Citizen About Town

By Nancy C. Arcuri, Editor and Publisher

Email: nancyarcuri@thecitizensvoice.net

In May 1986 my husband, Frank Arcuri, began publishing this newspaper. He reminded the sitting Monterey Park Councilmembers that they did not listen to the residents, who asked for English to be added to the business signs in Downtown so everyone could be included in our city.

The Council majority Lily Lee Chen, Monty Manibog, Rudy Peralta and David Almada rejected the residents’ request.

Councilmember Cam Briglio supported their request.

Monterey Park is now are facing a new discriminatory issue from the Southwest Voter Registration Education Project based in Texas and their attorneys, Shenkman & Hughes based in Malibu. They have forced us to redistrict our city based on the California Voting Rights Act of 2001 to enable more Hispanics to be elected into office or be sued.

Our city has spent $50,000 to have consultants draw up maps and review the 20 plus maps submitted to Council from the residents for an approved map that meets the guidelines based on the 2010 Census that includes all of the residents in our city.

The map must not divide up the Hispanic neighborhoods located in the south end of town.

On May 1st, we have spent another $69,459 on the Redistricting issue.

On April 17th the Council selected and voted for Map 4 for our 2019 Districting Map for our 2020 Council Election.

Talk about unexpected and disagreeable consequences.

This issue has divided up our Councilmembers and our residents.

Councilmember Hans Liang who is termed out in 2022 and Councilmember Mitch Ing who will have served four years in 2020 are located in District 1.

Councilmember Stephen Lam who will have served four year in 2020 is located in District 2.

District 3 and District 4 do not have sitting Councilmembers in their districts.

The consultants have said that most of the Hispanics live in our south side of town. The Voting Rights Act is being used to promote this ethnic group to have a better chance to be elected into political office in California.

Councilmember Peter Chan who is termed out in 2022 and Councilmember Teresa Real Sebastian who will have served four years in 2020 are located in District 5.

Peter Chan, Hans Liang and Stephen Lam voted to sequence the 2020 elections to Districts 2, 3 and 4 since our 2020 Council election will have three open Council seats.

The 2022 Council election will have two open seats.

Mitch Ing and Teresa Real Sebastian left the dais and did not vote on this sequence.

Since the city must honor this law voters in Districts 1 and 5 will not have a Councilmember to vote for in the 2020 election. Which will deny many voters the right to vote in that election.

On May 1st at the second reading of this map and the sequence of election dates the city is now required to have. Peter Chan, Hans Liang and Stephen Lam voted yes. Mitch Ing and Teresa Real Sebastian voted no.

Supporters of Mitch Ing and Teresa Real Sebastian yelled at City Attorney Mark Hensley, City Manager Ron Bow, Mayor Peter Chan, Mayor Pro Tem Hans Liang and Councilmember Stephen Lam.

They said that the election was stolen from Mitch Ing and Teresa Real Sebastian because of the sequence of the election dates.

I guess they did not understand the new law required each district must have a Councilmember.

The City Council decided it was better to change our Voting at Large to Voting by Districts to prevent our city from being sued.

We all need to remind our elected official in Sacramento that the California Voting Rights Act is a discriminatory law that needs to be amended to protect the voting rights of all California citizens.

Now we are forced to vote by district. We have lost our right to vote for the best candidates for our hometown.

In 2013 our sitting Council decided to asked the voters if they wanted Term Limits. Ordinance No. 2096 became law so all elected officials were only allowed to serve two consecutive terms.

I did not vote for this law as I always determined which candidates I wanted to serve our hometown at the ballot box.

However two sitting Councilmembers, Mitch Ing and Teresa Real Sebastian, were allowed to start the clock in 2013 so they are now able to serve more then two terms based on our flawed law.

Now based on this new law requiring Monterey Park to Vote by Districts they will have to sit out two years before the can run again in 2022 or move into Districts 3 and 4.

Most of our voting population is very troubled that this racist organization has pitted one ethnic group against other ethnic groups in California.

I strongly suggest that this Council place a new ballot measure on the November 2019 ballot asking the voters if they want to over turn Ordinance No. 2096 called Term Limits.

Since we, the voters did not get to vote on this Redistricting law we should be able to determine if we still want term limits.

After the 2020 Census report we will have to play this game all over again.

We all need to remind all of the elected officials in Sacramento that they work for us, the tax paying voters.

Please complain to all of the elected officials in Sacramento that they need to amend the California Voting Rights Act of 2001 to protect all of the residents in California.

Remember the famous saying “History does repeat itself but we never seen to learn from our mistakes”.

I want to thank all of my readers and my writers for they many years of support