Second in a series
Re “Why Would a Mayor Want to Become the Next City Clerk?”
[img]2877|right|Jim Dear||no_popup[/img]Jim Dear did not flinch when an old Gardena High School classmate, who is black, asked him why he, as a white man, would run against the first black city clerk in the history of the city of Carson next March.
“Look, I have been mayor for over a decade,” Mr. Dear told the newspaper. “There are a lot of problems in the city clerk’s office in the city of Carson.
“I am highly qualified and prepared to bring a much better professional environment to the clerk’s office.”
The election is a bigger deal than it may appear at a glance because the office rarely changes hands.
In the 46 years since Carson was incorporated, there only have been two elected city clerks, Mr. Dear noted. “The first city clerk served for several years,” he said, starting in 1968. “She was white. The second was Asian.”
The second electee was one Helen Kawakoe. She held the office for 37½ years, until being felled by stroke.
This, according to the mayor, was where the drama began.
“Helen is endorsing me to be the third elected city clerk,” Mr. Dear said. “The lady who is in there now (Doneshia Gause) was appointed.” He emphasized the verb. He repeated “appointed, not elected.”
Further, said the mayor, “the lady who is in there right now claimed she had a bachelor’s degree. Turned out, she didn’t have a bachelor’s degree.
“When Helen Kawakoe had a stroke, about a year ago, this lady (whom he consistently declined to call by name) had just run for City Council in Gardena, a different city. She was not living in Carson when Helen Kawakoe had her stroke.”
Tomorrow, Mr. Dear will explain how Ms. Gause came to the job, in his view.
(To be continued)
