An Open Letter to My Fellow Cerritos Residents from Cerritos Councilmember Frank Aurelio Yokoyama

July 4, 2026

For most of my life, for 50 years, I have called Cerritos my home.

I write to you today not just as your City Councilmember and former Mayor, but also as a lifelong resident, a husband, a father, a businessman, and a neighbor who has spent decades raising a family, working, and investing in the community we all love.

Like you, my family pays water bills.

Like you, I feel the impact of rising costs.

That is precisely why I did not take the water and sewer rate adjustments lightly. It was one of the most difficult votes I have cast as your Mayor.

But leadership isn’t measured by whether a decision is popular. Leadership is measured by whether it is responsible.

For many years, Cerritos kept water and sewer rates artificially low by relying on large subsidies from the City’s General Fund. While that helped keep bills down, it also meant using taxpayer dollars that could have gone toward public safety, parks, road maintenance, recreation programs, the library, and other services that benefit our entire community.

That approach to water and sewer rates could not last forever.

Eventually, the City reached a point where continuing to subsidize water and sewer meant asking all taxpayers to shoulder costs that should be paid through the water and sewer system itself.

I believe in a simple principle: we should all pay our fair share for the water and sewer services we receive.

Keeping rates below the true cost of providing service isn’t sustainable. The costs don’t disappear—they are simply shifted onto the General Fund, leaving less money for the programs and services that make Cerritos one of California’s premier communities.

No one likes paying more. I certainly don’t. But lower bills should not come from large taxpayer subsidies that cannot continue indefinitely.

The reality is straightforward.

Water and sewer systems don’tmaintain themselves.

Pipelines age.

Water wells require repairs.

Pumps wear out.

Equipment must be replaced.

Emergency repairs happen.

State and federal regulations continue to evolve.

These are not optional expenses. They are the cost of providing the most essential public service any city delivers.

Some believe repealing the rates will solve the problem.

It won’t.

Repealing the rates does not repeal the costs.

It does not repair aging infrastructure.

It does not create new revenue.

It does not reduce the City’s responsibility to provide safe, clean, reliable water and sewer service.

It simply cuts the revenue needed to meet those obligations.

I’ve also heard suggestions that the City should simply cut spending instead.

The reality is that the City has already begun making difficult budget decisions. The City Council reduced its regular meeting schedule from twice a month to once a month. The library is now closed one day a week. Departments throughout City Hall have been asked to identify efficiencies, reduce spending, and make difficult choices about programs and services.

None of those decisions were easy.

Yet even after taking those steps, they are not enough to permanently fund an aging, deteriorating, and failing water and sewer system.

There is a difference between finding efficiencies and paying for critical infrastructure. No realistic combination of routine budget reductions can replace the ongoing revenue required to operate and maintain our water and sewer system while preserving the quality of life our residents expect.

Then there is the recall.

The recall campaign and the repeal effort are two different issues.

One seeks to overturn a policy decision.

The other seeks to remove two elected officials.

Neither answers the most important question:

How will Cerritos responsibly pay for its water and sewer system?

Changing councilmembers does not change the math.

A recall does not lower water and sewer costs.

A recall does not repair pipelines.

A recall does not replace wells or pumps.

A recall does not create new revenue.

It simply asks Cerritos taxpayers to pay for costly special elections while leaving the next City Council with the exact same financial obligations.

I also believe residents should ask an important question.

If this recall is truly about the water rate decision, why are only two councilmembers being targeted?

That is a fair question every resident should consider before signing the petitions.

I understand that reasonable people can disagree with my vote.

I respect those differences of opinion.

You deserve transparency.

You deserve accountability.

You deserve leaders who explain their decisions.

That is why I am writing this letter.

Next year, every voter will have the opportunity to evaluate my record and the records of every candidate on the ballot. That is the appropriate time to decide who should lead our City into the future.

Recalls are an important safeguard in our democracy, but they should be reserved for extraordinary circumstances—not disagreements over difficult fiscal decisions that voters will soon have the opportunity to judge in a regular election.

I have never believed leadership means choosing the easiest path.

I have always believed it means choosing the responsible path.

That is what guided my vote.

That is what guides my service.

And that is why I respectfully ask you to not sign the recall petitions.

Instead, let’s have honest conversations about the future of our City. Let’s ask difficult questions. Let’s debate respectfully. And when Election Day arrives next March, let every voter make an informed decision based on facts, not misinformation.

I remain committed to serving Cerritos with integrity and transparency, and to protecting the community my family has proudly called home for so many decades.

Respectfully,

Frank Aurelio Yokoyama

Lifelong Cerritos Resident • 

Husband • Father • Former Mayor • City Councilmember