From the Mayor's Desk: May 2, 2025

The City of Cerritos has a long history of achieving progress through partnerships within our City and beyond. The City Council takes pride in developing strong relationships with our residents, local businesses, and our elected leaders at the county, state, and national levels. These partnerships help to advance the mission of our City and open up new opportunities for engagement among our community members. 

On April 21, the City welcomed U.S. Representative Derek Tran to our Library’s beautiful Skyline Room for his first town hall event. Congressman Tran represents California’s 45th Congressional District, which includes the City of Cerritos. More than 80 guests attended the event to learn about Social Security benefits and the entitlement program's future. Jon “Bowzer” Bauman with the advocacy group Social Security Works joined the Congressman to present and take questions. My sincere thanks goes to Rep. Tran and his team for utilizing our City facilities to host this event, Mr. Bauman, and to the attendees for engaging in a robust conversation on this topic. I was pleased to be joined at the town hall by my Councilmember colleagues, Mark E. Pulido, Jennifer Hong, and Sophia M. Tse, along with representatives from our neighboring Cities of Artesia, La Palma, and the ABC Unified School District. 

Throughout our time serving the City, Councilmembers often attend events within and outside of our community to connect with leaders and advocate for our City. In fact, City Council colleagues and I serve as either delegates or alternates on a combined 35 internal ad hoc working groups and external organizations. These roles are crucial to maintaining strong partnerships and helping to bring awareness, secure funding, and drive improvements for our City.

Cerritos residents also have the opportunity to serve the City through our various advisory boards. During our first several weeks as a new City Council, my colleagues and I have focused in part on appointing representatives to these groups, which focus on reviewing matters related to specialized topics. These five-member groups include the Fine Arts and Historical Commission, Parks and Recreation Commission, Planning Commission, Property Preservation Commission, and the recently reestablished Economic Development Commission. Each of our committees has 10 members, which include the Community Safety Committee and the Let Freedom Ring Committee. The City also collaborates with three external boards for which I have appointed residents to serve. Learn more about these advisory boards at www.cerritos.gov/boards. 

Thank you to our dozens of commission and committee members who dedicate their time to supporting the vitality of Cerritos. You can get involved with the City in numerous ways, from serving on advisory boards and attending our events to signing up for and following our various communications channels. I encourage our residents and business partners to continue to stay engaged in local government, ask questions, and help inform our decision making.