Mike Griffiths Gains Appointment to City Council
On only the second round of voting, Mike Griffiths received the requisite 4 votes from the sitting Council members to receive the coveted appointment. Griffith’s received 3 votes in the first round with Councilmembers Barnett, Ashcraft, and Rizzo voting in his behalf. Mayor Furey cast his vote for Ray Uchima, while Councilmember Goodrich opted for Alex See, and Councilmember Weideman selected Milton Herring.
Prior to voting, the Council heard from most of the candidates themselves as well as many members of the community. At least 12 people rose to speak on behalf of Ray Uchima citing his 19 years of service to the community, ability to attract business to Torrance, as well as his ability to resolve challenging view obstruction disputes as a member of the Planning Commission. Uchima stated that he planned on running in the past election, but withdrew to better care for his ailing father.
Several folks also spoke on behalf of Jimmy Gow noting his love for Torrance, the city of his Birth, and his dedicated involvement with community matters. A letter from Betsy Butler recommending him was also read by one supporter. For his part, Jimmy Gow expressed how the death of his father had motivated him to seek the appointment as you can’t wait to live your dreams.
One resident received a hearty applause throughout the room when he confessed that he did not vote for Leilani Kimmel-Dagastino in the past election, but felt that the Council should honor the will of the people by selecting her for the position as she was the highest finishing non-elected candidate in the past election.
Others suggested Sue Herbers as they felt that were an election to be held today for the vacancy that almost certainly she would win based on her many years of service to the City as City Clerk.
In the end, however, the consensus on the Council was for a man that did not speak publicly on his behalf at the meeting nor had any supporters do so. That’s not to say he doesn’t have strong support from the community as many in attendance seemed pleased with the decision and eager to welcome the only non-party affiliated member of the Council.
The fact that the Council bypassed three other higher finishing candidates in the past election in favor of Griffith’s suggests to me that Scotto still weilds more influence with the Council than some might expect. In the end, Scotto got his “dream team” as everyone he endorsed (Weideman, Ashcraft, Rizzo, and Griffiths) ended up on the Council.
The good thing now is that we can look forward to at least another two years of Jimmy Gow manning the Democrapic booth at Wilson Park standing next to a cut-out of Obummer. Hey Jimmy don’t forget to be there every Saturday because Maxine will be looking for you as she seeks lapdogs to shake hands with.
I think Mike received 5 votes (not just the required 4) in the second round. But that is because by the time the last vote (by Mayor Fury) was cast, it was already done so Fury ‘just went with the winner’ to look good as it didn’t matter. BUT the official record shows unanimous as that move was also done after the fact.
‘Official’ MOTION: Moved by Councilmember Weideman, seconded by Councilmember Barnett appoint Michael Griffiths to fill the vacancy on the City Council.
VOTE: Motion carried 6-0.
If you care to see all the fun (about 1-hour worth) here is the Video link
http://torrance.granicus.com/MediaPlayer.php?view_id=8&clip_id=12123
Now that I’ve had a day to think about it. Not to take anything from Mike, but one unfortunate thing about the selection is that the Council missed a great chance to bring some diversity to the Council by overlooking three well qualified minority candidates that finished higher in the last election. I hope it doesn’t, but I do worry it might cause some fallout with minority groups and the Asian business community that is already suffering with the eventual departure of Toyota.
Also interesting that Weideman was the one that stepped up and turned the vote in favor of Griffiths. Had he gone the other way it would have almost certainly been a stalemate as Goodrich had already voted for Uchima and Furey was almost certain to do so.