Last week, the Mayor gave his annual State of the City address and I can proudly say that things are moving forward in the City of Torrance!

You may recall that one of the issues I campaigned on during my re-election last year was bringing technology businesses to Torrance. While I'm working on many different ways to accomplish this goal, I've come to realize that perhaps the most effective way to do this is to revitalize Old Torrance.

At the City Council meeting this week, something exciting happened: the Council unanimously authorized staff to issue a Request for Proposal to hire a consultant to revitalize Old Torrance. In layman’s terms, this is the first step in a process to realize the potential that our downtown area offers by redeveloping it, something last attempted nearly 40 years ago.

Last night at City Council, I was witness to something amazing: 7 year old Drake, who has an inoperable cancerous brain tumor, was sworn in as a Torrance police officer, following in the footsteps of his father, a Torrance police sergeant. The entire City Council, dozens of community members, and more than 50 Torrance police officers were on hand to congratulate Drake as he fulfilled his dream.

One of the most frequent complaints I receive in my email inbox is that of leaf blowers. In fact, the City of Redondo Beach just voted to ban them a few weeks ago.

To address this issue in Torrance, our Environmental Quality and Energy Conservation has been tasked with looking at leaf blower regulations. Of course, like all things we do, outreach to the community is an important part of that. That's where you come in. 

In case you missed it, I was sworn in for my second term on the City Council at Tuesday night’s meeting (click here to see the final election results). I want to thank you again for your support throughout my re-election. During my comments I expressed that I now find myself in the unusual position of still being the youngest member of the Council, but now also the most senior Councilmember. As such, I renewed my commitment to the City, its residents, the newly elected Councilmembers in helping them to acclimate to their duties, and to the Council as a whole in bringing people together to move the City forward.

After a very long election season, I’m proud to report that I was re-elected to the Torrance City Council last night, while receiving the highest number of votes! I’m truly humbled by the support I garnered from every corner of the community and I sincerely appreciate the voters and volunteers who believe in me enough to have made this happen.

Today, I had the pleasure of attending a groundbreaking event (literally) for Torrance with Governor Brown and other regional elected officials - the kick-off of our long planned transit center located at 208th and Crenshaw! This new transit center will be a hub for the region and provide bus and light rail service, reducing congestion on our crowded streets.

9-1-1 has revolutionized emergency services and saved countless lives. But, let’s face it- there are certain emergency situations that preclude someone from calling 911. One could also be  hearing or speech impaired or in an area with spotty cell phone coverage.

For times like these, Los Angeles County now accepts text messages to 9-1-1. This new system could literally save lives, so I thought you should be aware of it. Here are some guidelines:

Torrance may be changing from at-large to district elections. Currently, our elections are held at-large, which means that all six Councilmembers and the Mayor are elected to their posts by every voter in Torrance. If changed, Torrance would move to district elections where the City is split into geographic areas and there is one Councilmember elected by only the people of that area to represent that section of the City. The Mayor would still be elected at-large.