Hawthorne Press Tribune The Weekly Newspaper of Hawthorne Herald Publications - Inglewood, Hawthorne, Lawndale, El Segundo, Torrance & Manhattan Beach Community Newspapers Since 1911 - Circulation 30,000 - Readership 60,000 (310) 322-1830 - January 21, 2016 Former Raytheon Remodeled Inside This Issue Certified & Licensed Professionals.......................4 Classifieds............................3 Film Review..........................3 Finance..................................2 Food.......................................4 Hawthorne Happenings....2 Legals................................ 6-7 Pets........................................8 Sports....................................5 Seniors..................................7 Weekend Forecast Friday Partly Cloudy 71˚/52˚ Saturday Showers 62˚/46˚ Sunday Mostly Sunny 65˚/45˚ Newport Beach-based Bixby purchased the former single-tenant (Raytheon) building in 2013, investing a total of $25 million to acquire, redesign and redevelop the project into a contemporary work environment. The fully-leased building is home to a mix of professional and creative tenants, including Sanrio (Hello Kitty) that occupies a full floor and a ground-floor retail showroom in the five-story building. Photo provided by Idea Hall City Council Stalls In Special Meeting For Vacant Seat; English Speaks Out Against Voting Process By Derrick Deane Despite eight rounds of voting in a special election to fill a vacant seat on the City Council, there was still no majority decision made Tuesday night during a special meeting. The evening began with the majority of residents endorsing Don Harris for the vacant seat. “My mom told me once, be careful who you vouch for, because unless you worked with that person or broke bread with them, then you do not know them” resident Steve Kary said while endorsing Harris. “I’ve known Don for over 32 years and we have done both of those things together,” he said as he laid out Harris’ background of service to the city. Alex Monteiro and Katrina Manning also had a handful of supporters on hand to recommend them to the council. The evening progressed as the candidates once again had an opportunity to address the council before a maximum of eight rounds of voting commenced. The council voted in order of seniority. In the first round of votes, Councilman Hadir Awad chose Neil Gafney, councilman Nilo Michelin chose Manning, Mayor Alex Vargas chose Harris, and as the most senior member of the council, councilwoman Angie Reyes English chose Jason Gromski. With no majority, the council moved to a second round of votes. Awad chose John Jefferson, Michelin chose Montiero, Vargas stayed with Harris, and English chose Manning. The voting moved to a third round with Awad choosing Manning and Michelin and Vargas both selecting Harris. If Councilwoman English selected Harris, the voting would be concluded and the vacant seat would be filled. Her vote instead went to former Mayor Pro Tem Olivia Valentine. In the fourth round, Awad chose yet another different candidate in Gary Parsons. Michelin chose Jefferson while Mayor Vargas remained adamant with his choice of Harris. Regardless of who English chose, the voting would continue to a fifth round. For the record, her selection was former mayoral candidate Amie Shepard. In the fifth round, Awad led off the selections choosing Harris. Michelin followed with a nod to Gary Parsons. Mayor Vargas once again chose Harris and with the voting set to go to a sixth round, English once again chose Manning. The sixth round began with Awad choosing Manning. Michelin chose Gafney, Mayor Vargas stayed with Harris and English chose Jose Gutierrez. With only two voting rounds left, Awad began the seventh round by selecting Montiero. Michelin followed by selecting Shepard, Mayor Vargas stayed with Harris and English chose Manning again. The Council entered into the eighth round with one final chance to fill the vacant seat. Awad led off the final round by selecting his eighth different candidate in Jason Gromski. Michelin followed by selecting Shepard while Mayor Vargas stayed steadfast in all eight rounds with Harris. No majority meant that the vacant seat would remain empty, but councilwoman English chose Valentine to close out the process. “We have the option of going to another special meeting to repeat this same procedure,” Vargas said. The Council will meet again for another special meeting on January 28 at 5:30 p.m. to hopefully come to a majority decision. The process will consist of another eight rounds of voting. The final item on the agenda was voting on a resolution for the potential special election. “This is just a precautionary resolution that needs to be voted upon in case we [can’t come to a majority decision],” Vargas said. City Attorney Russel Miyahara added that the county registrar needs to know if the city is going to proceed with the special election by the end of the month. Miyahara added that if the Council comes to a majority decision on a candidate to fill the empty seat, they can repeal the resolution for the special election. The council has until February 8 to appoint someone to the seat. In closing, English spoke out against the selection process saying that, “it’s [been] a long time coming and I’ve waited long enough. It’s in my opinion badly in how we are making this process of selection. Period.” “In my time as a City Clerk, it has always been the next vote getter. That’s the democratic process. It’s unfair in my opinion for the candidates that ran, and spent lots of time and money and resources,” English continued. Manning totaled the third highest number of votes in last November’s election. English says that she has sat quiet but that she has received calls and complaints and, “a sense of disgust.” She followed her statement by giving direction to the City Clerk and City Attorney to have campaign signs in the city taken down. “There is not an election taking place in Hawthorne,” English said. “It’s deceitful and it’s unfair. There’s an advantage to the candidates that are now in position looking for one seat.” English says that the process proceeded even though, “it was well known that I wasn’t going to be here.” She says that if she was present, “it would have been a different story.” Vargas however fired back through City Attorney Miyahara asking him to explain how the process came about. Miyahara answered that initially, the meeting was going to take place on a date when only English was available to meet. The meeting was then moved to an alternate date which English could not attend. “It’s not transparent. That’s a real popular word going around right now,” English said of the voting process. “I’m going through the process. I have no choice. We’re going to continue and I’m going to continue to push.” English’s statement was met with applause from the audience at the end of the meeting. •
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