GUEST OPINION
Justin Jones getting sworn in by Pasadena City Clerk Mark Jomsky (Photo – Screengrab, KPAS)
By I. Lacy
Dear Mayor and City Council,
I must share my frustrations about what transpired this past Thursday at the City Council Special meeting for the appointment of the District 3 representative.
I am disappointed that our voices continue to not matter in this city. I’ve seen over time that no matter what we do, the city belittles what we say. The city did not do a good job of getting this information out to residents.
The notice that the city staff sent out to “District 3 residents” went out on September 20th and I must say I am disappointed by the outreach. First, Susana Porras sent out an email to the district contact that she has, those who have registered to receive correspondence. My issue with this is not everyone in the district is registered to receive those. In fact, only about 25% of residents are. Second, it was posted on the City Website where also a small percentage of all residents look at it.
Next, I can’t even express how upset I am about how my voice and my neighbor’s voices were overlooked by our City Council, after they asked us to share what and who we wanted to see in the next District 3 representative. Brandon Lamar received 89 letters of support and 44 of those letters expressed that they were residents. This is much more support than any other applicant received.
I must say that this has nothing to do with any applicant but has everything to do with our City Council continuing to overlook our voices. The mayor said that night, “I represent every district including district 3” but when we took time out of our day to share whom we wanted to represent us, YOU DID NOT LISTEN. He stated later in the meeting “we can’t read the minds of district 3 voters; we have to exercise our judgment.” You didn’t have to read our minds because 44 of us sent in letters and called. You don’t represent us, and it showed Thursday night, you represent yourself. The mayor also said after choosing Jones, “I want someone to help ME with the 710 stubs, and Jones can help with the water conservation.” The mayor made a selfish statement while turning his back on the voices that he represents. No offense but affordable housing, safety, and housing homelessness are needed NOW.
My next concern in this matter is that Councilwoman Williams said, “I spoke to PROMINENT residents in the district. They want to keep their names confidential.” My concern with that is what is her definition of prominent? I’ve read letters from people who have lived in the district for over 40 years, and these people made their voices known and heard through the process the City sent out. Silent Confidential Prominent voices do not speak for us; our voices should be heard just like theirs. We are everyday working people who can’t always attend city council meetings because of life, but we still have voices, and I have to reiterate that the City Council we were supposed to trust, turned their backs on our voices.
My last frustration is with City Staff. In the meeting, the City Clerk stated, “Even though Mr. Lamar had 89 letters, only 7 included their address and 8 included their address for Jones.” This was concerning because nowhere on the flyer sent by staff did it ask for residents to share their addresses. As a matter of fact, even if they didn’t share their address, they indicated that they were district residents. There are two ways that city staff could’ve verified “district residents”. First is replying to the emails that came in and asking for addresses. The next is checking the voter information of those who wrote letters. It shows that the city didn’t want to do their homework as they continue to overlook our voices.
I never thought I’d say this, but thank you Councilman Steve Madison and Councilwoman Jess Rivas for being fair and trying to get the others to stand on the side of the residents of District 3. I’m if any of the Districts were in this position they would want to be heard as well. I know it wasn’t easy and for whatever reason you did it, Thank you!
What transpired at the Council Meeting on September 29 looked as if it was planned and their decisions were made before the meeting started and before considering our support letters. City Council, you must do better in December, as we will doing this process all over again. The district voices need to be the only consideration.
With Sadness,
I. Lacy
I. Lacy has been a resident of district 3 for over 10 years. He lives in the summit heights.
My reaction to Mr. Lacy’s is that while I understand his frustration and concern his anger might be better directed at residents of the District. The information was posted on the City’s website and emails went out to those on the list of contacts. I know that the Star-news printed articles on the process of selecting a representative for the District. I didn’t read those stories because I am not in the District. Finally 88 letters, 44 of which said they were sent by residents of the District, were received. Sixteen of those had addresses, 8 of which were from the District. I do not know what the District’s population is but I suspect it is a lot more than 8 or 44.
The problem here is that the residents of the District did not raise their voices in the process. That problem is, of course, epidemic when it comes to local elections. The voter turnout is usually way less than 50%.
My suggestion to Mr. Lacy is that he directs his frustration to his fellow residents in the District and prod them to get involved. If they don’t like the appointed representative then come out and vote in the next election for the person YOU want to be Council representative. If you don’t vote don’t complain.