Guest Opinion | Brandon Lamar: Disappointed in Decision

I’m disappointed. 

Not just because I wasn’t appointed to the District 3 council seat last Thursday night. I definitely wanted that to happen just as much as I wanted it when I campaigned in my district for 10 months. I was disappointed when I didn’t win the election in June too, but I understood the voter’s choice. Mr. Kennedy was a champion for his community with a career of caring for them. I was asked last night why I thought I had to run against him and I wish I’d been more clear:

I didn’t run against him. I ran in addition to him because it takes active learning and legwork to get to know people’s issues from the inside out. You have to take the time to see them and hear them in person in order to represent them. Mr. Kennedy did that over his whole career and it was time for me to start that legwork if I wanted to ask to represent them. Maybe not this year, but eventually. Those relationships started with me knocking, and them answering the door.

I’m disappointed in last Thursday’s decision by the Council because they ignored the value of those relationships. Every one of the 300 nomination signatures or the 89 people who wrote letters of support or the 12 who called in are people who have met me or know me and believed I was the right person to sit in their place within a circle of governance. And they were dismissed and their voices were removed. 

I heard the Councilmember’s rationale for choosing Mr. Jones and I have thoughts. 

First of all, I want to say that Mr. Jones is a great person whom I had the great privilege to work alongside on the Human Relations Commission for many years. I would have enjoyed sitting next to in debates and panels on the campaign trail. I congratulate him for his choice to step into the public and ask for this appointment. 

What I also heard was that his professional skill set and focus were more complementary to the council’s mix. To be clear, I have a skill set too, which I believe is very valuable. Activism and social services are often seen as tools for challenging or fixing a system, not working within it. To me, activism is a new normal for this new generation. They turned to activism because the system isn’t working for them. Please let me remind you that through activism, the creation of Pasadena’s Civilian Police Oversight Commission was birthed. Also, affordable housing can be built on unused religious land. I would say that in my experience working with grassroots organizations and population groups that are hurting, they also feel left out by the system. So, they’re disenfranchised and don’t participate, and once again we’ve all witnessed why.

Last night, I heard that validated. By not taking their voices, their vote into consideration, the system of local governance said, thank you for your time, but we’ll do what we want anyway. We can’t complain about low voter turnout or lack of engagement if we dismiss the people who show up. We also can’t tell people that there is only one way to be valuable and that is to have made all the right career choices to have the resume and vocabulary that legitimizes you.

I am disappointed in myself too. I know I could have been better prepared to answer some of your questions. Voted in more elections. Expressed my point of view better. I don’t have an excuse except I believe I learn every day and take what I learn into the next day. And like you all, I am busy being the person I am outside of city council meetings. I showed up to work today, joined conference calls, in-person meetings, and had to answer to my community who felt disappointed in last Thursday’s decision to vote in a candidate they did not ask for. 

I would like to say that I feel my job isn’t done. There is much more to do to support my district, its residents, businesses, and organizations. I may be off the campaign and appointment trail for now, but I’m not done representing people who feel they aren’t heard or seen for all that they offer to this great city. I will continue to empower and engage the people’s voices while encouraging them to continue to share their concerns and vote.