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CALIFORNIA 31 : Eastern Los Angeles County; El Monte; Alhambra; Azusa

The densely populated 31st sits just east of the city of Los Angeles. It takes in the southern San Gabriel Valley and stretches northeast to Azusa, with several good-size cities in between. Once a largely white community, the 31st has evolved into a majority-Latino area where Hispanics leaving L.A. for the suburbs are transforming once-Republican enclaves into solid Democratic domains.

The district's shrinking Republican pockets are in blue-collar Azusa and upscale San Gabriel, which belonged to the solidly Republican 26th before redistricting in 1992. El Monte, in the heart of the San Gabriel Valley, and Baldwin Park to the east are middle-income, blue-collar cities and the 31st's Democratic base. Monterey Park is upper-middle-class and known as "Little Taipei" for its Taiwanese and other Asian immigrants.

The 31st lacks a dominant industry, and the San Gabriel Valley has suffered from higher unemployment rates than the rest of the nation. Previously a small farming town, El Monte used to house small aerospace factories. It is now a light manufacturing area with a new retail auto complex and a major Toyota dealer. The district's industrial hub is Irwindale, where industrial and commercial building is under way.

Major Industry
Service, light manufacturing

Population
572,758 (1990)

Cities
El Monte, 115,119 (1998); Alhambra, 90,400 (1998 est.); Baldwin Park (pt.), 68,300; Monterey Park (pt.), 60,738 (1990)

People
100% urban; 9% age 65+ (ranks 38 of 52 in state; bottom third nationally); 57% married couples, 33% married couples with children; 13% college educated (ranks 43 of 52 in state; bottom third nationally); 49% white collar (ranks 45 of 52 in state; bottom third nationally), 36% blue collar (ranks fourth of 52 in state; top third nationally) (1990)

Race
48% white, 2% black, 23% Asian; 58% Hispanic origin (1990)

Median Household Income
$30,667 (ranks 36 of 52 in state; middle third nationally) (1990)

Unusual Features
El Monte's original settlers were gold diggers who came to seek their fortunes during California's Gold Rush; El Monte is the former site of Gay's Lion Farm where Charles Gay, a lion-tamer, trained more than 200 African lions for circuses and motion pictures - the MGM "Lion Logo" features of one Gay's roaring lions.

© 2002 The Washington Post Company