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 - July 14, 2016 Middle School Leadership Students Host Successful Resource Festival Each year Will Rogers Middle School Leadership students organize and staff the Lawndale Lifestyle Spring Extravaganza with the goal of promoting health and wellness to Lawndale families by connecting them to community partners. Guests attending this event had the opportunity to participate in a variety of activities from shopping for fresh food at the Lawndale Farmer’s Market, supporting local school gardens by purchasing plants, learning about summer literacy programs, receiving free nutrition resources and Zumba classes. They were even able to make their own smoothie using the “Blender Bike”. Photo courtesy of LESD Newly Elected Lawndale City Clerk Carries Family Legacy Forward By Haleemon Anderson Rhonda Hofmann Gorman stands on some seriously tall shoulders. She was appointed to her first political office as City Clerk of Lawndale just last month, but her family’s legacy in city governance harkens back more than three decades. Gorman now bears the torch carried by her father, the late Harold E. Hofmann, a venerated council member and mayor of Lawndale for over 23 years. “It will be three years in October,” Gorman said, who still feels the sting of losing her father and her greatest mentor. She recalls the lively and sometimes heated discussions they would have, going around and around, only to have him admit he agreed with her stance all along. “There was a lot of training going on,” Gorman said, noting her father got a kick out of playing devil’s advocate, and getting her worked up. “He would tease me, but he wanted a lively debate.” “He knew I would want to run, that I would want to serve this community someday,” Gorman said. But fear of nepotism concerns being raised kept Gorman in the background. “I couldn’t even serve on any boards or commissions.” Instead, the senior Hofmann wisely pushed her to find leadership roles in education, where she became active on school site councils and advisory boards at Lawndale schools. There was also the campaign trail, yet another training ground. “My mom and I ran his campaigns,” Gorman added. Gorman learned the power of the vote early when, as a young voter, she campaigned for her dad and a fellow candidate. “I walked the streets of Lawndale campaigning for [Hofmann] and Neil Roth.” But when it came time to vote, friends advised her that she needed to choose. She shouldn’t vote for both; that would effectively cancel out her vote. “Just vote for your dad,” they said. “I went home crying that night. I burst into the house in tears,” she said, confessing to her parents that she had neglected to cast a vote for Roth. When the tally came in, her father won—by one vote! Naturally, the close result warranted a recount, and eventually Hofmann was confirmed as the winner. But, it had a lasting and visceral impact on Gorman. As City Clerk, Gorman will oversee municipal elections, certifying results and the swearing-in of new delegates. She hopes to use her new platform to increase voter turnout. In a city of 33,000 plus folks, residents mostly ignored the April election, where the office of mayor was up for grabs as well as two city council seats. “I call it my right to gripe,” she said. “Being a registered voter, that means I can complain,” Gprman said. “Getting the word out and advertising voting initiatives is key.” Gorman said she was very surprised to get unanimous approval from the five-member council. “I didn’t anticipate it, I was very surprised,” she said. “I was sitting there, thinking, ‘I need three.’ But I’m pretty vocal and involved; they know on every issue how I feel, so I’m very pleased with it.” Gorman currently works in the neonatal intensive care unit at Providence Little Company of Mary Medical Center in Torrance. In her spare time, she fosters dogs. Her latest charge was rescued from Alondra Park where it had been abandoned, along with its sibling that wandered into the street and was hit by a car. Gorman gets them ready for adoption—getting them shots, neutered, and monitoring their temperament before they are released. A longtime volunteer at Environmental Charter High School, Gorman remembers Secret Service agents and other White House staff crawling all over ECHS in 2010, when the school was nominated as a top five high school in the country by President Obama, who planned to present the award at graduation ceremonies. Another school captured the honor but, says Gorman, those other contenders were schools with 100 year histories. ECHS is in its 20th year in 2016. Hilda Solis, Secretary of Labor in the Obama Administration, spoke on behalf of the president. Gorman has a native’s eye-view on the city’s unique development. “I’ve watched Lawndale do a lot of incredible things in the last 30-40 years. “There have been some really phenomenal thinkers, people who really questioned where they wanted to see the city go,” Gorman said. “Now things have gotten a bit easier and handleable. We are at the final end of those projects.” “Our reserve fund, that’s something we’re very proud of,” Gorman said. “It took 20-plus years to grow that reserve. The current council is all on the same page of keeping that reserve healthy. Our employees don’t have to worry that they will be laid off or fired.” A final tribute to Harry Hofmann, the giant who paved her path, bears noting: Gorman says her use of her maiden name is not so much about women’s lib or feminism. In fact, it was her late husband’s idea. She says Joe insisted the whole family take the Hofmann name as their own. “He had our kids take it, too. It’s really a gift from my husband. “Joe, who is referred to incorrectly as Mr. Hofmann, felt so strongly after spending time with my parents and seeing their impact in the city, he insisted, ‘I should have taken your last name.’” • Inside This Issue Certified & Licensed Professionals.......................4 Classifieds............................3 Film Review..........................2 Food.......................................5 Legals................................ 6-7 Pets........................................8 Police Reports.....................2 Seniors..................................3 Sports....................................4 Weekend Forecast Friday Sunny 75˚/62˚ Saturday Partly Cloudy 74˚/63˚ Sunday Partly Cloudy 75˚/64˚
Lawndale_FB_071416_FNL_lorez
To see the actual publication please follow the link above