Bell Gardens City Council

Bell Gardens population: 42,355

Special election: Tuesday, March 10

On the ballot: Ten candidates for four at-large seats

There are no incumbents

George T. Deitch

Age: 45

Occupation: Real estate sales

Remarks: “I am running for office because I am tired of people getting oppressed and unjustly treated. My beef is with the city manager. He is a political machine, and I want him out.”

Frank B. Duran

Age: 56

Occupation: Purchasing manager for welding supply business

Remarks: “I’ve been here for 25 years and was always fairly satisfied with the way things were going. Then the rezoning issue came up. We just wanted the council to think about it a little bit more, especially since 85% of the people who live here are Hispanic.”

Rodolfo (Rudy) Garcia

Age: 56

Occupation: Director of Bell office of the League of United Latin American Citizens

Remarks: “I don’t want politics as usual. I want to take care of the gangs and the drugs. I want to educate the people, establish a job-training project and look at health programs. We have to take care of the people who live here.”

Josefina (Josie) Macias

Age: 40

Occupation: Attendance supervisor for Montebello Unified School District

Remarks: “There was a time when I wasn’t really involved, and I just let the world go by. I didn’t care what City Hall did, and I thought, ‘Who can fight City Hall?’ But I realized you can fight. And you can win.”

Yolanda Quintana

Age: 41

Occupation: Homemaker

Remarks: “I don’t think this election should be a matter of taking sides--it should be a matter of who wants to work for the community. We have many problems here: gangs, drugs. We need child care. These things need to be addressed in both the Latino and the Anglo communities.”

Danny Rico

Age: 34

Occupation: Pest control technician Remarks: “We need a balance between the council and the community, and it’s not just a Hispanic thing or a white thing because we need both on the council.”

Juan (John) Sanchez

Age: 31

Occupation: Real estate consultant

Remarks: “One of the most important things this City Council must do is communicate with the community. If the council had taken into consideration all the different people who make up the community and had gotten input from everyone, we could have avoided this whole thing.”

Victor Vaillette

Age: 43

Occupation: Community activist

Remarks: “Bell Gardens needs a change at City Hall. ‘King Claude’ (City Manager Claude Booker) must go. Bell Gardens needs term limits so special interests can never again control our City Council. Bell Gardens needs a full-time, independent City Council that takes charge.”

Richard Webb

Age: 47

Occupation: Retired Bell Gardens police officer

Remarks: “We need to re-evaluate the direction in which the city is going, and we need to listen to the people’s ideas on where the city should go. It was obvious that the old council was not in tune with the community.”

Jesus (Jess) Zuniga

Age: 47

Occupation: McDonnell Douglas quality assurance inspector

Remarks: “I don’t think a city should have to go through what we are going through. . . . Whoever gets on the council is going to have a tough job trying to turn the city around. It will take a lot of work and the complete cooperation of the council and the community.”