The City of Compton will hold elections next Tuesday, April 21st and a familiar name is back on the ballot. Former District 1 councilwoman, Barbara Calhoun, is running against incumbent Janna Zurita, Kevin Monk and Mae Thomas. Mr. Monk’s recent mailer addressing potholes, appears to help Ms. Calhoun and hurt the incumbent. [adsenseyu2]
The mailer depicts side by side photos of a pothole. It also has dates that are supposed to be four years apart. Many of the newly elected officials campaigned on a promise to lower water bills and fix the streets. Neither of which has happened.
This author recently rode down Central Avenue, from Greenleaf Blvd. to Rosecrans and are sad to report the street is not striped and it was like Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride, trying to swerve to avoid the holes. Having received a copy of the City Manager’s Expenditure Report, for all purchases less than $25,000, 2 Urban Girls is still in the process of tallying how much was spent on street repairs.
In her own words, Barbara Calhoun discussed why she is running and why Compton residents should consider returning her to her seat.
2UG: You have been off the dais for nearly four years, what inspired you to run this time around?
BC: What inspired me to run, I did not like the direction in which the city was going. The incumbent ran on fixing pot holes, trimming trees, our roads are worse than before. The council does nothing but argue among themselves. Nothing new has been brought to the table. Everything that is happening at the shopping center on Alameda was put in place when I was on the council. Some of the stores came in while the incumbent is sitting on the dais, but these were the stores that was planned when I was on the council.
2UG: You remain a constant fixture at city council meetings. How do you feel the residents, particularly in your district, will benefit from you returning to city council, if elected?
BC: They will benefit because I was there, they know me, they know the mistakes that I made, they know the good things that I did and brought to the city. The seniors especially know the programs and events that I brought to the real Dollarhide on Oleander and Rosecrans.
2UG: Some former elected officials have begun projects, that ended once their time-serving on city council was over. Why do you have such a strong sense of community, to remain involved, although you are no longer in an elected capacity?
BC: Yes. This is the twelfth year of the Homeless Veteran Standdown, On the way to a conference in San Diego I saw a sign ;that said Homeless Veteran Standdown, I asked everyone about that and no one knew. When I returned home to Compton and I went to the VFW Post located on Palmer & Alameda I asked around and they told me to talk to George Smith, I returned to the VFW Post and George Smith came over to me and said he heard that I wanted to know what the Standdown meant and I said yes, he explained that is where soldiers from all branches of service come to relax and get all of the services that they needed, dental, eye care, clothing, housing, drug and alcohol abuse help,, housing, food, clothing, showers food and most of all get to play checkers, domino, chess, shoot pool, watch television and others, i asked would he help me to do one and he said yes, George Smith talked to both VA, West LA and Long Beach. We started with 50 veterans and now we service 3,500 over a three-day period.
2UG: The Metro board now has two African-American elected officials on the dais, Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas and Mayor Butts, from Inglewood. Based on your first hand knowledge working with SCAG and Metro, how would you be able to effectively work with them, in order to ensure Compton receives the resources they need, for infrastructure and road improvements?
BC: I was once on the SCAG board for transportation. I was a force that fought for Compton, they did not even have a picture of Compton on their wall until I was appointed, I can work with the both of them to make sure we get all the regional money and the help that SCAG has to offer. There are a lot of grants that come from SCAG and other cities have received the money and not Compton, when I was there I put a stop to that, I made sure Compton had a seat at the table. I fought for all of the cities especially Compton, Inglewood, Gardena and Lynwood.
2UG: Your opponents come from a Compton political dynasty and the other is a union executive. What sets you apart from them and why should residents in District 1 vote for you?
BC: What sets me apart from the incumbent, I never disrespected the residents, I never gave them the finger, lied about it and had the city council chambers filled with residents that said what is a finger anyway and said she is a good person. When the incumbent lied and said she would not apologize because she did not do it, the very next day, the finger was posted on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, it was even showed on the cable. Kevin Monk the union person is a good person, he has never held office and does not know the in and outs about Compton politics or its people. Voters in District one should vote for me, because they know me, they know the programs that I brought to the city, Winterwonderland for the children during Christmas, Juneteenth, which ended in 2010, Teena Marie held her last concert on the Par 3 Gold Course, the attendance was 8,000 residents and people from surrounding cities. The programs for the seniors Spa Day, Hats off to you, Senior Gala and other programs.
I am a viable candidate, I know the city, I know district 1, I live in District one. I know the city, its problems. I was not perfect, I did make mistakes, I’ve learned from my mistakes and I’m ready and prepared to fight for the residence in District 1. I will help any citizen whether they live in district 1 or not. The people have the power. VOTE FOR BARBARA CALHOUN ON APRIL 21, 2015. Citizens you will not regret voting for me. Thanks
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The City of Compton will hold elections next Tuesday, April 21st and a familiar name is back on the ballot. Former District 1 councilwoman, Barbara Calhoun, is running against incumbent Janna Zurita, Kevin Monk and Mae Thomas. Mr. Monk’s recent mailer addressing potholes, appears to help Ms. Calhoun and hurt the incumbent. [adsenseyu2]
3 Comments
I wish I lived in the first district so I could vote for Barbara Calhoun. She is the person we need on the council especially because of her experience.
And with the last article in the LA Sentinel and the WAVE Newspaper, the incumbent has been re-elected, spending a reported $100,000 for the seat, defeating another new candidate, Ms, Calhoun, who I trust and now we can expect another 4 years of neglect, lies and duplicity from someone who probably shouldn’t be in public office anyway, but loves the power and prestige so much, she bought it this time. Proving that absolute power does corrupt, absolutely. Sorry to step on toes, but I think, considering then present condition of our streets, which will begin some patching with city workers on this coming Monday, we’ll never get the full treatment, other than tree trimming, which, IMHO, is about all the incumbent can perceive in her limited capabilities to get along and work with various departments that she’s unknowingly alienated with her outright lies told to destroy anyone who gets in her way. And I don’t care whether she likes it, me or anything having to do with her cousin’s past as mayor. This is not their city, but many are easily fooled by the sweet appearing nature of a person who cannot be trusted to tell the truth or follow up effectively. Sad day for the city, indeed, because we needed change. Caters to only her entourage or those who kiss her feet, like sycophants are prone to do. Just some thoughts as I plan to change the front shocks on my old car, due to the damages done by the roadways in her ugly looking district. Neglect and incompetence personified. Loved the Meals on Wheels program, which helped me feed my last mom, who transitioned out of this world in 2010 at age 92. But while they once tried to accuse me of being “disloyal” in one post on FB, we did pay for the services each month, every month they provided the meals, so I missed the point of coming at me like they, the two sisters, did. Tag team tactics and having advice from a former mayor who got his conviction overturned on a legal technicality, just threw a former city manager, John Johnson and a former councilman, Amen Rahh, under the wheels of the proverbial bus they were all on, when they were tried for misappropriation of public funds. Whether little or large scale, as was the case in cities like Bell, CA, the DA’s Public Integrity Unit must have had nothing to do but target anyone who misused any city issued credit cards and seems the involved want to play the victim instead of owning up to mistakes in judgement and being adult about their actions. Suge Knight is another one who, despite his “good deeds” is still in custody for the incident at the local Tams, so I guess he’s a victim too. Enough of the race baiting dodge that’s been used by even Kwame Patrick and others across the nation, just because they’re black. Value system be damned…they’re all victims of racism to let them tell the story. How hard is it for some individuals to just walk and moral straight line, and they had plenty opportunity to do so, but chose to color outside the lines, because they thought they were exempt from consequences. The key reason why the California State Assembly passed AB 1234, requiring all public officials, whether elected or appointed, to take the bi-annual ethics training and certify their engagement in the online training. Paul Richards is one example cited, though not by name, yet discretely, as an example of what not to do when you’re in the public eye and trust. Some still just don’t get it. And so it goes in our city. Suge was spoiled as a child by his parents so consequences just don’t seem to be in his DNA, from what we’ve seen. Should have stayed far away from the NWA movie shoot, but his ego didn’t cause him to pursue a more legal remedy if he thought they’d used his likeness in the movie without his consent. He had that option, but didn’t take the hint. $10M dollar bond prior to his $25M original, because he was wrong, wrong, wrong. Here’s hoping we can turn a corner, but meanwhile, the gritty look of my neighborhood shall be the status quo, until voters finally rise up and wise up. I’ll not be playing kissy face anymore, so don’t expect me to be around to pay tribute to the clannish, boorish, behavior of someone who gives the sly finger on the dais. And that’s not photoshop, it’s juvenile and gregarious arrogance. Never a good thing while in public office, denigrating one’s character in the process. Others feel the same and seeing the ignorance openly displayed, I find it repulsive to the n’th degree. No remorse or dignity…IMO.
Consequences of voting to keep a seat “black”.
Former mayor Eric Perrodin has agreed to an interview with 2UG.
If you, or anyone else, has a question, you would like asked, feel free to send to: [email protected] with “Question for Mayor Eric” in the subject line.