Cerritos City Council Conducts Annual Mayoral Transition
Details
The City of Cerritos officially seated a new Mayor and Mayor Pro Tem during its annual Mayoral Transition on Wednesday, April 8.
The City Council selected Lynda P. Johnson as Mayor, and Mark E. Pulido as Mayor Pro Tem. The selections were preceded by the recognition of outgoing Mayor Frank Aurelio Yokoyama, who will continue his term as Councilmember.
Under Mayor Yokoyama’s leadership, the City of Cerritos has fulfilled several Strategic Plan objectives that support the City’s future. This included working alongside his City Council colleagues, staff, and the community to reduce crime, support economic development, and strengthen the fiscal sustainability of the City.
The City Council’s selection of Johnson as Mayor and Pulido as Mayor Pro Tem came before approximately 450 guests inside the Cerritos Center for the Performing Arts.
A lifelong resident of Cerritos, Mayor Johnson has lived in the City since 1971. She was elected to the Cerritos City Council in April 2022 and served as Mayor Pro Tem from March 2025 to April 2026.
“I am grateful to my City Council colleagues for their selection and for the opportunity to serve as the first Filipina Mayor for my hometown of Cerritos. I grew up here when there were still dairy farms and cows. Looking back, I’m proud to have witnessed our City’s extraordinary progress and now be helping contribute to our high-quality services, amenities, and a strong business climate,” said Johnson. “As we enter the 70th anniversary of our City’s incorporation, I’m excited to work alongside my colleagues, our residents, businesses, and staff in strengthening our service to the community.”
Mayor Pro Tem Mark E. Pulido has been a Cerritos resident since 1973. He is a two-time former Mayor of Cerritos and former President of the ABC Unified School District Board of Education. Mayor Pro Tem Pulido worked nearly three decades in local, state, and federal government, as Assembly Consultant to the California Speaker, State Senate District Director, and most recently as District Chief of Staff to Congressman Alan Lowenthal (Ret.).
The newly reorganized Cerritos City Council includes Mayor Lynda P. Johnson, Mayor Pro Tem Mark E. Pulido, Councilmember Jennifer Hong, Councilmember Sophia M. Tse, and Councilmember Frank Aurelio Yokoyama.
2026-2027 Councilmember Biographies
Lynda P. Johnson
Mayor Lynda P. Johnson was elected to the City Council in April 2022 and served as Mayor Pro Tem from 2025-2026. She has been a resident of Cerritos since 1971. Mayor Johnson served as a Governing Member of the ABC Unified School District Board of Education from 2011 through 2017.
She’s a member of numerous external boards, including the League of California Cities Public Safety Policy Committee, the Southern California Association of Governments Community, Economic, and Human Development Committee, and a Board Member At-Large for the National League of Cities Asian Pacific American Municipal Officials.
A 39-year employee of the County of Los Angeles, Mayor Johnson was a Paralegal with the L.A. County District Attorney’s Office for 20 years. She also served as the Field Deputy to Los Angeles County Sheriff Alex Villanueva from 2021 to 2022. Currently, Mayor Johnson serves as the Special Assistant to Los Angeles County Supervisor Janice Hahn.
Mayor Johnson attended ABC Unified School District schools, including Patricia Nixon Elementary School, Haskell Junior High School, and Artesia High School.
Mark E. Pulido
A Cerritos resident since 1973, Mayor Pro Tem Mark E. Pulido is a two-time former Mayor of Cerritos and former President of the ABC Unified School District Board of Education. Beginning in 2001, he served three terms on the Board of Education, including Board President from 2007-2008. He was first elected to the Cerritos City Council in 2011, and served until 2020. During that period, Councilmember Pulido was re-elected in 2015 and served as Mayor in 2014-2015 and 2018-2019. After sitting out due to term limits, Pulido was elected to the City Council again in 2025.
Mayor Pro Tem Pulido worked nearly three decades in local, state, and federal government, as Assembly Consultant to the California Speaker, State Senate District Director, and most recently as District Chief of Staff to Congressman Alan Lowenthal (Ret.). California Governor Edmund G. Brown Jr. appointed Pulido to serve on the California Volunteers Commission from 2013 to 2017, the Board of Directors of the California Science Center and Exposition Park from 2017 to 2019, and the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum Commission from 2017 to 2019.
Mayor Pro Tem Pulido graduated with honors from Whitney High School in Cerritos, and he and his wife Gloria raised their family in the City.
Jennifer Hong
A Cerritos resident since 1984, Councilmember Jennifer Hong was elected to the City Council in 2025. Councilmember Hong previously served the City as a former Member of the Parks and Recreation Commission, former Chair and Member of the Planning Commission, and former Chair and Member of the Let Freedom Ring Committee.
Councilmember Hong is a businesswoman and entrepreneur, launching a successful garment business in 1990, and she continues to remain active in the global apparel industry. Councilmember Hong’s community involvement also includes a long-term membership with the Women’s Club of Artesia-Cerritos, the 2024-2025 President of the Soroptimist International Club of Artesia-Cerritos, and former Vice Chair of the I-Chinese American Political Action Committee.
Councilmember Hong and her husband, William Palmer, have two adult sons.
Sophia M. Tse
Councilmember Sophia M. Tse was elected to the Cerritos City Council in 2025. A resident of Cerritos since 1983, Councilmember Tse began her elected service career with the ABC Unified School District Board of Education in 2007, and was re-elected four times. During that span, she served three terms as Board of Education President.
Councilmember Tse is a business owner and teaches in the Nursing Program at Compton College. She previously taught at California State University’s Long Beach and Dominguez Hills campuses, the University of California, Los Angeles, and was a long-time employee at St.
Francis Medical Center. Councilmember Tse holds numerous instructor licenses, including Basic Life Support, Advanced Pediatric Life Support, and for the Neonatal Resuscitation Program. Councilmember Tse’s volunteer service includes former President of the Whitney High School Chinese PTA, Member of the Chinese American Elected Officials Organization, and Member of the Asian Pacific Islander School Board Association. At Compton College, she has served on By-Law, Enrollment Management and Academic Senate committees. Additionally, Councilmember Tse has served with the American Red Cross, Soroptimist International Club, and Optimist Club of Cerritos, and has volunteered in Neighborhood Watch and as a community instructor for basic life support and parenting classes.
Councilmember Tse and her husband, Nie Long Tse, are the parents to three children, Susan, Gary, and Gabriel.
Frank Aurelio Yokoyama
Councilmember Frank Aurelio Yokoyama was elected to the Cerritos City Council in 2017 and became Mayor Pro Tem in 2019. He was re-elected to the Cerritos City Council in 2022 and served as Mayor from March 2025 to April 2026.
Councilmember Yokoyama has achieved Level I - Leadership in the League of California Cities Mayors & Council Members Leadership Torch Program. He currently serves as President of the League of California Cities Governance, Transparency, and Labor Relations Policy Committee, and is the Immediate Past President of the National League of Cities Asian Pacific American Municipal Officials. He has served on the Southern California Association of Governments (SCAG) Executive Administration Committee since 2020 and is the SCAG Regional Council District 23 Representative. Additionally, Mayor Yokoyama is a Member of the League of California Cities Asian Pacific Islander Caucus Board and has served on the Rancho Southeast Realtors Fair Housing, Diversity, and Inclusion Committee since 2023.
A Cerritos resident since 1976, Mayor Yokoyama previously served as a Cerritos Planning Commissioner from 2011 to 2013. A graduate from UC Berkeley and Harvard Law School, Mayor Yokoyama is a local businessman, attorney and a youth sports coach. Mayor Yokoyama and his wife, Wendy, are parents to their daughter Makenna and son Maddox.
For More Information
For more information, visit the Cerritos City Council webpage.