Lorenzo Vélez is campaigning to keep his seat on Bell City Council in hopes of repairing the community his former councilmembers nearly destroyed.

“I’ve been very blessed with not having any enemies,” Vélez said.  

It’s easy to see why.  By 10 a.m. on a Saturday, Vélez’s home is filled with volunteers of all ages.  He greets each of them with a hug and offers to fix them coffee.  

Vélez, a 55-year-old heavy equipment operator for the Los Angeles Department of Recreation and Parks, was selected to fill a vacant spot on the council in October 2009.  Less than a year later, he was one of the few council members not arrested on suspicion of illegally inflating their salaries.  

“I had no idea it was going to turn into this,” said Vélez.

Vélez grew up in Ciudad Juárez in northern Mexico and moved to the United States as a teenager.  He has been a resident of Bell for over 30 years, where he and his wife of 32 years raised their children.  His daughter, Sonia, 30, lives in the other part of their duplex home and is actively involved in her father’s campaign.  His son, David, 27, lives down the block.

Vélez became involved in his community through organizations like the Parent Teachers Association and the Bell Sports Association.  During this time, he helped start programs for the local schools that provided students with science and computer labs.

Vélez says he somewhat retired from community activism when his son joined the Marines and was sent to Iraq.  

“My entire focus was on finding out where he was and if he was okay,” said Vélez, “We couldn’t pull ourselves from the newspaper and TV.”

The turning point was when Vélez started noticing increased gang activity in his community and attended a meeting with the police department, with which he has always had a good relationship.  A friend of Vélez was at that meeting and knew of a vacancy in the city council and urged him to apply.  He responded, “No, I’m sorry.  I’m not a politician.”  

“Well, my daughter was sitting next to me and said, ‘That’s a cop-out, dad.  It’s time for you to get back to work and stop being a couch potato,’” recalls Vélez.  

With his son finally home from Iraq, Vélez submitted his application.  After going through the interview process, the council selected him.  

In early 2010, a few months into being a council member, Vélez started to grow suspicious of the people running Bell.

“There was something there that I couldn’t pinpoint,” said Vélez, “I was blown away by the lack of participation from our citizens during the council meetings.” 

Vélez’s suspicions were correct.  City Administrator Robert Rizzo was inflating the salaries of many city officials and was going to great lengths to keep it a secret.  

“Unfortunately, when Robert Rizzo came into our community, he began dismantling all of the committees that were in place and, little by little, destroyed our community participation.  And now we see why,” said Vélez of the former city administrator.

When the Los Angeles Times investigation of Bell was released last summer, Robert Rizzo was found to be receiving nearly $800,000 annually.  Many City Council members were drawing in nearly $100,000 annually, while Vélez, unaware of the corruption, reportedly received around $8,000.  

“I think most of them began doing this job for the same reasons that I am, to help our community and the future of our country,” said Vélez of his fellow councilmembers, “To not be able to participate anymore should be a punishment in itself.”

Vélez’s focus as councilmember is to regain the trust of the citizens and provide them with opportunities to get involved, especially for the youth.  A supporter of the Bell Police Department, Vélez hopes to reestablish the sense of community he grew up around.  

“His biggest push is for the youth,” said his daughter, Sonia, “He’s always taught us to give back to our community and he is a prime example of what he preaches.  He is proven to be honest and not hold anything back.”

Reach reporter Ali Holt here.