Councilmember Tyron Hampton Hosts Upbeat District One Block Party

Pasadena District 1 Councilmember Tyron Hampton hosted a Community Pancake Breakfast Block Party on Saturday at Brookside Golf Club, with district residents and neighbors enjoying the company of city and school officials, civic groups and each other in a shady outdoor patio.

Hampton himself shook hands with the residents and spoke to gathering before turning the microphone over to other officials.

From 8 to 11 a.m., Hampton provided an opportunity for the residents to meet staff and representatives from a number of City departments, including the Pasadena Fire and Police Department, Community Development, Public Works and the Citizen Service Center, Human Services and Recreation, Housing and Career Services, PUSD and Independent schools, businesses and other entities of interest in or near the Council District.

In a message during the Saturday event, Hampton said the block party was one way of celebrating some of the great things accomplished in District 1, including having a beautiful community and a lower crime rate.

“We’ve had the lowest crime stats in the City of Pasadena and that’s fantastic,” Hampton said. “Some of our challenges [are] actually just making sure that … there is a better connection between our law enforcement officers and the community. Some of our other challenges have been bulky item pickups, and we’ve been working on those things; it went from about a week turn around to pick up a mattress that has been abandoned by maybe one of your neighbors, and now we have a cruise team on staff that’s picking up things within 48 hours. So I have to applaud our city staff; they’re doing a phenomenal job in the first District and residents see it and they feel it.”

City Manager Steve Mermell was also on hand to greet the morning the residents.

“About twice a month, we walk around the neighborhood … of the district,” Mermell said. “If you see us out there, we’d like you to come out and join us. It’s a great way to see what’s going on. We take notes of problems in the area, we hear directly from the residents what your concerns are and we try to respond to those just as quick as we can.”

Pasadena Mayor Terry Tornek told the crowd how he has been inspired to join the event and do more walking than he had been used to.

“I made a big deal about the fact that I walked every street in the city …  when I was campaigning,” Tornek recalls. “But [Councilmember Hampton] really sets the bar very high… I feel like when I’m walking, I’m kind of lugging along, and then I watched him with his track shoes rushing around the neighborhood, and I said to myself, ‘there’s a guy that can really walk.’ So I had started actually walking again around the city. Don’t be surprised if in addition to Councilmember Hampton’s knocking on your door, you may find me.”