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Concerned Citizens of Compton host mayoral candidate forum

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Credit: Concerned Citizens of Compton

A group of concerned citizens partnered recently with the Compton NAACP to host the Compton 2021 Candidate Forum via Zoom March 20. It was an opportunity for nearly 100 residents to virtually meet with several candidates running for the position of Mayor in the City of Compton.

Currently, 10 people have been certified to run for mayor in the 2021 primary election, which will take place Tuesday, April 20. The election will be conducted only by mail-in ballots. Five of the ten certified candidates attended the forum organized by the Concerned Citizens of Compton.

Mayor Aja Brown is not seeking re-election, meaning the city will have its first change in leadership since 2013, when she made history as the youngest mayor ever elected in Compton. Brown’s election put Compton on the national radar, as her administration focused on a revitalization strategy centered around “family values, quality of life, economic development and infrastructure growth.”

However, some candidates do not believe there has been enough change under the current Brown administration.

The forum was moderated by Superior Court Judge Kelvin D. Filer, who was born and reared in Compton and the son of the late city councilman Maxey Filer. Filer pushed the candidates for specifics about their plans to balance the city’s current $113 million dollar budget deficit. Other topics included addressing homelessness, COVID-19 vaccine distribution and improving public safety in Compton.

“I’ve advocated for a homeless task force to be brought into the City of Compton,” said Emma Sharif, a mayoral candidate who currently represents the 4th District on the Compton City Council. Sharif said Compton is currently waiting on funding from Los Angeles County to address the issue.

Sharif said she is the only candidate with experience as an elected official and is focused on bringing more affordable housing, combating homelessness, improving public safety and preventing human trafficking in Compton.

“We need to reorganize our governments and look for ways to save money,” said mayoral candidate James Hays, the founder and chief technologist of Plasma Solutions Corporation, which aids in platelet-based medical treatments. Hays also has experience volunteering in Compton and has served as a Compton Planning Commissioner and Compton Parks and Recreation Commissioner.

“I will be the mayor of all of our constituents, including those looking for a way out of gangs,” said Anthony Perry, who is also running for mayor and currently works as a teacher in the Compton Unified School District.

Perry, a small business owner himself, is proposing that Compton create a Small Business Development Center. He is pushing for a homeless outreach center and more resources and programming for Compton’s most vulnerable and unhoused residents.

Perry believes the key to developing a good team of leaders is about motivating each other and leading the leaders. When it comes to enticing new businesses, Perry wants to bring a $1.3 billion dollar hotel/entertainment complex to Compton.

“Get involved. Get active. We all have plans for economic development,” said mayoral candidate Rodney Lister, who has experience working in the employment, training and housing sectors via nonprofits and public policy organizations.

Lister disagrees with Perry’s idea of using a major hotel/entertainment complex as a centerpiece of Compton’s economic development. Lister said entertainment developments that are similar to projects in Inglewood, could make housing less affordable and end up gentrifying Compton and pushing out longtime residents. Lister also added that unlike Inglewood, Compton does not have an old racetrack ripe for redevelopment.

“The (trash) dumping is a nightmare for me,” said candidate Janet Lopez Ortega, a small business owner with lived experience as an everyday resident in Compton. “My solution to that is to hire security patrols that rotate in the city to find these people who are polluting the city, trashing the city, making Compton look bad.”

Ortega said she’s focused on finding solutions and if she doesn’t have the expertise to do it herself, she will hire someone who can.

Candidates said they would also like to clean up Compton Creek and make it a viable place for community members to exercise and enjoy nature.

To learn more about the mayoral candidates, visit https://online.fliphtml5.com/ xzho/kjkz/#p=1.

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