Hawthorne Press Tribune
Herald Publications - El Segundo, Hawthorne, Lawndale & Inglewood Community Newspapers Since 1911 - (310) 322-1830 - Vol. 61, No. 30 - July 25, 2019
Inside
This Issue
Certified & Licensed
Professionals.......................7
City Council..........................3
Classifieds............................3
Entertainment......................2
Food.......................................5
Hawthorne Happenings....3
Lawndale..............................4
Legals.................................6,7
Pets........................................5
Weekend
Forecast
Friday
Sunny
77˚/67˚
Saturday
Sunny
77˚/68˚
Sunday
Mostly
Sunny
78˚/66˚
The Weekly Newspaper of Hawthorne
District Students Take to the Air
Selected middle and high school students from the Inglewood Unified School District and Centinela Valley Union High School District partook in a two-week program with the National Summer Transportation
Institute (NSTI), offered by the College of Engineering, Computer Science, and Technology at Cal State LA from June 27 through July 15. The students flew airplanes after learning about the transportation
industry. The program concluded with a graduation dinner Monday, July 15. Photo: South Bay Workforce Investment Board
Pullen-Miles Takes His Role as
Mentor Like a True Father Figure
By Haleemon Anderson
Lawndale Mayor Robert Pullen-Miles books
a casual photo shoot and makes plans to
take along his youngest daughter, a budding
photographer. Sienna, 10, will get to snap a
few shots under the watchful eye of a professional
photographer, who just happens to be
the mayor’s neighbor.
The mayor is big on this type of
mentoring. In fact, he has emerged as a
go-to advisor for a number of local women
in their political careers. Pullen-Miles says
this penchant for mentoring female candidates
developed organically. “When I first
started in politics, most of the people who
helped me along the way were women,” said
Pullen-Miles. He mentions Gardena civic
leaders Laverne Knight and Ethel Barnes as
early advisors.
He spent seven years under the tutelage of
the late Jenny Oropeza, a beloved local leader.
“I had the opportunity to work for her in the
assembly and the senate,” he said. “I was on her
staff when I ran for Lawndale [City Council].
He says moving from staff to an elected
office widened his perspective. “A lot of my
support came from women… so when other
people came on the scene, I gravitated to them
naturally,” said Pullen-Miles. I didn’t come
into it saying, ‘I’m going to help women.’ It
just shaped up that way.”
Indeed, Pullen-Miles’ influence has helped
shape the careers of a number of local women
in all facets of political engagement. Melissa
Ramoso, a councilmember in the city of Artesia,
says his friendship was really inspiring
in her early campaign. “When I first ran five
years ago, he came to my kick-off,” she said.
It’s very supportive to have a colleague come
out for you like that.”
“She’s a go-getter,” said Pullen-Miles. Ramoso
was unsuccessful in her first council bid,
but Pullen-Miles had her back. “We knew she
just needed to hang in there. What I admired
about her, she’s a fighter. She didn’t give up.”
Ramoso was elected to the Artesia City
Council last year in an historic bid, as the first
woman on the board. After a career spanning
14 years at the federal and state level, Pullen-
Miles said he always knew Ramoso would be
an elected official.
Ramoso added that Pullen-Miles is always
available when she needs advice. “I have known
him to be personable and knowledgeable in
our field of public service,” she said. “He is
always willing to help you find a solution to
any issue at hand.”
Christina Carroll, a recent Lawndale transplant,
is just beginning her civic career. A true
“military brat,” she was born on a naval base
in Portsmouth, Virginia. Pullen-Miles appointed
Carroll to Lawndale’s Parks and Recreation
Commission after seeing her at community
events. He said Carroll’s energy and personality
are a perfect fit for that committee. “It puts
you directly into the community,” he said.
Pullen-Miles believes Carrol has the right
composure to eventually hold public office.
“She’s another young woman who is very
tenacious,” he said. “She’s taken a leadership
role on the commission. While she’s figuring
out what she wants to do, I’ve told her to just
enjoy the journey.”
City commissioners in Lawndale serve in
volunteer positions, as does the mayor. Carroll
juggles various paying gigs around the
South Bay, including hosting duties at several
restaurants.
Pullen-Miles holds a full-time staff
position as the district director for Assemblywoman
Autumn Burke. It’s in this
capacity that he met yet another mentee,
Inglewood School Board member Dionne Faulk.
Ms. Faulk was working with Burke’s staff
when she met Pullen-Miles. They’ve been
friends ever since, he said, consulting back
and forth on special projects and important
events to attend.
Already super engaged in the community,
Faulk had experience working with unions,
sororities and the national education organization,
Jack and Jill of America, Inc. She sat
on the advisory board for Measure GG. That
successful initiative brought $90 million in state
funded new construction and modernization
projects for Inglewood schools. Prior to that,
Faulk was employed for over 13 years at the
Consumer Affairs Department, in the Bureau
of Real Estate.
Having lost her first election for Inglewood
School Board, Ms. Faulk had something in
common with Ms. Ramoso. She also turned
to Mayor Pullen-Miles for advice. “The mayor
recommended events, activities and to-do tasks
to enhance my political knowledge and experience,”
said Faulk. “He walked the district with
me when I was campaigning. He has always
been very supportive.”
With her two children attending Inglewood
schools, Faulk knew she wanted to be in a position
to make change. “I wanted to help make
the schools better. I thought, what better way
to get involved with the district,” said Faulk.
See Pullen-Miles, page 7