Re: “Mayor’s Debts Soar, Says Breeze”
Dateline Hawthorne –– Regarding the Daily Breeze’s stories Sunday and yesterday on Hawthorne Mayor Chris Brown, this is to acknowledge topics neglected by the newspaper during their conversations with the city administration and to correct numerous inaccuracies in the stories by Breeze reporter Sandy Mazza and published by the Los Angeles News Group Editorial Board.
Topics neglected by the Daily Breeze:
1) Hawthorne Boulevard has been revitalized through a beautiful redevelopment allowing for new opportunity and investment in the city, with an official ribbon-cutting expected on April 9. Hawthorne Mall owner Arman Gabay notes, “I am working with City of Hawthorne administration, the City Council, and Mayor Brown. We have come a long way in the past year. I am proud of the partnership we have built and look forward to the progress still to come.” The City of Hawthorne is actively working to leave behind the stigma of its past and leap towards its bright future. The city has established a designated Economic Development Manager tasked with engaging new business activity and sustaining current progress.
2) The City of Hawthorne has a strong financial future. “My collaboration with the Mayor, City Council, and City Manager, has been vital to bringing the City of Hawthorne to our current level of fiscal health and stability,” said Rickey Manbahal, the city’s Finance Director. “Understanding and internalizing their priorities has helped me to establish the most effective protocols for bringing our city to the largest reserve in half a decade.”
3) Transparency is the cornerstone of the City of Hawthorne’s future. Mr. Manbahal, under the recommendation of Mayor Brown, has developed a partnership with OpenGOV to make city financial information readily available to all interested parties via the city website. This partnership will allow for the highest level of financial transparency ever seen in the City of Hawthorne. “The city is utilizing valuable resources to ensure residents are constantly engaged and can access real time financial data.”
Correcting inaccurate information published by the Daily Breeze, this report only addresses the issues relating to the City of Hawthorne.
1) A trip to Washington D.C. was organized to meet with federal lawmakers and other government officials, including HUD, Dept. of Transportation, Congressmember Maxine Waters, and U.S. Sen. Diane Feinstein, but was not planned by Mayor Brown. The trip was organized by Enviro Communications, Inc., retained by the City Council through a 5-0 vote for the purposes of seeking out potential funding opportunities through grants, loans, and other sources available at the federal, state, and regional levels. Under the consultant’s recommendation, coordination with City Manager Michael Goodson, this trip was planned in the hopes of laying the groundwork necessary to secure approximately $12 million in funding for various city housing, infrastructure, and transportation projects in the coming years. These projects include, but are not limited to, redevelopment of the RFK Hospital into a proposed mixed-purpose facility that would encompass disabled veterans’ housing, a skilled nursing home, an assisted living facility, and an integrated medical facility.
2) A two-night $641 stay at the Hyatt the Pike Long Beach from July (inaccurately reported as June) 20-22 was not utilized by Mayor Brown. A former City Hall employee accidently allowed for the charge of the city credit card instead of her own for this stay. Subsequent to learning about the incident, an apology email was received. The city is expecting repayment of expenditure from the aforementioned employee in the near future.
3) The $200 expenditure during a stay in New York City during October 29-31, 2014 was not on sushi, but rather breakfast for three people (City Manager Goodson, Finance Director Manbahal, and Mayor Brown) over the three-day stay. The restaurant just happens to be called “Blue Fin.” They traveled to New York by invitation of Good Energy to discuss a community energy aggregation program that would reduce the cost of electricity for the city, its residents, and business.
4) A work order change allowing for necessary Americans with Disabilities Act compliance updates to the Finance Dept., Business Licensing Dept., and administrative offices, which began on December 2014 and ended in February 2015, was described as a “sneaky remodel of the Mayor’s office.” However, construction lasted approximately two months and was approved through a 5-0 vote of the City Council on March 10, 2015. The change was clearly noted on the front page of the applicable Administrative “staff,” report.
5) The City of Hawthorne did not pay for Hedako Brown’s air flight or hotel stay for 83rd Winter Meeting of the U.S. Conference of Mayors; she did not attend the conference.
6) All travel approved on the City Manager’s credit card was determined to present a clear city purpose and many were approved by the City Council through a unanimous 5-0 vote, such as the International Council of Shopping Centers convention in Las Vegas.
Alexander Gurfinkel, Public Information Officer for the City of Hawthorne, may be contacted at 310.349.2906 or agurfinkel@hawthorneca.gov
