Cerritos Mayor Naresh Solanki and MPT Chuong Vo.
OP/ED BY BRIAN HEWS • JULY 9, 2020
With coronavirus cases surging, there are growing doubts that indoor dining and bar service will reopen anytime soon, as health officials try and slow the spread of COVID-19.
And what is Cerritos Mayor Naresh Solanki and Mayor pro tem Chuong Vo doing about it?
They were busy trying to scale back Cerritos school crossing guards, that is until last week when Solanki violated the Brown Act and suddenly became an advocate of the crossing guard budget.
They also voted to disband the Economic Development Commission, a petty move meant to remove me from the commission while robbing four other dedicated Cerritos residents, two of which were Solanki and Vo’s appointees, from serving on the commission.
Solanki and Vo are playing petty politics during an unprecedented time, not proposing any ideas to help the city recoup some of the tax dollars it is losing due to the pandemic.
Their solution is to cut employees and more of the budget, giving little thought to anything else with the exception of Vo, who voted no to cut one deputy at the Cerritos Sheriff’s Station that would have saved the city $500,000, with no drop in police presence and no job loss for the deputy.
Elections have consequences; Vo has no concept of marketing or sales, he’s a cop; Solanki runs a grocery chain, where cutting costs is paramount; ‘Bruce is Bruce’ as many residents say, we will see no creativity from him either.
About five weeks ago, when I was still an Economic Development Commissioner, I proposed to Councilman Frank Yokoyama an idea on how the city could recoup some of its restaurant dollars.
I talked to Yokoyama because Solanki, Vo, and Barrows never answer my emails.
I proposed that the city establish outside dining areas for restaurants, allowing them to put tables outside in front parking stalls and other areas.
The city could purchase temporary overhead shelters and other equipment needed so the restaurant could serve people outside; they can charge the COVID-19 expense account and recoup the money later from the state.
Yokoyama brought it forward but it fell on deaf ears; like me, Solanki, Vo and Barrows have ostracized Yokoyama.
And what has happened since that time five weeks ago when I strongly urged Yokoyama to consider the outdoor dining concept?
Santa Barbara has blocked off part of State Street for walking only; the promenade in Santa Monica has done the same thing; the city of Orange just established Orange Plaza Paseo, closing off the Orange Circle so people can dine alfresco.
Meanwhile Solanki and Vo are busy voting to kill commissions and scale back school crossing guards, while giving themselves a “technology budget.”
At this time during the pandemic, the city needs strong leadership and creative ideas to bring back the lifeblood of Cerritos, sales tax revenue.
We don’t need a petty politics, but that is what Cerritos is going to get for the foreseeable future.
Editor’s note: I want to take the opportunity here to thank my fellow commissioners, it was a pleasure serving with you. I also want to thank the staff who provided comprehensive reports and presentations on the economic activity of the city.
It is my hope that the city will still publish the quarterly economic report compiled by the staff, like their presentations and reports during commission meetings, it is extremely comprehensive and summarizes the economic activity in all sectors of the city in a form that can be published.
Hollow Building Blocks
All 3 (R) CCC in Cerritos are not very unique, they are a buttocks rib from Donald Trump. Many issues stem from have a very dinosaur city mgmt team too.
If Cerritos would employ city manager with PHD/Bus, three stooges would have been out in the cold, where they belong.
Cerritos is not a grocery store, nor police compounds nor a Bruce’s cement yard of building blocks.
HOLD OFFICE ONLY ONE TERM………..
Call it what you want, CCC diversity is not being worn evenly throughout the city. Cerritos is 60 years old and it is getting old looking, but south of Cerritos, lies: Cypress, Rossmoor, and Los Alamitos…which are showing signs of spring-remodeling and freshness….
All above are older cities, and are not so thread worn neighborhoods compared to Cerritos. All Lives has the right to live in their homes, BUT the RESIDENTS also have a right to take care of THEIR HOMES/PROPERTIES; be compatible with the rest of the neighborhood in order to not destroy the housing element for the Next Generation to enjoy.
Cerritos and CCC are not seeing that kind of turnaround with the city council or city of Cerritos neighborhoods. Los Alamitos-Cypress- and Rossmoor are all enjoying the 2nd and 3rd Generation coming back home to roost.
Cerritos defin needs 2 new city managers, younger the 76 YO and the CCC/commissioners should be under 50 YO and not over 80 YO plus. STOP REBOOTING CCC AND COMMISSIONERS.
Landlords who rent out SFR homes in Cerritos are running a Cerritos base business and must be charged a business tax and get permits to run rentals in the city. Rentals must be coop with the rest of the streetscape.
CCC must explore this alternative in creating some new money streams. City has almost 40% rentals and they are not pride of ownership anymore.
Grace and Bruce , both are to old and hardwired programmed into the old concepts of thinking, that’s why the city looks the way it does. Old old and more old.
Old is not a bad thing, but when it comes to making critical decisions, they have a hard time seeing outside the box, because they have a little exposure to what works in other sections of the country-nation-states.
Grace/ Vo are prime examples, both immigrants are only hard wired to represent Chinese and no one else, because of lack of exposure and does not care about all lives matter. Grace is plain show off, flaunting her many Rolls Royces around the city, when residents do not have enough money for food, water and cooling.
Least with Frank, he asks questions to educate the council and TV viewers, as he has developed some critical thinking skills and just does not include only Filipino cultures.
Naresh has white washed the pandemic in this city and ignored Newsom recipes…..Senior food has been ignored by him and (both Bruce and Grace) have closed many doors to the growing senior chapters in the city including socialism….
Is it possible that all concerned parties can get together and come up with a task list of things that would take Cerritos into the future without eliminating jobs or holding onto jobs that should be replaced or reduced. As a current resident of Cerritos I think Simple Solutions really works if we’re can sit down and talk. I can be your moderator.
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