Guest Opinion | Boualem Bousseloub: Vote for Pragmatism and Optimism Over Cynicism

Our local elections have, for the most part, been blissfully immune from the increasingly negative tenor of national political discourse. Cynical messaging intended to inflame rather than inform hasn’t infected small-city Pasadena. 

Until now. As we thankfully reach the final stretch of the 2020 election season, residents and city staff have expressed dismay at the degree of noxious politics and massive outside spending that we’re now seeing in a local campaign. 

While Mayor Terry Tornek has focused his campaign on pragmatism and optimism, outlining clear goals for the future, his opponent has unfortunately decided that cynical, misleading attack politics are neither beneath him nor Pasadena. I  believe he’s mistaken about the latter. 

Victor Gordo has raised over three-quarters of a million dollars, 44% of which is from large PAC contributions, most not even based here in Pasadena. That’s more than twice what the mayor has raised (just 2% of which is from PACs, such as the environmental group L.A. League of Conservation Voters; most of his are small contributions from Pasadena residents). 

As of mid-October, Gordo’s campaign had already spent well over half a million dollars: $611,137 according to his campaign’s reporting. All on a Pasadena mayoral race. And a smear campaign. 

Cynicism seems to fuel the primary argument Gordo keeps trying to throw at the mayor: that he was supposedly “missing  in action” at the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic due to a “junket.” It’s an odd claim to run on, not only because it ranges from grossly misleading to false, but because it’s an obvious non-issue. 

As we all know, our city government carried on without a hitch during the handful of days Mayor Tornek, Councilmember  John Kennedy, and the rest of the multicultural Pasadena delegation were on our City’s long-planned diplomatic mission to complete the bilateral commitment to our very first African Sister City: Dakar-Plateau, Senegal. (Gordo knows this was  no “junket”; it cost the City nothing.) 

This historic event meant a great deal to many Pasadenans. Particularly Pasadenans of color. To belittle it as Gordo and his spokespeople have is disrespectful to all of us who worked incredibly hard to bring it to fruition, and to all who cared about the importance of this cultural and economic exchange. 

Despite implications to the contrary, we all agreed it was best to go forward with the mission. The trip was bound by the tradition of international reciprocity for diplomatic visits. If our delegation had not tried, as we now know, it could be another year or two’s delay. It was the right decision, and greatly appreciated by our hosts. 

From our Sister City in Senegal, the mayor continued to monitor the progress of Covid-19 back home. While he was  unable to attend just one meeting (the only meeting he’s ever missed in five years), he knew it wouldn’t be a problem for  two clear reasons: 

As City Manager Steve Mermell confirmed during that special meeting, Tornek had been in touch with him “throughout  this unfolding crisis.” And Tornek had placed the meeting in the capable hands of Vice Mayor Tyrone Hampton. 

The argument Mr. Gordo and his vocal donors like Ralph Frammolino and Bill Paparian seem to be making is that they lacked confidence in Vice Mayor Hampton’s ability to lead that one meeting and that the City somehow suffered,  because it was Hampton, not Tornek, who ran it. 

Like the mayor and other members of City Council and staff, I respectfully yet firmly disagree. 

Mayor Tornek had complete confidence in Vice Mayor Hampton, and the meeting in fact went smoothly, without issue.  All motions ultimately passed unanimously.

Thus, Gordo’s smear is an utter non-issue. If Gordo really felt it was a problem then, he probably would have said as much at that meeting, rather than wait until late in his campaign. It’s a sadly cynical distraction littering our mailboxes. (It also  leads us to wonder if Gordo and Paparian recognize the irony in criticizing the mayor’s “moral character” on Gordo’s own  grossly deceptive flyer.) 

In truth, it’s largely thanks to Mayor Tornek’s pragmatism and foresight that we avoided dangerous budget cuts, and had the needed funds at the ready to cover emergency programs for things like food insecurity, rental assistance, small  business subsidies, an emergency medical facility, additional housing for the homeless, an anti-eviction moratorium for businesses and renters, and other responses that have helped us weather this storm better than many cities. 

In an attempt to revive discredited attacks, Mr. Frammolino recently tried to defend Mr. Gordo’s smear campaign. But  certainly, he’s aware that sending flyers to voters falsely indicating the mayor went on a pleasure trip to Portugal at that time (which Gordo, Frammolino, and Paparian all know never actually happened) is dirty politics, plain and simple. (It  would also be courteous if Mr. Frammolino would learn how to spell my name when trying to use me in his hit piece.) 

Gordo and Co. knew the only way these attacks could work is if they presume voters don’t know the truth. Which is not respectful of our intelligence or decency. It is in this way that they are depressingly cynical. 

This is how Gordo has chosen to campaign. He spent much of the past year also trying to smear the mayor over the City’s decision to leave the San Gabriel Valley Council of Governments (SGVCOG), by misleadingly claiming the mayor somehow  “took us out,” and that it was a bad choice. 

Again, it seems Gordo has cynically gambled that voters aren’t informed enough to know that such a decision required a  majority vote of the City Council, or that one of the reasons the majority so voted was that SGVCOG had supported the  710 tunnel under Pasadena, which residents and the mayor fiercely opposed. 

Mayor Tornek and the majority of the City Council felt it was no longer prudent for us to pay expensive dues to an organization that had become more of a public works project construction organization that was no longer serving our best interests. The Arroyo Verdugo Communities Joint Powers Authority has better suited us. 

Unlike the mayor, who’d attended every SGVCOG meeting over eight years, Gordo never went to one. When asked if anyone would like to start, Gordo silently declined. What Gordo also fails to mention on the campaign trail is that he voted only to remain in SGVCOG “for the short-term,” even though “continue the current membership” was one of the options, per the agenda and minutes. 

Gordo is right that it’s important to study things carefully. It’s an all-too-uncommon goal that I admire. 

Though there comes a point when delay and indecisiveness are less helpful. Just as it’s not helpful to make all sides believe you support their views, even when those views are diametrically opposed. It may help get votes, but it’s not as useful in leadership. 

In contrast, Tornek famously tells it exactly like it is. He puts in the time to study everything thoroughly. He weighs. And he’s decisive. He neither sugarcoats nor panders. Some call that brusque. But a born pragmatist and optimist, he’s just  honest, and refuses to be cynical. 

It is strange that Bill Bogaard is suddenly arguing that a Mayor shouldn’t put in considerable extra time, given that he himself was as much a “full-time” mayor as Tornek. I believe we benefitted from the significant time Mr. Bogaard devoted to his work for the City, just as we benefit from Tornek’s. Particularly in the midst of a crisis that will last for some time. 

Tornek cares about protecting the small-town, historic nature of our special city. That’s why he created the Historic  District ordinances that allow us to protect landmark neighborhoods from overdevelopment, and will keep fighting the  State’s attempts to override our zoning code as if a cookie-cutter had shaped every city. He’ll also keep working to help solve the affordable housing crisis, in thoughtful ways that Pasadenans approved during the General Plan process. 

Tornek cares about the safety of all residents. That’s why he and other Councilmembers acted quickly this summer to improve police oversight, despite Gordo advocating more delay. Tornek knew it was the start, not the end, of the work.

Tornek cares about supporting our public schools, which his kids and grandkids attended and his family members have taught. 

Tornek cares about safeguarding the environment, and his dedication to this vital goal is why he was enthusiastically endorsed by both the Sierra Club and the L.A. League of Conservation Voters. 

Tornek listens to all viewpoints and knows how to make things happen, which is why he was endorsed by our Democratic  State Senator Anthony Portantino, Democratic U.S. Representative Judy Chu, and Republican L.A. County Supervisor  Kathryn Barger, among many others. 

Tornek is not using the mayor’s office as a political stepping stone. He’s using it to serve, protect, and improve the City. 

We’ve all seen this in action regularly, whether he’s spearheading efforts to enhance the Arroyo Seco, or representing  Pasadena in our first African Sister City. 

During these unprecedented times of uncertainty and upheaval, we benefit from his steady hand, his integrity, and his love for our wonderful city and all its people. 

I believe it’s always worth paying attention to how a candidate campaigns because this often tells us who they’ll be in office. 

Hopefully, voters will not reward his opponent’s unprecedentedly expensive, negative and deceptive style of campaigning,  or it will only be the beginning of what we’ll endure during every local election here in Pasadena. 

Let us vote for pragmatism and optimism over cynicism. 

Boualem Bousseloub serves on the Pasadena Sister Cities Committee and is the chair of the Senegal Committee. He’s a  former United Nations Consultant with extensive multidisciplinary government experience in France, Algeria and  California. He’s also an author.