Unkut Council

A quiet battle over who will lead City Hall's plan to address this
year's gang and interracial youth violence ended with Mayor Bill
Bogaard being selected unanimously to preside over an 11-member
committee comprised of community, education and spiritual leaders from
Pasadena and Altadena.
Just as there was competing interest in leading the effort, many
groups, advisory bodies, nonprofits and individuals have asked to be
added to the proposed solution.
"I hear the staff has received offer after offer after offer," Bogaard
said, adding the challenge was to "capture the strength and support"
of those offers without creating an unwieldly, bureaucratic hierarchy.
Stepping into his familiar role as peacemaker, the mayor was favored
by a council majority despite assertions from Councilwoman Jacque
Robinson that she should have that job.
Council members Jacque Robinson, Victor Gordo and Steve Madison will
serve on the Youth Development and Violence Prevention Committee,
along with a member of the Altadena Town Council, a representative of
Los Angeles County Supervisor Michael Antonovich and trustees of
Pasadena Unified and Pasadena City College.
Pastor Jean Burch of Community Bible Church was a last-minute addition
to represent the disparate — and at times divisive — church community.
The committee will study ways "to reduce violence in the short term
and to develop sustainable community-wide policy and infrastructure to
maintain a safe community in the long term," according to a report
prepared by City Manager Cynthia Kurtz.
Madison and Gordo quickly offered to serve on the committee at the
outset of Monday night's debate, and Gordo was first to suggest
Bogaard serve as chair.
Gordo and Robinson have both sought leadership on the issue, with
Robinson pre-empting last week's initial discussion by announcing her
own wide-ranging action plan two days prior.
"I'd like to thank Mr. Madison and Mr. Gordo for volunteering to be on
the committee in the same breath I was going to volunteer to serve on
and chair the committee which originally came from a proposal I made,"
Robinson said Monday.
Several council members said they preferred a focused, specific scope
to a wide-ranging, generic plan, and did not support the freshman
legislator's bid to spearhead the effort.
"I'm looking for specifics," said Councilman Sid Tyler. "Can we not
state the purpose and objectives of this committee much more
precisely?"
Robinson countered the plan should remain "broad based" and wanted to
establish eight separate working groups to pursue goals in different
areas.
Participating by telephone from Washington D.C., she was at a
communications disadvantage and frequently difficult to hear and
understand during portions of the meeting.
Bogaard subtly brought debate over the committee's leadership to a
close by expressing his willingness to serve as its chair and
recounting a conversation with Robinson from earlier Monday.
"One question was I willing to serve, and my answer was of course I'd
be willing to serve," he said. "I was prepared to serve if there was
substantial council support for me to do so, and I read the motion
made and subsequent discussion to mean so."
The committee will sunset in six months after its first meeting in
early October, and will report back at least once a month.
Among the group's charges:
* Offer a clearer explanation of the causes to recent gang and
interracial violence.
* Build a map of existing services and programs offered by the city,
private agencies and the myriad nonprofits to limit redundancy and
identify holes in that grid.
* Hold community forums to discuss available services and seek input.
Reducing violence in the short-term — one of the group's stated goals
— could find support from nothing more dramatic than cooling
temperatures, the end of summer and reopening of the public schools.

[TAG1]todd.ruiz@sgvn.com
(626) 578-6300, Ext. 4444
www.insidesocal.com/pasadenapolitics