Public Safety Chair Kennedy Steps Down

Councilman John Kennedy told Pasadena Now on Friday that has stepped down as chair of the City Council’s Public Safety Committee (PSC).

Kennedy formally resigned on Nov. 23 in a letter to Mayor-elect Victor Gordo that read, “I am immediately retiring from the Chair position of the Public Safety Committee.”

As of now, Kennedy remains on the committee. Vice Mayor Tyron Hampton, Steve Madison, and outgoing Mayor Terry Tornek also sit on the committee. 

Kennedy has chaired the Public Safety Committee since former Councilwoman Jacque Robinson resigned her seat on the council following an unsuccessful mayoral run. 

The committee is most likely going to be reorganized after  Gordo is sworn in on Dec. 7. 

In the Nov. 3 election, Gordo defeated Tornek, who also sits on the committee which leaves one empty seat on the committee.

Kennedy attempted to step down from the Public Safety Committee after Tornek was elected mayor in 2015, but Tornek convinced him to remain on the committee and serve as chair. 

“That was five years ago, so I felt it was time for me to do something different,”   

Kennedy led the charge for a civilian police oversight commission. Local residents have called for oversight since the officer-involved death of local barber Michael Bryant in 1992.

Several details of the commission are still being worked out. 

Kennedy will continue to serve on the council’s Finance Committee.

Kennedy said the PSC’s work continues to be important. 

“The issues are real,” Kennedy said. “They touched the lives of individuals in the community and the community as a collective. And so you want people who have an objectivity to their responses, and how they look at issues. 

“You want to have people who really take this work seriously and are passionate. And I would say that since I’ve served as chair, I’ve had the good fortune of serving with individuals who, in fact, have that passion and particular experiences that make the Public Safety Committee an extremely important committee for our community,” he said. 

Being on the PSC, Kennedy said, “allows them to use their respective experiences, professional knowledge, and personal knowledge, to really deal with some of the more difficult issues related to public safety in our community.”