Candidate for
Council Member; City of Duarte

If we love our city, then we need to be honest with each other. In Duarte one side enjoys better services while city another part of the city struggles. Even though Duarte students recognize the difference, the majority of the Duarte City Council still writes it off as a myth. We can no longer continue on this path. The lack of services and proper representation in the southern part of Duarte must come to an end. If elected, I will...

Increase Public Safety:

·Increase citizen patrol programs that create opportunity for youth and seniors to be a part of the solution.

·Create "hotspot" areas for attention and crime reduction. I want to work with police and citizen groups to fight crime in the city's toughest areas.

·Place more streetlights on our streets, parks, and alley ways. Duarte road and Mountain are two major streets that suffer from poor lighting, creating an unsafe environment for pedestrians and drivers.

·Work with Duarte Unified School District to increase student after school programs and fight graffiti.

Increase Representation:

For too long southern Duarte has been without representation. We need someone who will fight for our interests, protect our neighborhoods, and close the gap in services in Duarte. A vote for me is a vote to:

·Increase city attention on the problems we face in southern Duarte.

·Increase funding for programs, parks, and services in our neighborhood.

·More efficient police, fire, and city services through greater inclusion of Duarte residents in the south.

·As your representative, I will fight to ensure fair and equitable services.

In Duarte, people recognize the divide between the "north side" and "south side". We have to remember that we are a community as a whole. What happens to any part of Duarte will in time affect the entire city. Similarly, if we continue to neglect any part of Duarte, the city will suffer as a whole. Crime in Duarte has already began to spread into parts of the city formerly considered "safe zones".

As we continue to build Duarte, however, we must also protect what we value most; our homes and our families. Regardless of any proposal today or tomorrow, if we stick by this principle, our city will be a prosperous place to live. Irresponsible and shortsighted planning, such as the MTA rail maintenance yard, is not only detrimental but divisive.

I will VOTE AGAINST a rail maintenance yard to built anywhere near Duarte neighborhoods and schools, including the one proposed to built in front of Andres Duarte Elementary school and nearly 200 homes.

We deserve better. Our Children Deserve Better. You deserve better