Final Campaign Flyer Review for Election 2022: Numark v. Chen for Torrance Mayor

It has been two months since the Torrance City Council elections, and already the governance on the dias has improved tremendously. A sense of peace is already becoming more pervasive on the council.

The new and incumbent members of the council are treating one another with respect, an element of peace and and calm which has been missing for far too long in Torrance City Council meetings.

Now I have the time to take a longer look at one last flyer that went out to voters just before June 7, 2022.

Cliff Numark, the El Camino College Board Trustee who was leaving one political office to seek yet another, when he had abandoned his second term on the city council ten years ago, sent out multiple flyers. Clearly, he had the money and the connections to blanket the entire city to support him. Even residents in the Harbor Gateway received mailers from Cliff Numark's campaign, even though they could not vote for him!

In the last flyer that Cliff Numark sent out to prospective voters, he went on the attack against Councilman George Chen.

Check out the cover of the flyer here:

Right away, Numark relied on the word of retired lieutenant and former city councilman Geoff Rizzo. What was significant about Rizzo's comments? Mayor Chen had defeated Rizzo in 2020 in his bid for re-election. This was no small feat, considering that Rizzo, as retired law enforcement, had the support for the police officers association, plus the fact that he had already been elected twice before at large in the city.

George Chen put up a diligent fight and did not relent in getting the word out to the voters in District 2, since by 2020, the city had moved to district elections. One can imagine that Rizzo felt pretty bitter about losing his race to a relative outside who had only been elected the first time in 2018. Then again, the fact that Rizzo fared so poorly suggests that a) he was not a good campaigner b) he was not well-received as a good councilman c) he was too confident in his position as a twice-elected incumbent and did not put in the requisite effort needed.

Numark went on the attack, and judging by the list of criticisms below, Numark had to scrape the bottom of the barrel, and even then there was not much to fault then-Councilman Chen:

Let's take a look at some of the things that Numark posted:

Numark claimed outright that George Chen was all talk and no walk when it came to fiscal discipline and public safety. The first charge challenging this assertion? The fact that the city was in the 4th Worst financial condition in the state. However, that report was issued by January, and by June, the city council had taken drastic steps to shrink government and cut spending. The budget was on track to havea $36 million budget by June 30th, important facts which Numark's campaign conveniently left out.

Numark then selectively quoted Chen froma 2021 budget meeting. By then, Mayor Chen had been serving for three years on the city council. Just because he sahred that he was getting an "open public tutorial" does not mean that he was incompetent. Frankly, I found this level of criticism rather petty and meaningless, almost in a "Mean Girls" sort of fashion.

What's worse, Numark makes it seem as thought Chen had said "The lightbulb came on to me around the middle of last year" and then "Using reerves to balance our budget since 2015 was not the right approach" at the same time. That is not true, and let's not forget that at the time, Chen had voted against the excessive spending conducted by the council.

If Chen voted for a budget that took in $1.5 million more one time, that does not make him a profligate councilman by any stretch. One has to wonder how many times former councilman Cliff Numark voted for Torrance city budgets which spent more than the city had taken in ...

Then consider this latest slight on the same page:

The last box on the list above claims that Chen cut staff from the public safety budget. Nothing could be further from the truth. What happened was that the city council voted not to fill a number of positions. No one was fired, and no one was cut loose. Jean Adelsman used the same deceptive attack ad against Councilman Aurelio Mattucci, and she also failed in her bid to replace him on the city council.

Of course, Rizzo's complaint that Mayor Chen offered no strategic changes to fix the city's budget and fiscal problems was a lie, too. Earlier this year, Chen discussed potential revenue sources with the city manager, and he concurred that some of Chen's ideas would be very good for the city.

Just two pages into Numark's flyer, and there is nothing but distortions, errors, misquotes, and lies. To call this flyer a desperate attack ad would be an understatement.

Then look at the other pages from this expensive glossy:

Numark's headshot at the top is not very inspiring. One gets the feeling that he had the photo taken last minute.

Numark's list of accomplishments have some good points about him:

In the first item listed above, Numark takes credit for setting up $50 million in the city reserves. He was just one of seven city councilmembers. Mayor Frank Scotto was leading the fight to keep the city fiscally sound at the time,too. He didn't accomplish any of that on his own.

Numark pushed for an energy audit that saved the city $300,000 a year. That is something that write about. He deserves credit for that kind of reform, but remember that $300,000 a year is a drop in the bucket compared to the massive deficit spending which the Torrance City Council had approved through 2015.

Then he lists (yet again) the fact that he has been endorsed by public safety officers. Yes, he received the endorsement of the Torrance Police Officers and Firefighters Associations, but I have found that those endorsements don't speak for every officer, and Torrance voters are not swayed by them as much as they used to.

Sure, he scored the endorsement of retired police chief John Neu, too. Frankly, I find that endorsement rather suspect, if not unethical. Isn't the chief of police of any city supposed to serve and protect all residents? Why would he get involved in the political fray over a mayor's race?

As for Councilwoman Ashcraft, I must say that I have lost all respect for her. She's supposed to be a conservative, but she went all in for the liberal candidate for mayor. She also went along with raising the city's sales tax and voting for one budget after another which drew extensively from the city general fund, until the reserves were down to less than $1 million. Ashcraft was a big part of the fiscal mismanagement of the city, and she has no business sticking her finger into local politics at this point. I had even supported her two years ago to replace Tim Goodrich, and she turned into quite the disappointment.

Here is the backside of Numark's flyer:

The only thing worth commenting on here is that despite the massive number of endorsements scooped up by the Numark campaign, he still fell short in his bid for mayor. That is pretty astonishing.

One reason, I believe, that Numark failed in his bid for mayor is that he did not connect with voters on a routine, rigorous basis. While I was walking precincts in District Five, knocking on every door, I noticed one of Numark's canvassers a few doors behind him. Clearly, he was not very motivated, since he was not moving very fast. Furthermore, he was not hitting every door as I was. Last of all, I could tell that he was only canvassing for Numark, while I was dropping literature for George Chen and Aurelio Mattucci.

Numark thought he could win the race because he was the machine candidate with all the money and the right connections. Other volunteers along with myself went to every length to connect and convince voters to support our candidates. I wouldn't be surprised if the bad memories people had about former mayor Pat Furey also motivated people to vote a different candidate.

Final Reflection

I can't write enough how significant this Torrance mayoral election was. The Scotto-Furey-Geissert political hegemony in this town was crushed once and for all. Every political machine operative saw his efforts crushed in this election, as well. Mayor George Chen was outspent and out-endorsed, and yet he still won!

The voters saw through all the thick, slick ads that Numark and company foisted on the voters. The retiring El Camino College trustee sent out at least three of these large flyers, and apparently he sent them out to a wide array of voters, regardless of their political affiliation. Despite this political bombardment, he still lost. The people of Torrance want real change, real leadership, and they do not want the same-old politicians who talk big, back themselves up with lots of political endorsements and establishment connections, only to disappoint the voters yet again. 

Real change has come to the city of Torrance, and I am so grateful that I could be part of the transition.

The Daily Breeze Comments on Election 2022 Torrance Mayor's Race

The Daily Breeze has finally weighed in on the Torrance City Council elections, specifically the Mayor's race.

Election 2022: Torrance to choose a new mayor for the first time in nearly a decade

This title is sitcom flat, and in a sense it's incorrect. Torrance voters can choose a new mayor every four years if they choose to. What happened in 2018, though, is that two challengers split the vote (again), and Creepy Pat Furey got re-elected.

Perhaps it's time for Torrance voters to invest in a run-off process for city council districts and mayor's races.

George Chen and Cliff Numark, both with city council experience, have slightly different approaches for handling budgets, public safety and homelessness.

One correction needed: Cliff Numark quit when he was on the city council because he wanted to climb up to a higher office. George Chen has been elected twice in the last four years, and if he gets elected mayor, that will be his third election win in four years.

Councilman Chen did not abandon his council seat to seek another office.

For the first time in nearly a decade, Torrance voters will choose a new mayor.

Mayor Pat Furey, who has held the top job since 2014, has termed out as leader of this city of 147,000.

Thank God!

But the two candidates vying to succeed Furey during the June 7 statewide primary are not political newcomers: current District 2 Councilman George Chen and Cliff Numark, who served on the council from 2008 to 2013, before Torrance was divided into districts.

Councilman Chen was elected to the city council when the seats were elected at large in 2018, and then he was elected to a city council district in 2020. He has won in both forms of terrain. In fact, he was the #2 vote-getter in 2018, even though he was a complete political newcomer at that point.

Numark received $47,000 in contributions during the last reporting period, which ended April 23, according to the most-recent campaign finance documents, and had $102,000 in cash on hand.

Chen, meanwhile, raised $25,000 during the same period and had $79,000 in cash on hand.

The next elected mayor faces myriad challenges, including a projected budget deficit of more than 12.5 million; ongoing controversy over police officers accused of exchanging racist and homophobic text messages; the call for an independent police oversight commission; and the ongoing homeless crisis.

There is no deficit, there is no budgetary crisis, either. All of this is smoke and mirrors now, since the current city council has made a number of necessary cuts.

The city’s finances, public safety and homelesness were, in fact, the top-three issues facing Torrance, according to both candidates,

They differ, however, in their proposed solutions for each.

Financial solvency

The city’s retail and tourism industries faltered during the pandemic — including at its crown jewel, the Del Amo Fashion Center, and unemployment rose from 3.3% to 16.5%.

The city should have never locked down. The city should have rebuffed the county and rejected the mandates from Governor Newsom.

The city’s fiscal year 2021-22 General Fund Operating Budget was adopted with a structural deficit of $16.8 million. Torrance balanced the budget, as required by state law, with $12 million from the American Rescue Plan Act and about $4.8 million in planned salary savings from unfilled positions.

But city staff have anticipated a recurring structural deficit from $12.5 million to $14.1 million each fiscal year until 2030-31 year.

The city’s poor financial state — which current Torrance officials will try to correct by asking voters to approve a sales tax increase this election — is what motivated each to run for mayor, the candidates said.

Chen, a 30-year resident and a retired aerospace engineer, said the council should consider the “wants” versus the “needs” of the city.

Yes.

The wants — such as annual contributions to the Rose Parade Float ($127,000) and the Torrance Cultural Arts Association ($74,400) — should be examined and possibly cut, he said.

The city could also consider a reorganization, Chen said, reducing the number of mid-level supervisors.

Indeed, the city civil staff is too top-heavy. There is too much middle management, and it is more than appropriate to cut the extra positions out.

“There may be some staff reductions,” Chen said, “and maybe people who retired and we don’t necessarily have to replace them.”

That's a good approach. No one has to be fired, and the city can save money.

Chen said his overall fiscal approach would be to have department heads come up with ideas for cost cutting and revenue growth in their own areas.

Agreed. Put the onus on them first. They have the most information about

Current officials have already said that without the sales tax increase, the city could face 5% cuts to each department.

So be it!

But putting cost-cutting and revenue growth in the hands of department chiefs, Chen said, would mean those managers would have some skin in the game.

“It’s not just cuts we need to make,” Chen said. “We have to work on the top line. I want to pay people to think, to challenge them and to work hard for our residents.”

Numark, a senior vice president/chief of marketing who moved to Torrance 23 years ago, said he has a 90-day plan to address the city’s fiscal crisis. The plan calls for suspending health benefits for the mayor and City Council and ending city-paid dinners before council meetings.

That is nothing. Cutting the pay of the city council is virtue-signaling, since city councilmembers only take in $200 a month.

Newmark’s plan would also create a zero-based budget, which would require the city to develop a new spending plan from scratch each year, as opposed to basing the budget on prior years’ numbers.

Torrance ranks fourth among cities facing the most severe financial risks, behind Compton, San Gabriel and Blythe, according to a report by the Auditor of the State of California.

This is very deceptive. The analysis was published before the savings allocated to the general fund were considered. There has been some creative accounting done by some of the city council (mostly the mayor) to give the impression that the city needs the tax increase.

The city’s depleted general fund reserves figured prominently into that audit, along with pension obligations and revenue projections. During the pandemic, the city lost about $15 million in general fund revenue, according to a report from the city manager’s office. Reserves were nearly exhausted.

The upcoming ballot measure is meant to beef up reserves Measure SST would raise the rate by one-half cent, to 10%, generating about $18 million annually.

Reminder: every candidate, even those who support the sales tax increase, have acknowledged that the extra (projected) revenue will not be enough.

Torrance voters rejected a similar measure in 2020, though that one would have raised the sales tax from 9.5% rate to 10.25%.

It's really amazing how the local paper seems determined to push this sales tax increase. What is it with the corporate press wanting to raise costs on everyone?

Chen, who voted against putting Measure SST on the ballot, said raising the sales tax is a flawed solution.

He compared the city to a real estate agent who wants to make more money. The simple solution, Chen said, would be for the agent to raise commissions. But this would leave the customer unsatisfied.

“If a real estate agent needs to make more money, a real estate agent needs to sell more homes,” Chen said. “So in a similar way, the city of Torrance needs to think and work harder on making more sales.”

Yes, the city council needs to come up with better solutions and innovate ideas, rather than merely squeezing the residents for more money.

To bring more people and businesses to the city – especially foreign companies – Chen suggested hosting international youth summer games leading up to the Los Angeles 2028 Summer Olympics and creating more sister city relationships.

Numark, however, said Torrance needs the additional revenue stream from an increased sales tax.

“If SST does not pass,” Numark said, “given where the city’s finances are today, in some way shape or form, there’s going to be very ham-fisted choices that the city is going to make.”

Not true. Cliff Numark is in the business of spending more. He was elected to the El Camino College Board by all the special interests tied in with the college district because he has no problem floating more bonds and squeezing taxpayers for more money. LAUSD tried to raise property taxes in 2019, and the measure failed by 54%! Remember that most of these bond measures need a two-third majority vote to pass in the first place, and the property tax increase failed!

Public safety

If the city needs to further trim the budget, public safety would be one of the top sectors facing cuts, according to literature Torrance has sent out to residents.

Not necessarily. There is funding now to hire more police officers.

The fate of the Police and Fire departments budgets have not yet been decided. But those budgets — which make up 62%, or about $8 million, of the city’s general fund expenses — could see cuts during this month’s budget hearings.

Chen said he wasn’t happy about the city mailers, which he said equated a need for more sales tax with a loss of essential services, such as policing and fire. The city used “scare tactics” he said, to market the tax.

I just received two campaign flyers this week, at the same time! Whichever interests are behind the push to raise the sales tax, they are getting desperate! I don't think there is an appetite in the city for a tax increase, considering the fact that the city has not done its due diligence to cut excessive spending and reduce or decomission redundant services or agencies in the city.

The councilman said, for him, public safety is always his No. 1 priority.

“Just because I’m against the sales tax increase,” Chen said, “doesn’t mean I’m against public safety.”

A “21st century policing” model is needed, Chen said, where the department relies more on modern technology.

To reduce the number of personnel and vehicles called to an area, which could potentially reduce overtime costs, police could designate “hot spots” throughout the city for live video camera surveillance, Chen said.

That way, he said, dispatch would be able to better gauge the severity of a 911 call.

Numark also said he put a high value on public safety and also touted setting a “culture of cost reduction.”

He talks about cost reduction, but he wants to raise the sales tax? Really?!

“We need to be serious about scrutinizing how every dollar is spent in the city,” said Numark.

The Police Department, he added, needs a comprehensive assessment over its core processes and use of technology.

But finances and efficients aren’t the Police Department’s only challenges. It’s also faces ongoing controvery over police conduct stretching back years.

The police force has been under scrutiny since the 2018 killing of Christopher DeAndre Mitchell. The department also faced accusations late last year that up to 15 Torrance officers were involved in sending homophobic and sexist text messages.

Though two officers who were accused of painting swastikas on a victim’s car were fired from the department, 13 others remain under investigation by California Attorney General Rob Bonta. Those officers are on paid administrative leave.

These recent scandals, both candidates said, shape policies at the Torrance Police Department and impact the community’s view of public safety.

But the candidates differed in how they would look to bolster the department’s reputation.

Chen called the allegations against the police alarming, but cautioned officers have a right to due process, which is in the works.

“The hard part is,” Chen said, “people try to connect the dots (of the homophobic/racial slurs) to the DeAndre Mitchell case.”

That case, in which officers fatally shot Mitchell, a Black man, had its day in court, Chen said — though Black Lives Matter continued protesting at council meetings long after that — and people just need to be patient and let due process take its course on the other.

Numark, though, said such accusations of misconduct need to be dealt with head-on.

“We need to state clearly and deliberately that these behaviors are unacceptable,” Numark said, emphasizing city leaders need to do so “in the moment.”

The city council has already done that. The fact that Cliff Numark seems determined to pander to the woke, social justice warrior crowd automatically should shut him out of consideration for the mayor's office. The city of Torrance needs strong leadership. We need someone in the mayor's seat who will restore order to the city council meetings and not put up with the abusive, illegal disruptions by hate groups like Black Lives Matter.

He lauded the recently hired police chief, Jeremiah Hart, for his efforts in directly addressing the issues.

“I think it’s extremely clear there has been a rise in hate crime across our communities,” Numark said. “We need to take an extremely hard stance against that.”

Both Numark and Chen said they are against an independent oversight commission, something Black Lives Matter activists have rallied for at nearly every City Council meeting since Mitchell’s death.

Both candidates said various internal committees that are already in place are best left to handle police oversight.

Homelessness

The 2020 Los Angeles County homeless count found a 42% increase in the number people in Torrance without permanent shelter, with 332 counted.

Last year’s count was canceled because of the coronavirus pandemic and data from January’s survey won’t be available until later this year. But homeless officials have said they expect the pandemic worsened the already bleak crisis across the county.

In Torrance, a 40-unit tiny-homes complex, in the Civic Center parking lot, is slated to be completed in June.

But it would provide only a fraction of what’s needed to provide temporary dwellings.

If elected, Numark said, he’d first assess whether that’s the right spot for the Pallet shelters.

“I’m not wild about the location, and it is supposed to be temporary,” Numark said, adding the location might be too close to neighboring homes.

With the shelter’s approval, though, also came an amendment to the city’s anti-camping ordinance, which allows police to cite individuals sleeping or camping on public property. Police can start enforcing the ordinance as soon as June 26, when the project is expected to be finished.

For Chen, those are the first critical steps to addressing homelessness in Torrance, he said.

Anti-camping enforcement, Chen said, would be left up to police, who would first issue a citation before making arrests. There are always, he said, people who will refuse services.

“The way we understand the homeless community,” Chen said, is that “they don’t like to be bothered or bugged by law enforcement.”

So, eventually, the anti-camping enforcement would act as a deterrent and people would leave, he said.

But Numark said tackling homelessness requires outreach, which can be done by expanding volunteer services. In the same way people volunteer to serve meals at food banks, he said, they could — with proper training — do the same to help with the unhoused.

There also needs to be lots of ongoing conversations, Numark said, since the reasons for someone being homeless are complex.

“There are issues associated with housing insecurity,” Numark said. “But there’s also mental illness and substance abuse and other issues.”

Ultimately, Numark said, he’d like to see homelessness handled at the county level, as cities just don’t have access to as many resources, such as social workers and mental health experts.

The county can't handle anything right. The county is so dysfunctional. Once again, Numark is ignoring what is best for the city of Torrance, and wants to work with the same people who have rolled out the same failed policies over and over.

“Torrance is not an island,” Numark said, “and it needs to work collaboratively with the county and other cities to try to solve this issue.”

Both mayoral candidates favored police enforcing the anti-camping ordinance.

But Numark also said officers need to be proactive in working with social workers and demonstrating to people there are better solutions than living on the street.

More hand-outs and services are not going to get people off the streets. Enforcement and interventions are essential to make this effort work.

Cliff Numark is more of the illiberal folly that the current city leadership has imposed on the city. Numark has the backing of the same frail, failed political establishment which got the city into its funding problems in the first place.

The city of Torrance does not need more of the same. We need new leadership, bold initiatives, a willingness to consider better strategies that will bring in more revenue to the city, without demanding more from the taxpayers.

George Chen has already been elected twice to the Torrance City Council in the last four years. He won a city-wide election, and he won a district-wide election. He has connected with many leaders and community activists in the city. He has worked closely with his church and other communities of faith to do good for the city of Torrance.

I also trust him to take a stronger lead in city council meetings and restore order. Weak liberals like Pat Furey and Cliff Numark will capitulate in the face of hate groups like Black Lives Matter because they are so worried about what other people will think of them, instead of doing what is right for the city, for everyone in the city.

Councilman George Chen has remained committed to serving the city of Torrance, while Cliff Numark ran off to a "higher" elected position on the El Camino Community College Board. And now, if he were to get elected to the Torrance Mayor's office, he would be abandoning yet another seat that he was elected to.

Cliff Numark cares about ... Cliff Numark. What's to stop him from seeking another higher office in the next two years? His ambition is more important than the well-being of the city of Torrance.

Torrance residents, Make Your Mark for George Chen for Mayor!

Quittin' Cliff Numark Violated Health Freedom, Imposed Vaccine Mandates

Cliff Numark broke his commitment to the city of Torrance. He ran for city council, then abandoned the seat when he was elected to the El Camino College Board.

Then, on the college board of trustees, he had no problem violating the United States Constitution, the Nuremberg Code, and the common law traditions on which our country was founded.

As a member of the El Camino College Board of Trustees, he supported forcing students to be jabbed to enroll in classes.

Check out this report from the El Camino College Union:

The El Camino College Board of Trustees has approved and adopted a new vaccination mandate for all students and employees.

During the Sept. 7 Board of Trustees (BOT) meeting, El Camino College (ECC) President Brenda Thames along with all other BOT members have discussed questions and concerns about what the vaccine mandate will do to all individuals related to ECC.

And what were his thoughts on it?

Although there are concerns about the future of the college, something that the BOT and President Thames are focusing on is the health and safety of the ECC community.

“This is consistent with what many other colleges are doing and there’s a bottom-line issue, this will save lives. Period. End of story,” Trustee Cliff Numark said.

We don't need another micromanager on the Torrance City Council, one who ignores the research, statistics, and science when it comes to illnesses, vaccines, and health choice.

How many tens of thousands of people have died because of this experimental shot? Why would anyone want to deprive students of the opportunity to earn a degree, to learn a trade simply because they would not take a suspicious shot in the arm to stop an overblown virus?

Quittin' Cliff is wrong for Torrance.

Let's not forget the COVID-19 tyranny that the world, and specifically California, had to endure for the last two years.

Numark would be ready to lock down the entire city if there was a hint of COVID-19 issues, some other disease, or some other "crisis."

Say NO to "Quittin' Cliff."

Quittin' Cliff Numark: Torrance Needs a Mayor Who Will Stay in Office

This year, the voters in the city of Torrance will be selecting a new mayor.

Two candidates have emerged to run for the seat: Cliff Numark and Councilman George Chen.

One would think they both have considerable resumés, since both of them have served as city councilmembers, along with their long-standing reputations of service to the community.

However, there is one crucial, unmistakable difference between the two, and it makes all the difference whether the city residents should elect one or the other.

Consider this when looking all the mayors of Torrance, from the first election that the mayor's seat was elected at large by the voters:

Albert Isen

Ken Miller

Jim Armstrong

Kathy Geisert

Dee Hardison

Dan Walker

Frank Scotto

Patrick Furey

What do all of these mayors have in common?

First, they were all sitting members of the city council when they ran mayor.  Voters in Torrance have wanted mayors with some experience serving on city council.

No one really wants a neophyte for mayor who has to learn on the job. Working with colleagues before the public eye, considering the complexities of the city budget, the different relationships at work with the civil servants in city hall, and the political dynamics throughout the city require considerable knowledge and experience. 

Moreover, the city is facing another set of hard times for the next three to four years, and the last thing that the city of Torrance needs is a mayor-in-training who will take at least a year to get used to the levers of power and responsibility.

To make it very simple, we need a mayor who already has on-the-job experience.

But there's something else to take into account with each of the former and current mayors of Torrance: 

 They all pledged their dedication to the citizens and voters of Torrance. They made it very clear: "Vote for me and I will commit to you for the term of office."   

They all fulfilled that promise. 

Quittin' Cliff Numark

Except for one candidate: Cliff Numark.

Numark was elected to the Torrance city council in 2008 (he was the bottom vote-getter), and then elected to a full term in 2010.

Unlike all the other mayoral candidates and mayors once elected, Cliff Numark did not keep his commitment to the Torrance voters. He resigned in 2013 to serve on the El Camino College Board. He ran for that office and got elected, and then left Torrance in the lurch.

During the Seaside Homeowners Association debate on March 23, 2022, he argued that serving on the El Camino College Board would better serve the city of Torrance. Also, because state law prevented him from serving on two boards, he had to resign his position on the city of Torrance.

That is not an excuse, of course. Numark should have known well enough that running and winning the El Camino College Board seat was going to force him to resign his city council seat. That lack of commitment to the city of Torrance is really disconcerting.

It's been nine years since he served in any government capacity for the city of Torrance, and times have really changed. Sure, he helped other city councilmembers weather the fiscal storms of the Great Recession, but like many of his colleagues then--and as he asserts now--he has no problem raising taxes to restore city revenue. Furthermore, Cliff has shown that he is more ambitious than principled. Instead of considering the needs of the city, he wanted to take advantage of another political opportunity. Most people run for college board so that they can curry favor with labor unions and contractors in order to seek higher office.

Cliff cares about Cliff, and he has no qualms about quitting if it furthers his political pursuits. Torrance has had to deal with this dynamic already (think "Ted Lieu"). Torrance deserves better than another office-seeker looking for the highest bidder.

None of Torrance's eight mayors EVER broke their commitment to the city and its residents. They kept their promise when they ran for city council, and they kept their promise when they served their full term as mayor. None of them quit. They were engaged, they knew what the obligation was, they were active, they gave their time, and they were dedicated when making a promise to be Torrance's mayor.

None of them quit because they didn’t have the time. None of them quit because they wanted to take advantage of other opportunities along the way. For many of them, opportunities did pass by, but they rejected them: excellent job promotions, campaign bids for State Assembly, running for congress corporate jobs etc.  None of the mayors quit.

Actions speak louder than words, and Quittin' Cliff has made his political career more important than the city and its citizens. His yard signs all over the city reasd "Former City Councilmember." That pretty much sums up his experience. He is a "former," and it should stay that way.

FORMER Councilman Quittin' Cliff
is trying to hide his "former" self

Vote for George Chen for Torrance Mayor on June 7th, 2022.