South Bay residents fight back

With an election around the corner and another in the not so distant future, the residents in the City’s of Compton and Hawthorne, are not happy with their leadership and are looking for new representation on the dais.  You have the mayor supporting a candidate the residents claim are lying about their background and another mayor who is being battered in the local newspaper. [adsenseyu2]

Daily Breeze writer Sandy Mazza has published some explosive articles detailing Hawthorne Mayor Chris Brown’s spending of taxpayers money, while apparently not handling his personal business.  He has demanded a retraction of facts surrounding his wife being on trips with him, however, Ms. Mazza is standing by her article that says the documents show otherwise.

Related article:  Hawthorne residents urge Mayor Chris Brown to resign

Skipping this weeks council meeting, angry residents didn’t.  They have called for Mayor Brown to step down.  This comes at an inopportune time as he just delivered on a campaign promise of more transparency in the city’s finances, by launching a platform on OpenGov.com.

Meanwhile over in Compton, Mayor Aja Brown’s candidate Kevin Monk, made the news over his past.  Although his past has no bearing on this election, it doesn’t come at a good time when the mayor campaigned to remove corruption from city hall.  Mr. Monk was charged with fraud, and that doesn’t sound like someone you want intimately involved with city affairs.

Related article: Compton Council Candidate Accused of Lying

The residents stated in the article that no candidate has offered any solutions as to how to fix the city’s problems.  The debt was restructured so now annual payments are due.  The school district has sued the city over failure to enforce the municipal code, where illegal dispensaries have popped up within close proximity to schools, which has now spilled over to drugs being reported on campus.  Kevin Monk produced flyers describing potholes not being fixed and I can agree.

Leaving Gateway Center I traveled west on Greenleaf Blvd to Central and made a right to head towards Rosecrans.  I laugh when I read Compton residents say “soon they’ll need a helicopter to cross Central” and sadly, they’re right.  A good portion of the street has no striping so it looks like one big lane.  The asphalt is uneven.  It’s like Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride.  It is also a safety hazard.  Any accident would surely be the city’s fault.

2 Urban Girls reached candidate Barbara Calhoun by phone, to get her thoughts on the lawsuit filed by Compton Unified, Kevin Monk, the Brickyard Project and what are her solutions to fixing the city’s problems.  She provided this:

The city’s financial woes have gotten better with the structuring of the repayment plan, however, we know that with new projects coming to town, our roads will suffer greatly.

I spoke with Trammel Crow representatives at the council meeting and asked how they will enforce their [truck] drivers staying on the approved route. They said the city would have to enforce it.

This council has been sued for not enforcing the municipal code.  Enforcement would bring much-needed revenue to ensure the repayment plan is kept and also allows us to recoup money for our roads from the increase of trucks. Once properly trained on how to identify and cite the driver in question, it will send a message we care about a city and you will pay if you help tear it up.

Finally the methods being used to fix the potholes is substandard.  With the proper materials, the resurfacing would be smooth and level.  Enforcement of trucks on our roads and enforcement of the municipal code will help put our city back on track.

I worked with transportation to bring the money in before and will do so again.