hi, i’m oz.
My family moved to the Arlanza community of Riverside when I was 10 years old, proud to have achieved our American Dream by buying our first home on Harold Street. That dream was cut short when my father, Oswaldo Puerta, fell ill and lost his job. We were forced to sell our home and went through a difficult period of housing struggles before finally settling on Montgomery Street.
During those years, I found a lifeline in my community. After the Arlanza Community Center reopened, I joined the free neighborhood gym and soon began volunteering with Riverside’s Parks, Recreation & Community Services. I coached youth flag football, worked with Project H.O.P.E. at Bryant Park, and eventually earned my first job with the City. That was when I discovered my true passion: serving the community that raised me.
generational riverside resident.
community leader.
executive director.
“TRANSPARENCY AND PUBLIC TRUST ARE ESSENTIAL”
PUBLIC SAFETY
Our neighborhoods need to be safer. Residents deserve a community where families, neighbors, and professionals can live and work peacefully.
Ward 6 will harness every opportunity to ensure a safer future for its residents. Riverside has borne the brunt of responsibility responding to homelessness, vagrancy, and addiction. Businesses and residents are witnessing this humanitarian crisis everyday.
Our hands are tied.
Ward 6 will spearhead innovative, strategic policies to hold peer cities accountable. We’ll lead initiatives that utilize our expansive resources and pursue tangible solutions like improving security and lighting, funding our police and fire departments, and advocating for long-term legislative action in Sacramento.
BEAUTIFICATION
Ward 6 deserves clean streets and transparent leadership. I have a proven track record of mobilizing community stakeholders to remove graffiti, clean up trash and debris, paint electrical boxes, and improve business storefronts.
Beautification has been overlooked far too often. There are too many examples of dilapidated buildings, vacant lots, and deteriorating infrastructure around this ward.
It’s time to build communities every resident can be proud of. That means implementing common sense initiatives like increased power washing, enhancing landscape maintenance schedules, investing in road and sidewalk improvements, and organizing frequent community cleanup events.
ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
Riverside has made tremendous economic progress in recent years under the leadership of the new City Council. After I’m elected, I’ll work with my fellow colleagues, the Chamber, and local businesses to enact a bold economic development vision for Ward 6.
With assets like Kaiser Permanente, the Galleria Mall, and the redevelopment opportunities along the Magnolia corridor, it’s time to be ambitious and unlock the full potential of our community. Small businesses need greater support and resources to grow and weather potential economic uncertainty. Residents deserve more retail and restaurant options, and our local workforce should be well-equipped for high-paying, close-to-home jobs.
As your councilmember, I’ll work to revitalize Ward 6 into a destination every Riversider can enjoy.
