First in a series
[img]3012|right|Mayor Chris Brown||no_popup[/img]Last Saturday was supposed to have been exclusively new state Assemblymember Mike Gipson’s day at Cal State Dominguez Hills.
It should have stayed that way in the opinion of the largely black audience, estimated variously at 600 to 1,000 persons.
What severely vexed Hawthorne Mayor Chris Brown and numerous others in the crowd was a remark by Jim Dear.
For three minutes, the tensions were so nerve-wracking that Mr. Brown instantly mounted the stage and had words with Mr. Dear.
There was not – as some had hoped and others had feared – any physical exchange between the two mayors.
Carson’s mayor is strongly outgoing. But will he be outgoing after the fired-up March 3 election – for Carson city clerk? Or back in the same His Honor’s position he has held since 2001, a space odyssey in the opinion of some of his critics.
The sore subject of a well-known mayor running for a relatively obscure position rose like a monster out of the sea on Saturday at the swearing-in ceremony of Mr. Gipson.
A Carson City Councilman for the last 10 years, Mr. Gipson’s name was intended to be alone in the spotlight.
When Mr. Dear was introduced three-quarters of the way through the program, the Carson mayor acted “disrespectfully toward African Americans” in the strongly held opinions of Mr. Brown and many others.
Mr. Brown this morning narrated what led up to a fireworks cloudburst.
“Dear started out talking about his relationship with Mike Gipson over the years, how it has been different,” Mr. Brown said. “He mentioned how they are both professionals.
“Then Dear did the most unprofessional thing. At this ceremony for Mike Gipson, he turned around and began campaigning for city clerk in front of a thousand people.
“He said ‘I am running for city clerk,’ and this and that. His opponent, Donesia Gause, was sitting right there. He was campaigning,” Mr. Brown said, disbelievingly. “This was so disrespectful.
“People in the audience started talking.”
When Mr. Brown protested, Mr. Dear, he said, “called me a heckler.”
Mr. Brown was not going to accept that.
“I kindly went up on the stage,” said the Hawthorne mayor.
For a moment, the scene was breathtaking.
(To be continued)
