Lawndale Tribune AND lAwNDAle News The Weekly Newspaper of Lawndale Herald Publications - Inglewood, Hawthorne, Lawndale, El Segundo, Torrance & Manhattan Beach Community Newspapers Since 1911 - Circulation 30,000 - Readership 60,000 (310) 322-1830 - January 7, 2016 In-n-Out has Large Turn Out Inside This Issue Certified & Licensed Professionals.......................6 Classifieds............................3 Film Review..........................3 Food.......................................4 Hawthorne Happenings....2 Legals....................................7 Looking Up...........................2 Pets........................................8 Police Reports.....................2 Sports....................................5 Seniors..................................6 Weekend Forecast Friday Sunny 58˚/47˚ Saturday Showers 58˚/49˚ Sunday Mostly Sunny 59˚/47˚ A packed patio for the In-n-Out opening. At a pre-opening special event, In-n-Out treats hundreds of customers to dinner on December 29th. The new In-n-Out is located on the corner of Sepulveda and Mariposa in El Segundo. Photo by Marcy Dugan Candidates Vie For Vacant Council Seat; Valentine, Parsons Among Former Councilmembers Running By Derrick Deane Transparency, economic and business development, and integrity were some of the buzz words that echoed throughout the first special meeting at the Hawthorne City Council on Tuesday as 14 candidates looked to fill a vacant seat on the council. The seat was vacated when Councilman Alex Vargas was elected mayor during last November’s election. During that election, only two City Council seats were up for grabs. Hadir Awad tallied the most votes during the election while Councilman Nilo Michelin retained his seat. Katrina Manning, who totaled the third most votes from Election Day was one of the hopeful candidates. “As a resident of 20 years [and an] active participant in my community, I’m dedicated to the prosperity of the city. I have the vision, the experience and the integrity to help move this city forward,” Manning said during her three minute. “I’m excited about this experience to be a part of this team. My main objective is to build the city reserves.” Former Mayor Pro Tem Olivia Valentine was also one of the candidates who pitched herself for the vacant seat. “Because of my legal background, I have a particular interest in making a permanent policy that will benefit the city,” Valentine said. “I also have the ability and willingness to analyze issues from the dais and to explain my vote on items on the agenda for the sake of transparency.” The first step in filling the seat brought out Torrance mayor Pat Furey who spoke before the candidates addressed the council saying that, “we’ve been through this process six times in Torrance and have saved the city almost $1.1 million by not going through the election process.” Furey was on hand to also lend support to Valentine saying, “you have some great candidates, but Valentine is the only one who has the experience of sitting up there for four years on the council.” Furey was not alone in supporting Valentine. Former president of the Hawthorne/LAX/Lennox Rotary Club and current president of non-profit group Close the Deal, Patrice Springer also came up to speak on behalf of Valentine. Amie Shepherd, a mayoral candidate from the recent election, was also one of the candidates. “I didn’t write a speech tonight because I’m not very good at reading them,” Shepherd said. “I wrote one about eight times and kept coming up with the same three words – honesty, integrity, and transparency. It’s the three things I campaigned on, but I find myself in the precarious position that I campaigned against most of you this year and now I’m asking you for a job.” Shepard continued that she didn’t think about applying at first because she didn’t support the process, saying that she was in favor of spending the money and having a mail-in election. “One of the best things that is coming out of this process is the amount of candidates,” Shepard said. “There are so many people that are passionate about the city of Hawthorne and it’s something I honestly didn’t feel before this [past] year.” Other candidates included familiar faces at the bi-weekly City Council meetings like Alex Monteiro and Frances Stiglich. While Stiglich continued to discuss her vision of Hawthorne, Monteiro essentially withdrew from the selection process. “I would be honored to sit up there with you, but one of the most important pillars of the community is education,” Monteiro, the president of the Hawthorne School Board of Trustees, said. “For these past eight years, I have been devoted to the evolution and success of the Hawthorne school system. I’m here tonight because I thought I wanted to be one of you, sitting on that Council, but I’m very proud of these 12 people that have spoken before me that have brought ideas that I believe I don’t need to be sitting there.” Monteiro said he would stay with the Hawthorne School District as the president of the School Board. “Believe me, I’m one of your applicants that might be the most qualified for the job,” Monteiro continued. “I have brought millions of dollars to the community through the non-profits and I don’t take any money from the city for the five organizations that I run, so therefore I feel I’m doing better outside of the chamber.” Speaking of familiar faces, former Hawthorne City Councilman Gary Parsons was among the candidates looking to help turn things around for the city. Parsons served as a councilman from 2001-2009. “In 2009, I decided to retire at the top on my own terms because I accomplished things I had set out to do,” Parsons said. “With my eight years of experience, I can hit the ground running on day zero.” Though he is tired of hearing the term “business-friendly,” Parsons says that he would like to survey the businesses in the city and ask them what can the Council can do to create a better city. Parsons also wants to open talks with “well-run cities,” like Torrance and El Segundo and find out what they do to be business friendly. The City Council will meet again next Tuesday for their regularly scheduled meeting and will ultimately make their decision about the vacant seat candidates on January 19. If the City Council is unable to fill the seat by January 26 deadline, they will begin the process of setting up the Special Election for June. The City Council will have until February 5 to fill the seat before the election will become a mandatory next step. Other candidates included Home Owner Association leader Jose Gutierrez, Ramona Home Owners Association President Jason Gromski, Cal State University – Long Beach student John Aquino, President of the 360 Home Owners Association and retired Army Colonel Neil Gafney, 27 year resident Eduardo Trejo, John L. Jefferson, Donald Harris, a 7-year Army veteran Robert Prieto. •
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