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Politics & Government

Candidates Take On Questions at Final Forum

The city council candidates gathered for the last forum, answering a mixture of prepared questions as well as questions from the audience.

On Feb. 16, the Cerritos City Council candidates gathered for the third and final time to indulge questions by the audience and prepared questions by event sponsors La Palma-Cerritos Branch of American Association of University Women.

Here are three questions from that evening as well as each candidate's closing remarks:

The city has had a number of successful partnerships with the ABC Unified School District. How do you foresee continuing this relationship? 

  • Ÿ said, “We need more independence on the ABC Board,” in reference to a board member who was the lone vote against the school district and the city’s proposed senior housing development, Cuesta Villas. He advocated against “collusion” between the city and school district and encouraged collaboration.
  • Ÿ cited her past efforts when she previously served on the city council to collaborate with the school district. Hu said the partnership resulted in added infrastructure such as swimming pools and gyms for several campuses throughout the school district.
  • Ÿ prefaced his comments by saying, “My wife and I were both high school teachers.” And then, Cho talked about the importance of an education and continuing the city and district’s “first-class cooperation.” He also voiced his support for the Cuesta Villas and called it a “win-win” for all parties involved.
  • Ÿ called the relationship between the city and school district “vital.” Rami also cited the importance of the city continuing to foster a relationship with Cerritos College and she said, “Education is the most important thing.”
  • said, as an ABC School Board member, he will take that experience over to the City Council, if elected, and be one of the strongest pro-education advocates to maintain and expand the partnership.
  • said that residents living in the Westside area of Cerritos should be part of the ABC School District. He thinks it is “incomplete relations.”
  • Bruce Barrows said he has been involved with the school district as well as Cerritos College. He thinks it is critical on behalf of the city, residents and the children to look out and be sure we get the best we can. 

How do you plan to pay for the campaign promises you’re making without raising taxes? 

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  • Mody said raising taxes is no big deal, but lowering taxes is a big deal. Mody promised he won’t raise taxes, but he will lower taxes. He doesn’t believe in balancing a budget.
  • Barrows said balancing the budget is a critical issue to the city. He said he doesn’t want to see Cerritos give money out to the unions looking for a 3% increase. His campaign promises to protect balance and budgets and to be sure we live within our means.
  • Pulido said the school district has navigated the worst economic times in its history – doing more with less. Although the district has not had to lay anyone off, Pulido has made a motion to cut his own pay as well as the pay of his colleagues. 
  • Fuentes said he would bridge the disparity between the pay of upper management and rank-and-file city workers. Fuentes said eliminating wasteful spending would free-up revenue for other programs. He added that although Cerritos residents aren’t charged taxes by the city, citations for overnight parking are excessive.
  • ŸCho said financial sustainability is his “No. 1 priority.” Cho said that he would try to protect local funds from the state, and he advocated in favor of the city’s redevelopment agency. Cho, who is Cerritos’ current mayor, said the city has streamlined expenditures for the past two years.
  • Rami said the city needs to “live within its means.” She added that although the city has no taxes, the city council has to focus on where money is allocated.
  • Hu said, “Running a city is just like running a business or family.” She later added , “I never spend more than I make.” Hu also discussed the city potentially looking for outside sources to increase revenue, though she didn’t cite any specific examples.

With the state government cutting back funds to the cities, how is Cerritos cutting back?

  • ŸCho laid most of the blame for the financial shortfall on Sacramento. He said, “The state runs a deficit every year.” He later added, “They tried to raid our local funds.” Cho talked about reviewing all city programs and setting up a “task force” if the governor shuts down the redevelopment agency. Rami said she needed to do more research on the question. She said she would need to know how much the city’s budget was, how it lost money and where is money being allocated.
  • ŸPulido said the current City Council cut wrong. He said, over the past four years, they cut $3,000,000 from the public works budget and that the city is showing its age. Pulido said the council needs to cut in administrative waste: auto allowances, dues, publications and travel expenses.
  • ŸFuentes, upon hearing the question exclaimed, ‘”Now we’re getting somewhere!” Fuentes railed against “bloated city management level” pay. He also said the current City Council shouldn’t have been surprised by the financial problems the city faces, but instead, insisted they should “have been making plans in anticipation.”
  • Hu said she would “protect our (Cerritos) revenue” from the state. Hu explained how she would review all of the city’s programs and departments for potential curtailing of costs with the exception of schools and senior citizen services.
  • Mody said there aren’t any obvious cuts out there and that cuts are out there because they happen. He said there are no real cuts that the council wants to show. Mody said, “We don’t cut the budget because we have to cut the budget.”
  • Barrows said the budget has been cut and it’s an ongoing effort. He said the budget has been cut just under $18,000,000 over the past four years and it’s something he has worked on.

Closing Remarks

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  • Cho said, "My highest priority is the city's financial sustainability. I will strongly protect local funds to provide high quality services to Cerritos' residents."
  • Barrows said, "It is extremely important who serves on our council, as a city councilmember, to maintain our fiscal stability and to protect the local autonomy from financial raise by our state."
  • Mody said, "I will be tough (on) crime, I'll be very active in the senior citizen's programs. Myself, I'm 65 years old so I'd love to be part of them.  I'd love to save every dollar."
  • Hu said, "I really want to serve you and I will do the best I can - use my experience of business and governmental experience. I want to provide the best service I can to you."
  • Fuentes said, " I would like to see a new era of citizen participation and involvement, focusing on what brings us together as a city and as a people - not what seperates us. I think that we have a good track record. We have done a lot in the past and we can do a lot more."
  • Pulido said, "I'm running for city council to bring new leadership to the city - someone who will be accessible, accountable, and responsive to you. I believe you deserve nothing less.
  • Rami said, "I'm very hardworking, dedicated, approachable and accessible. I'm putting all my trust and confidence in you that you will make an informed decision in electing the best candidates.

You can watch all three broadcasts of the forums in their entirety on TV3 or on  Cerritos TV3 during the rebroadcast on Feb. 28 at 7 p.m. 

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