About

Rebecca Valdez, City Clerk – Rebecca Valdez has been a dedicated and loyal public servant to the City of Bell since 2000.

First hired as a Receptionist and Office Aide, Rebecca’s solid organizational and administrative skills enabled her to quickly advance to Account Clerk in 2002. At the end of 2004, when the former city clerk stepped down, the City Council appointed Ms. Valdez to fill the position of Bell City Clerk. Since then, she has been responsible for assisting in the management of the City records and administrative operations. Rebecca’s duties have included recording city council minutes, verifying and input of cash receipts, overseeing the issuance of business licenses, processing accounts payable, and assisting with personnel processing. From 2002-2007, Rebecca also served as Youth Program Coordinator for the WIA Youth Employment Training Program, where she assisted in the training of youth staff.

Rebecca's family has lived in Bell for three decades. She graduated from Bell High School in 2000. She then went on to earn her Bachelor of Arts degree in Organizational Leadership from nearby Biola University in 2005.

Rebecca earned her Certified Municipal Clerk (CMC) certification on November 13, 2009.

David Aleshire, City Attorney – Mr. Aleshire has been practicing municipal law, environmental, redevelopment, franchising, municipal, and zoning and land use law since graduating from UCLA with a J.D. in 1975 and M.A. in urban planning in 1976. He graduated Phi Beta Kappa from Stanford University with a B.A. in 1972. He has been AV® rated by Martindale-Hubbell's peer review rating process, which reflects the highest level of skill and integrity. He was named a Southern California Super Lawyer in 2009, 2010 and 2011. Mr. Aleshire's life-long devotion to public service has been the result of his efforts to emulate his father, a city manager for 35 years.

Mr. Aleshire has served as City Attorney or Assistant City Attorney for 13 different cities, including Banning, Bell, Palm Springs, Irvine, Cerritos, Norwalk, Signal Hill, San Dimas, Lawndale, Irwindale, San Jacinto, Suisun City, and Perris. He has had long stints as City Attorney at Palm Springs (15 years) and Lawndale (17 years). He is currently City Attorney at Signal Hill (since 1978), Banning (since 2008), and Bell (2011).
Mr. Aleshire specializes in redevelopment law. In his early years, he represented the redevelopment agencies of the cities of Los Angeles, Santa Monica, Culver City, Monterey Park, and Cerritos. In the last decade, his work has been primarily with the agencies of Signal Hill, Palm Springs, Irwindale, Banning, and Carson.

Mr. Aleshire has been a speaker at numerous conferences, and has authored articles on municipal law topics including municipal investment, takings, redevelopment, casino gaming, and mixed use development. His articles include:

• State Controller's Report on Bell Audits
  California Redevelopment Association, March 2011.
• How to Comply with Save Tara
  Law Seminars International, August 2009.
• Mixed Use Development
  Crittenden, April, 2006.
• Kelo and Eminent Domain in California
  Contract Cities, May 2006.
• Author State Mining Reform Law (SB 244 (1999); Solils)
• Gaming in California: Or When is Video Keno a Slot Machine?
  League of California Cities, May 1, 1996.
• Polanco Act and Redevelopment In California
  Contract Cities, May 1994
• City Investment
  League of California Cities, May 4, 1988.
• An Overview of the Legal Aspects of Redevelopment in California