Monica Arroyo is a mother, teacher, and a Bell city councilmember. She has been working for the City of Bell since 2020, and teaching for more than 20 years.
Monica was born in East Los Angeles to a family of Mexican origin. Her father Arturo Arroyo came to the United States in 1944 at age16 and began working in the fields in Lindsay, Stockton, Visalia, and Fresno CA. Although her father came from a small village in Michoacan; Mexico, the family were strong leaders who advocated to bring essential resources to the pueblo and procured justice in their land. Her mother, Esperanza Rodriguez, was the daughter of a politician who sought to fight for the rights of workers and laborers in Baja California, Mexico. Monica was raised with the ideals of helping and serving others maintaining a strong discipline and faith.
Having the opportunity to grow up in a multicultural setting constantly moving from Mexico City and Los Angeles, and having the opportunity to live in Tripoli, Lebanon, allowed Monica to understand the culture and needs of her kin.
Monica came to the City of Bell in 2008 after driving around the area with her children in her car. She remembers seeing and liking this city due to its clean, safe, and orderly appearance. Although she was mainly devoted to working to support and care for her 2 boys and father, Monica began getting involved with the city by attending the classes for Bell citizens offered by the community services department, surveys and workshops, council meetings, and the community clean up.
It was while teaching a class where Social Justice and Service were being discussed with her 8th grade students that Monica began to question her own actions and rediscovered the passion in her heart, instilled by her family, to serve her community.
Thanks to a great turnout during elections, Monica began her tenure as a council member in April of 2020 right at the start of the pandemic. Ever since, she has worked with her fellow council members, neighboring city, and state officials to advocate for Bell while procuring communication, understanding, and teamwork. She has been active in getting involved with the community participating in all events, advocating for vaccines, and testing centers during Covid 19, working with the community cleaning up our streets, attending regional meetings, listening and tending to the feedback and requests from constituents, bringing resources for her community like the Bell Clinic, food banks, student supply giveaway, etc. while working with transparency and commitment.
Monica looks forward to a bright future in Bell, as a previous Mayor and councilwoman she will continue to focus on areas such as economic development, safety in our streets, and having a clean and beautiful Bell where citizens get involved doing selfless actions of service to improve our environment.
Monica looks forward to hearing from you as she believes your feedback and direction are a top priority to keep moving forward. You can contact Monica at Marroyo@cityofbell.org.