Hawthorne Press Tribune
Herald Publications - El Segundo, Hawthorne, Lawndale & Inglewood Community Newspapers Since 1911 - (310) 322-1830 - Vol. 61, No. 2 - January 10, 2019
Inside
This Issue
Calendar of Events.............3
Certified & Licensed
Professionals.......................4
Classifieds............................3
Entertainment......................2
Food.......................................5
Hawthorne Happenings....3
Lawndale..............................4
Legals.................................5,6
Pets........................................6
Weekend
Forecast
Aquatics Center Officially Opens
Saturday, Jan. 5 marked the official grand opening of the El Segundo Wiseburn Aquatics Center at 2240 E. Grand Ave. Attendees had the opportunity to bring their suits and take a dip in the new heated
pool. Photo: Gerardo Cueto.
Michelin Resigns, Council Selects
Planning Commissioner for Seat
By Derrick Deane
In a swift turn-around, the Hawthorne City
Council will have a new look as it heads into
their first meeting of the new year. Councilman
Nilo Michelin submitted his written
resignation to City Manager Arnie Shadbehr
just days after the final scheduled meeting of
2018 had concluded.
Michelin had been in a dilemma as to whether
he could serve as both a councilman for Hawthorne
as well as a newly elected member of
the El Camino College Board of Trustees, a seat
he won on Election Day in November 2018.
He was sworn in at El Camino on Dec. 17.
In a special City Council meeting held days
later, his colleagues and Mayor Alex Vargas
formally received and accepted his resignation.
With the vacated seat bringing back memories
of the seat fill-in process that took place
after Vargas won his mayoral campaign in
2015, residents were adamant that the Council
first hear from the public before making any
appointments. One of the agenda items from
the special meeting held on Dec. 20 included
the consideration and appointment of a city
resident to the vacant seat. That agenda item
was followed with the swearing in of the newly
appointed councilmember by the City Clerk.
Former City Councilmember Angie Reyes
English was quick to call out the rush in the
appointment, stating, “If there is an appointment
to be made, it should be according to the order
of the ballot.” English finished third in voting
behind Olivia Valentine and Alex Monteiro for
two seats on the dais. “I should be considered
for appointment because I finished third on
the ballot, just like Councilmember [Olivia]
Valentine was considered [in 2015] and she
finished fourth,” English said during the open
public comments portion of the meeting.
Before coming to a decision, Vargas checked
with City Attorney Russell Miyahara on what
the Council’s options were in terms of filling
the vacant seat. Miyahara stated that the Council
could either go through the same application
and nomination process from 2015 – one that
resulted in four consecutive meetings with no
majority agreement on a candidate to fill the
seat. Miyahara also said another option was
for the Council members to state a candidate’s
name and vote on them one-by-one until there
was a consensus majority pick.
The final option involved holding a special
election to fill the seat. According to City
Clerk Paul Jimenez, a special election would
cost $500,000. Additionally, a special election
would not take place until November 2019,
leaving a vacant seat on the Council for essentially
an entire year.
“We have an alternative here,” Vargas said.
“As you know, in 2015 what kind of circus
atmosphere it was. There were candidates, there
were people who weren’t even residents who
were advocating for people and it was bumper
cars. Nothing really got done.”
Vargas added he decided to put the seat filling
on the special meeting agenda and added, “If
there is no consensus on a candidate, I do have
a name that I would like to put out there.” That
name, agreed upon by Mayor Pro-Tem Hadir
Awad during his comments on the process, was
Mike Talleda – the president of the Wounded
Heroes of America non-profit organization and
head of the Hawthorne Planning Commission.
While Vargas and Awad were in agreement
with their nomination, Monteiro indicated where
he stood before an official vote was cast. “This
person only has two years and they’ll run in
2020 during the election,” Monteiro said, adding
that during the 2015 selection process, a
precedent was set wherein the Council did not
have to automatically go to the next runnerup
to fill a vacant seat. “I’m going to vote
my conscious that Mike Talleda is a man of
integrity. He’s been in this community since
1976 and I have seen him in action and how
he votes against density in this city. I want to
make sure that we select a person that is going
to carry our vision of no more apartments in
this city because this city is very dense. We
have parking issues, we have trash issues and
we have the mall issue.”
Valentine also voiced her support, citing
Talleda’s work with veterans. The Council
voted unanimously, 4-0, to fill Michelin’s seat
with Talleda.
“Protecting the city from unscrupulous developers
is something I think he is very keen on
and the high density is something we need to
be careful with,” Vargas said. “There are good
projects and when they come, we’ll be able
to recognize them and we’ll have a member
on the Council that because of his experience
on the Planning Commission, is onto what’s
good and onto what’s bad.” Vargas added that
Talleda is very fiscally conservative due to his
involvement with his non-profit organization.
“I feel privileged to be a part of this team,”
Talleda said after he was sworn in. “I think it’s
a great team. I think you’ve got some great
people on this council and I feel an honor and
privilege to contribute. I am pretty passionate
about veterans. They’ve taught me a great deal
about humility. That’s my goal – to be a good
member in standing.”
After some urging from Vargas, Talleda
stated one of the issues that his Planning
Commission colleagues wanted to address to
the Council. It involved a proposed hotel on
116th Street and that only the owners had been
given notice about it, while the residents in the
area remained in the dark. Talleda felt that the
residents should be notified about the potential
development and that the notice should also
be bilingual. The issue was agendized for the
next Council meeting. •
Friday
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Saturday
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