“Running helps me focus,” he said.  “It clears your mind, it keeps it off negativity.  It makes you think positive.”

On his runs, he sees a lot of kids walking around, kids who “look like they should still be in school at this hour of the day.”  One of his goals, if he is elected to the City Council, is to provide more programs for the city’s youth.  He wants to set up youth sports leagues, and boost after-school programming.

“We want to see where we can get them interested to stay in school,” he added.

Tavares, a driver for Coca-Cola, says he saw what the former City Council members had been doing and got the idea that he could do their job with “integrity, honesty, and that [he] could get the job done.”  He is running to replace Teresa Jacobo, who was arrested on suspicion of misusing city funds.

“It was an embarrassment to see Bell in the news, in a negative way, every single day,” he said, “so I wanted to do something about that, turn that around, and make people think about Bell in a more positive way.”

At a recall election open forum held on Feb, 3, Tavares spoke about ways to bring revenue to a city that faces a deficit of up to $4.5 million—a problem in which concerned resident Alfred Areyan says the city needs to show progress if it is to turn that negative image around.

“We need to work as a body,” Areyan said.  “I remember reading somewhere about a baker in Egypt who made $3.45 a day.  Now that’s poor.  But we’re a poor city too, and people just want to see results.”

Another resident at the meeting, Charles Standing, expressed confidence in all the candidates for the council, calling them “a strong group.”

“They have strong bilingualism, number of years of residency and experience, as well as
a strong background,” he said.  “The number one quality I am looking for in a candidate, though, is the ability to think critically, beyond clichés.”

Tavares says he wants to maintain open communication with concerned residents like Areyan and Standing.

In many ways, he says, his family life and personality have molded him into the perfect man for the job.  He likes to spend quality time with his seven grandchildren as much as he can, saying that he lets them do “whatever they want.”
“I’m not afraid to try anything once,” he said.  “But I will not stand for corruption anymore—so we are ready to take back our city.”

Reach reporter Josh Woo here.