Our
Town:
Ballet Blooms in the City of Compton
Virtual City Hall: City’s Website Easing Into 21st Century
Registration Underway for MLB Urban Youth Academy Spring League
County Funding Summer Internships at Local Arts Organizations
City to Spend $75,000 on Murals, Portraits for City Hall
L.A. Urban League Appoints Chief Neighborhood Officer for Neighborhoods@ Work Initiative
Doctors Leery of Cholesterol Drugs Vytorin, Zetia After Key Study
Maya Angelou at 80: Life Is Still an Adventure
Five
Vie for Dymally’s Assembly Seat
52nd Assembly
District seat up for grabs because of term limits
By
Cheryl Scott
Bulletin Staff Writer
Five candidates
have tossed their hats in the ring for the 52nd Assembly District seat
currently held by Mervyn Dymally, D-Compton. Dymally will run for the
25th State Senate District, to replace Ed Vincent, D-Inglewood, who
is also termed out.
Compton Councilman Isadore Hall, Paramount Councilwoman Diane J. Martinez,
social worker and businesswoman Linda Harris-Forster and educator and
businesswoman Deborah Sims LeBlanc, all Democrats, will face off in
the June 3 primary.
The winner will be pitted against the lone Republican candidate, local
businesswoman Gwen Patrick, in the November general election.
Isadore Hall
Compton City Councilman Isadore Hall launched an exploratory campaign
for the seat two years ago. “Many people have asked me to run
for this seat when it becomes vacant,” Hall told The Bulletin. “I
have been working in the city of Compton and in this district for a
long time, and I believe I’m the only candidate with practical
experience in moving from policy to implementation. I want to put that
experience to work in Sacramento to bring needed funding for community
empowerment.”
Hall worked closely with Dymally to create an Enterprise Zone in the
Hub City. “We offered incentives to businesses that opened in
that zone,” Hall said. “The result is a new economic vitality
in the city, a new birth of Compton that is drawing attention throughout
the state.”
Hall is in the real estate business and has a bachelor’s degree
in business administration as well as a master’s in public administration. “I
will be ready on day one to begin representing the district in Sacramento,” he
said. “I’m the only candidate with that level of on-the-job
experience.”
He has taken a lead role in the building of a new senior center in
Compton, a project that will break ground this summer. “We hope
to be open by this time next year,” he said.
He also chaired a successful effort to pass Measure C, an $80 million
bond measure for the rehabilitation of all the schools in the city,
and was a leading advocate for the building of the $85 million Gateway
Towne Center.
“I intend to advocate in Sacramento for more funding for education,
a guarantee against cuts in medical, more job development and placement
programs and active crime reduction efforts,” he said.
He would like to see Compton Community College brought back into local
control. “Right now the plan is for the college to re-apply for
accreditation in several years,” he said. “We are exploring
whether there are any options that could get the college re-accredited
sooner than that. If so, I would certainly be a strong supporter.”
Hall would be a strong advocate for social programs, he said. “I
want to see more affordable housing for low-income families and the
elderly, more better-paying jobs through economic development, and
universal health care, starting with our children. We need improved
and expanded educational and vocational opportunities. And crime reduction
can be accomplished through gang intervention programs, neighborhood
watch and community policing.”
Hall has garnered endorsements from a long list of prominent figures,
including Sheriff Lee Baca, Congresswomen Maxine Waters and Laura Richardson,
firefighters’ and sheriff’s unions, and the California
League of Conservation Voters.
“I also have the strong support of Assemblyman Dymally,” Hall
said.
Linda Harris-Forster
Businesswoman and social worker Linda Harris-Forster of Los Angeles
has long been an advocate for the underserved and the poor. She and
her sisters and mother, acclaimed community activist “Sweet” Alice
Harris, founded the Parents of Watts Working With Youth and Adults
Multi-Purpose Community Crisis Center in the 1980s.
She was a clinical social worker at Martin Luther King-Drew Medical
Center, conducting psychological and social assessments of patients.
“I believe that the public should have a say in how funding is
being spent in their community,” she says. “Serving as
commissioner of the Los Angeles County Commission for Public Social
Services, I
supervised all matters relating to the provision of public social services,
conducted studies and held public hearings to determine the attitudes
of the public.”
She recently received the endorsement of Los Angeles County Sheriff
Lee Baca, who said, “I have known Linda since she was a little
girl. I have been proud to watch her growth and join her family’s
long tradition of community service. She will make an excellent assemblymember
who will represent the community with great dedication and commitment.”
“When I’m elected, the district will benefit by having
both a social worker and business owner as their Assemblywoman,” she
told The Bulletin. “I bring a balance to the table that is needed
to move our district forward. As a social worker, I am highly trained
to guide people through crisis in their environment. As a business
owner, I understand the vital role business plays in supporting our
economy.”
She will oppose cuts to funding for education. “In order to improve
the quality of life for residents in my district, we must begin with
a strong foundation, which is education,” she said. “Without
this foundation, it is like saying, ‘Where there is no knowledge,
the people perish.’ Today, a lot of focus is on Leave No Child
Behind. However, in my district, I can’t afford to ‘leave
no person behind.’”
Harris-Forster relies on core values she was taught as a child to bring
about change in today’s world. “My mother, Sweet Alice,
taught me that the best gift isn’t wrapped up with a pretty bow,” she
says. “Instead, it is the gift we have inside of us. It’s
what we share, not what we own. I want to represent the 52nd District in
the State Assembly because I want California to be a place where the
gifts we’ve all been given are shared equally, respectfully,
and generously.”
Deborah Sims LeBlanc
Educator and businesswoman Deborah Sims LeBlanc has a master’s
degree in public administration, law and criminal justice. She is a
resident of Paramount, but grew up in Compton, attending Compton Unified
School District schools.
She is especially concerned about the college and would like to see
it restored to local control as soon as possible. The school is being
operated as an education center of El Camino Community College until
the district solves the problems that caused its loss of accreditation.
It is estimated that it will take seven years or more to accomplish
this. “If there is a way that it can be done sooner than that,
I would definitely support that,” she said. “We need Compton
College. We’re losing courses. A lot of courses now are only
being offered at El Camino in Torrance. This is an important resource
in our community and we must keep it here.”
Health care access is another area LeBlanc will advocate for. “We
need to re-open King-Drew Hospital,” she said. “We need
a full-service hospital in the area… I will work to get it re-opened
and bring high-quality health care back into the community.”
She is an enthusiastic supporter of Compton’s rebirthing campaign. “The
great thing about this program is that it combines an aggressive effort
to bring in new businesses as well as new residential development that
will support these businesses. It’s evident that it is working,
and what is happening in Compton is being talked about throughout the
area as well as in Sacramento.”
LeBlanc feels that there should be an emergency preparedness center
in Compton. “The people need to have a safe haven in case of
a major disaster,” she said. “In this day and age it is
important for every city and every district to have a strong, well-thought-out
emergency plan and a central location that can accommodate people who
are not able to stay in their homes during a large-scale emergency.”
She thinks that cities in the 52nd District need more aggressive crime-reduction
efforts. “One thing that will combat crime is a stronger neighborhood
watch program,” she said. “People need to be the eyes and
ears of law enforcement to keep our neighborhoods safe from crime.
It’s true that crime statistics show marked improvement in our
cities. But I’m concerned about the number of cases that remain
unsolved. We need to improve on this.”
LeBlanc says her experience working at the community level has taught
her how to get things done. “I understand how to work within
government committees to accomplish goals that will benefit my district,” she
said. “I intend to hit the ground running from day one as the
Assemblywoman from the 52nd District.”
Diane J. Martinez
Paramount City Councilwoman and teacher Diane J. Martinez ran for the
52nd District seat in the 2002 election, coming in second to Mervyn
Dymally.
“After 14 years on the Paramount City Council, I feel it’s
time to move up to the state level of public service,” she told
The Bulletin. I have been on the City Council through one of the most
acclaimed
revitalization efforts in any American city. Paramount has gone from
being listed as one of the worst cities in the United States to an
excellent example of urban renewal. I think my experience in that process
will be useful to other cities in our district.”
Innovations in Paramount include good neighbor and pocket park programs;
the White Picket Fence Program that replaces dilapidated chain link
fencing; beautification projects such as the “Welcome Wall” fountain,
public art murals along the Los Angeles River levee, Civic Center Gardens,
and a downtown public plaza and sculpture garden.
“Economic prosperity has flourished in Paramount during the time
I have been on the council,” she said. “Since the early
1990s, retail sales in the city have increased by nearly 50 percent.
The Los
Angeles Times has called Paramount one of the most business friendly
cities in the region.”
Public safety is one of Martinez’s highest priorities. She has
been a strong supporter of the city’s award-winning crime prevention
programs: Gang Resistance in Paramount (GRIP), “Victory Over
Violence,” and “Paramount Impressions.”
“I have been in the forefront of bringing community policing
to our city’s neighborhoods,” she said. “Moreover,
during my tenure on the city council, there has been a major drop in
crime
figures.”
Martinez is concerned about the college, as well. “We need a
community college in Compton,” she said. “Students from
the cities surrounding Compton also rely on the college for academic
and vocational classes. I don’t know if there is a way that the
re-accreditation process can be put on a faster track, but if that
turns out to be the case I will work hard to help make that happen.”
She is also an advocate for the re-opening of King-Drew Medical Center. “Every
community needs a hospital with state-of-the-art services,” she
said. “The closing of King-Drew was a big loss to our community
and I believe that it’s very important to re-open the hospital.”
She sees a correlation between the availability of safe and affordable
housing and the recruitment of new businesses into the cities of the
52nd District. “New business allows us to bring in new jobs,” she
says. “Affordable housing brings in residents who can support
new business and create an economic upswing. This can be done with
funding from the state and programs that support community development,
schools and public safety. I will represent our district to get our
fair share of the available funding in Sacramento.”
Gwen S. Patrick
Compton businesswoman Gwen S. Patrick says she wants to see reform
in state government. The wife of Pastor Charles Patrick of Sunago Christian
Fellowship Church in Compton, she has pledged to “fight to protect
the family, help establish laws that represent voter concerns, monitor
spending and eliminate waste of taxpayer dollars.”
“I have dedicated my life to reaching individuals on the margins,” she
says, “to providing opportunities that will offer a chance for
them to become productive citizens.”
Patrick is the co-founder of a public benefit, nonprofit organization
established in 1994. She is also co-founder of Fragment House Learning
Center, a high school that helps former dropouts get back into school
and graduate.
She ran last year for the Compton Unified School District Board of
Trustees, but was not elected. “I’m not discouraged by
the fact that I didn’t win the school board election,” she
said. “Running for the board gave me an opportunity to go door-to-door
in the community and hear the concerns of people. They feel that they
are not being heard. They have lost faith in government and feel that
their voices are ignored, that their concerns are not being addressed.
I hope that as the representative of the 52nd District I can rectify
that.”
She plans to run a grassroots campaign with strong local support from
community members and volunteers. “I don’t have a political
machine,” she said. “But I have lots of families behind
me.”
She believes that the district needs smaller schools. “I am a
supporter of charter schools,” she said. “We need a smaller
teacher-student ratio. At this point in time, the media is educating
our kids. I want to bring the family back into education. We need to
help young people make decisions that will be beneficial for their
future. Abortion centers are increasing in number. Building more won’t
solve the teen pregnancy problem. Education is the only way to do that.
And the education has to include family values.”
Patrick blames many of the district’s problems on poor leadership. “We
need to bring strong leadership back into the community,” she
said. “We’ve seen a history of poor leadership and we’ve
seen what the result is. We need to restore accountability in government.
I know we can turn it around, but we need to work together and elect
individuals who are willing to advocate for programs that will strengthen
the community and give power back to the people.”
She believes that kids today are at risk because parents are not at
home. “Most parents have to work,” she said. “That
is the reality today. But that also means that our kids are left unsupervised.
We need creative community programs by law enforcement that will lead
kids into more production activities. Gang intervention and prevention
programs, if they are well funded and diligently operated, can go a
long way toward replacing the presence of parents who cannot be there
for their kids.”
She has helped institute a program that provided jobs and training
through the State of California Department of Conservation Division
of Recycling. She was the founder of the S.W.A.T. Youth Leadership
Program and a mentor in character development programs for the Compton
Unified School District.
She has received an Outstanding Citizen Award from the city of Compton
and a Recognition Award from the city of Los Angeles.
“I have proven my leadership with 20 years of experience working
for our kids,” she says “As a member of the State Assembly
I will put that experience to work for cities in the 52nd District.”
ADVERTISE | CLASSIFIEDS | ABOUT US | CONTACT US | SUBSCRIBE | HOME
This site and its contents ©2008 thecomptonbulletin.com