Residents and business owners in La Puente, who will be voting for three new council members in November, shared several priorities they hope to see the candidates address.

Those priorities include bringing more businesses to the city to generate jobs and boost tax revenue; making it easier for small businesses, including street vendors, to operate in the city; findings ways to help residents during the economic downturn, including homeless folks; and addressing air quality issues due to factories in neighboring areas such as the city of Industry.

As of July 2019, about 39,614 people live In La Puente, only 11 percent of residents have a bachelor’s degree or higher, and almost 18 percent of residents are at or below the poverty line, according to U.S. Census Bureau data.

Jesus Jauregui, owner of Chuyitos Pizza and resident of La Puente

“The street zoning sanctions [under] the ‘food peddlers’ law passed about a year and a half ago have been very difficult under these times. You have small businesses that apply for permits and are put on waiting lists because people on the city board would rather have money in their pockets immediately than to let small businesses thrive.”

Angela Ayala, owner of Gratitude Joy Candles and resident of La Puente

“Living in the city of La Puente over a decade I have seen an increase in homelessness on the main streets of the city such as Amar…I wonder if these types of activities have discouraged…shops to open up in La Puente, as many times, I find myself shopping in neighboring cities.”

Eileen Gonzalez, owner of E Vanity Lashes and resident of La Puente

“The middle school that I attended was located right next to a factory and there were days where students were not allowed to do any physical activities due to the air quality caused by the factories.”

Dan Holloway, La Puente City Council Member who is up for re-election in November

“All the things that go with having a city that is completely built up versus having a city like the City of Industry that is open, they have very few residents, mostly businesses and they have a lot of land, they have a lot of tax revenue. We have very little tax revenue. We have a few businesses but we have no major malls, we have no big box stores in our city, just mostly mom and pop. So, all of that affects our residents and our ability to provide them services and to do all the things that we would like to do for our residents, but we don’t have the money.”