By Brett Callwood
There are still votes to be counted, but at press time Mayor Pro Tem Mark Henderson and Council Member Paulette Francis looked well on their way to hold onto their seats on the City Council.
As of Sunday, March 9, Henderson had earned 4,126 votes which is 32.45 percent. Francis had 3,397 votes, which is 26.72 percent. Of the two challengers, Anthony Dixon fared best with 2,958 (23.26 percent). At this stage, the 439 gap between Francis and Dixon looks huge.
Finally, Aimee Midori Yanmada earned 2,234 votes (17.57 percent).
“I look back on the last year as a time of celebration, triumph, and growth,” Henderson told the GVN in the buildup to the election. “We have been able to deploy Wi-Fi into our parks and create a computer lab for community use. This is Gardena proactively working to bridge the digital divide. We have been able to raze some blighted properties. We secured the site to develop a community center and we have begun work on our aquatic center.”
Henderson said that Gardena residents should vote for him because, “During my most recent campaign I vowed to work to ‘Move Gardena Forward.’ I believe with the community’s support I have been able to achieve that. An example of that was the development of a ‘Budget in Brief’ document that has been a useful tool to understand our budget and budgeting process. We have moved forward with the use of technology in our City Clerk’s Office. We have identified a process to begin removing blighted properties. We have opened a number of new businesses. We developed a strategic homelessness plan and support our own mental health evaluation team. These are a few examples of me putting words to action.”
Meanwhile, Francis cited her biggest achievements as, “working with state legislators during the COVID 19 epidemic to ensure Gardena residents access to medical supplies, mortgage and rental protections, food and other necessities. Also I am pleased to be in to hold city administrators accountable to improving the quality of life for Gardena residents.”
Looking ahead, Francis hopes to, “make life easier for more Gardena residents. Easier access to quality low cost healthcare, affordable housing, life sustaining employment, after school tutoring and greater governmental accountability to the people of Gardena. I will continue to work with our state and county legislators and colleagues to pass public policies and allocate the funding to make these goals a reality.”
