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After Questions Arise, Council Opts to Hear From Five Community Based Applicants for Police Oversight Body

Council to vote on nominees at Monday’s meeting

Published on Tuesday, April 20, 2021 | 5:15 am
 
Florence Annang (at left above) and Juliana Serrano (at right above) were recommended to the City Council to sit on the Police Oversight Committee by the Public Safety Committee.

The City Council on Monday tabled a vote to send three  applicants from local organizations to the police oversight commission after questions arose about a local organization.

Last week, the Public Safety Committee approved Julianna Serrano of All Saints Church and Florence Annang of the NAACP and recommended the full City Council choose the final commissioner from three equally strong candidates, Mikala Rahn of Learning Works, Patrice Marshall McKenzie of Alpha Kappa Alpha, and Alexis Abernathy. who represents the Pasadena-Altadena Chapter of the Links.

But during Monday’s Council session, Councilmember Tyron Hampton pointed out that Serrano and Annang both sit on the executive board of Pasadenans Organizing for Progress! (known as POP!)

In email, POP! and the NAACP called on the Public Safety Committee to support both applicants.   

 

Hampton questioned receiving identical letters from both organizations.

Hampton called on the council to hear from the remaining five applicants that applied for the commission.

“We need to look at every one of them that applied,” Hampton said. 

Councilmember Gene Masuda said the identical letters were also a problem for him and said he also wanted to hear from all five candidates before making a decision.

Hampton and Masuda were joined by fellow Councilmembers Felicia Williams and Andy Wilson, which would have resulted in a 4-4 split had the council taken a vote.

The five candidates will come back, possibly at a special meeting, to do short presentations in front of the City Council. 

Councilmember Steve Madison who pushed for a vote on Serrano and Ananng decried the decision not to confirm the two applicants.

“At the end of the day we unanimously recommended two applicants, the only Latina and an equally strong African American applicant,” Madison said. “I think it does a disservice to the NAACP and All Saints, which vouched for the leadership of both applicants.”

Despite three meetings, two by the Public Safety Committee and one by the City Council on Monday, elected officials have been unable to narrow the field to three candidates.  

Last Wednesday, the committee unanimously selected two applicants, Serrano and Annang from a field of five, but could not agree on a third.


A week prior, the committee took no vote and instead voted to hear from the 13 candidates via Zoom.  

The council always reserved the right to reject all three candidates and return to the list of the original 13 community organization candidates.

The mayor and the seven councilmembers were scheduled to  reveal their eight individual choices to sit on the 11-member commission. 

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