Are Some Members of the Cerritos City Council Racist?

Mayor Vo, MPT Barrows, Councilpersons Naresh Solanki and Lynda Johnson.

Op/Ed by Brian Hews

In his usual arrogant, egotistical style, Bruce Barrows, at the last City Council meeting and transition, was “appointed” Mayor pro tem, depriving eight-year Filipino Councilman Frank Yokoyama of the Cerritos Mayor seat for 2024.

Yokoyama will term out in 2024 and has never served as mayor.

Adding to his callous maneuver was the fact that every other councilperson has served as mayor.

Lynda Johnson doesn’t count, she was just elected and has two blatant conflicts, triggered when she took money from the Cerritos Auto Square and the LASD, according to FPPC rules;  Solanki served two stints as mayor when Vo said “he was not ready to be Mayor,” and Vo was appointed mayor at this week’s meeting apparently now ready for the seat when he was afraid to be appointed before.

So instead of appointing Yokoyama to the seat, Barrows coldly accepted the appointment as mayor in 2024.

Is it politics or racism?

Barrows accepted for the fifth time…..yes….for the fifth time Barrows took the chair while Yokoyama has never served.

The vote? Barrows, Solanki, Vo and fellow Filipino Lynda Johnson voted for Barrows.

Elections have consequences yes, but to take these kinds of actions against a person who has sacrificed his time and energy for eight years, is petty, vindictive and just plain wrong.

And a slap to the Filipino community.

It is a City Council; by its nature it is bipartisan, everybody gets along and works to advance the wishes of their constituents.

But not “Unsafe” Barrows, who as Mayor, threatened to close the Sheriff’s Station twice, threatened to cut the SkyKnight LASD helicopter, and is the main reason, according to sources at Metro, Cerritos does not have a stop for the light rail that will terminate in Artesia.

That move will cost the city millions in tax revenue.

So for the next two years, Cerritos has a mayor that did not want to be the mayor, followed by a mayor who acts like a racist with everyone following his lead.

And so it goes in Neo-Con Cerritos, where the old-guard will do anything to retain a majority on the council…. so they can appoint each other mayor five times.