight against bringing sports betting to California last year. Macarro was first elected tribal chairman in 1995. His great-grandfather, Juan Macarro, served as tribal chairman for Pechanga Band during the first decade of the 1900s, and his father, Leslie Macarro, was a Pechanga tribal member and a correctional peace officer killed in the line of duty in 1988. Under Macarro’s leadership the Pechanga Band built its Pechanga Resort Casino, one of the most successful – and certainly well-advertised – tribal casinos in California. The Pechanga Band under Macarro has also tried to act as a leader among various California tribes, attempting to unify a group of sovereign nations that is often quietly at odds with each other.

Updated Aug. 15, 2023