As a government reporter I cover meetings about ordinances, rent stabilization, budget cuts, layoffs and more.
Sometimes things brought up during the public comment section of the meeting are not on the agenda, but the council would take the concerns seriously. One example is street food vendors. Not that anyone has been against them. As Hayward Mayor Mark Salinas said, no one is against abuela selling burritos. But it has to be done in a safe way, with a permitting process and health inspections—since rare things like food poisoning or gas explosions can happen.
I ate food sold by street vendors in Hayward as a ’90s kid. My favorite thing to buy is the chicharrones de harina, also known as “Mexican wheel chips.” I always added chili sauce and lime in mine. Yum. Then there’s the infamous elotes, also known as Mexican street corn. I never really bought those but I remember watching the vendor swiftly and expertly slather on mayonnaise and sprinkle chili on the corn cob like they were painting a work of art.
They would wait right in front of my elementary and middle schools so kids could spend their allowance money on ice cream, the wheel chips and elotes. I turned out okay. I am still alive.
People who run a business in the city have to pay for permits, rent, utilities and maintain everything, which can be costly. Business owners think it’s unfair. People even sell food they cook and bake right from their home.
One person at the meeting argued that it’s not a cultural thing, seeing food vendors in the city. But rather a safety and liability issue. I understand the concerns. But I disagree.
When over 40% of the Hayward population is of Latinx origin, according to 2021 U.S. Census estimates, it’s hard to say it isn’t cultural when the food being sold is from a specific culture.
Permitted business owners in Hayward say they’re in the same place too, immigrating here to start a new life, a better life.
Then there comes the argument about who is immigrating the “right way.” Travel here, fill out papers, become a citizen. Start a business, but sign up for business permits.
What is the right way to immigrate here? What is the right way to own a business, when the predicate is to survive?
Perhaps it’s what Bad Bunny said in his halftime show in Santa Clara, “God Bless America” and after that gave shoutouts to nearly all nations of the Americas, from South to North, basically saying every country named is America.
