Posted by mdEUCE on 12/7/09 at 04:37 PM
BLOG: What’s happening in Compton City Hall? (Dec. 8)
Emily Henry | 12-4-2009 | Comments |
[Updated] The Compton City Council meeting was canceled this week due to lack of quorum. But there is still plenty to talk about from last week's meeting... The Compton Bulletin has a story about Mayor Eric J. Perrodin's apparent anger toward newspaper readers in his council chambers. Joyce Kelly, a Compton resident who unsuccessfully ran against Perrodin in the last election, was told to leave the room after the Mayor voiced his distaste, the Bulletin reports:“If you don't mind, in my courtroom you can't read no newspapers, so in council chambers, no reading the newspapers in the council chambers,” he said, appearing to direct his comment to Kelly, the only person who visibly had a newspaper.
Kelly was then asked to leave when she folded her newspaper in a manner that apparently offended Perrodin. [End of Update]
A slew of recent incidents inside the city council chambers has the Hub City Livin forum a-buzz with conversation about first amendment rights. On Tuesday, two members of the public - William Kemp and Roudolfo Ruval - were kicked out of the Compton city council meeting by Mayor Eric J. Perrodin. Here's an account of why from Bulletin editor Allison Jean Eaton:
William Kemp was the first to go during the mayor's council comments. Kemp was given a warning about using proper names during his Urban Community Development Commission comments, during which he noted that the city had loaned one of the mayor's campaign contributors nearly $3 million, half of which stands to be forgiven (will not have to be paid back). Kemp used this person's name (Danny Bakewell), which the mayor said is not allowed. The new rules of decorum (likely illegally) preclude anyone from addressing those on the dais by their names (a speaker cannot address the mayor as Mayor Perrodin, only "mayor"), but it does not address speaking about contractors or people/organizations the city does business with and using their actual names, which is what the mayor penalized Kemp for.
Kemp was later banned from the next council meeting, according to Eaton, after responding to the mayor's insinuation that he intends to run against Councilwoman Calhoun in the next municipal election. Eaton writes on the Hub City Livin forum: "Kemp, from his seat in the audience, said 'never.' The mayor then kicked him out of the meeting, even though the warning he had given Kemp did not apply to his speaking out of turn from the audience--meaning Kemp was not given a chance to cease and desist the behavior."
Ruval was ejected from the meeting for allegedly questioning the income received by the mayor and council members for attending the weekly meetings at City Hall. This report is not confirmed, Eaton reminds us in her post.
These types of incidents are not unusual, according to other members of the forum. In fact, the mayor seems to be gaining more courage in throwing out Compton residents during the city council meetings. There is some talk of picketing the next council meeting, coming up on Tuesday, December 8th. We'll be sending a reporter to the meeting and pursuing interviews with the mayor and council members about this recent activity.
For more Compton news, check out Intersections: the South Los Angeles Report. Most recently, we covered the water conservation ordinance passed by the Compton city council.
Do you have something to add to this account of the December 8th council meeting? If you are a regular attendee of the council meetings and would like to give us your input, recommend a source, or contribute your own version of recent events, please comment or email us at southla@usc.edu.
Tags: blog city hall compton council mayor perrodin what's happening in compton city hall
