One year ago, Congress defunded public media. Now that we're 100% community funded, please become a sustaining member or increase your existing membership today.
This archival content was originally written for and published on KPCC.org. Keep in mind that links and images may no longer work — and references may be outdated.
Brown beats former mayor Bradley in Compton mayoral election
Aja Brown defeated Omar Bradley in Tuesday's mayoral election in Compton.
(
Sharon McNary/KPCC
)
Voters in Compton have rejected their former mayor, who's facing retrial in a corruption case.
Omar Bradley's comeback bid fell short in Tuesday's election. The Los Angeles Times reports that Bradley received 36.2 percent of the vote. Urban planner Aja Brown got 63.7 percent to become the new mayor.
Take Two's A Martinez interviewed Brown this morning. The newly-elected 31-year-old Brown told KPCC her first focus will be on good governance:
I think the City of Compton has suffered for quite some time from the lack of innovative policies, really collaborative efforts with the federal, state and regional elected officials and government agencies.
My heart is really in building coalitions. The city of Compton has over 200 churches, 100 non-profits, small business communities and really large corporations and so we have an opportunity to really bridge the gap between those sectors and be able to provide a higher level of service to our residents.
When we look at the investment decisions into the city of Compton, the small business community and global corporations and retailers and all of those types of services that decide to come into the community to serve it, they look at the perception, how does the brand work with the local community. And I've worked for several communities. Inglewood is similar to Compton in some ways and certain brands won't come into quote-on-quote urban communities because they feel that the perception doesn't mesh well with their brand.
So I think we've missed out on some opportunities to provide the basic goods and services to our community. But I think that there is an opportunity to really build relationships and say, "Hey - Compton is new. We're moving forward. And we definitely have a community that is economically-viable to serve."
An appeals court tossed the conviction last August but prosecutors plan to retry him.
Voters in Compton also elected their first Latino councilman, Issac Galvan. Latinos have long been a majority in the city.
"Having a diverse council is necessary in order to make sure that all constituents are represented well," Brown said. "He's also young and I think he'll grow and be able to be a great asset to the community."
Brown and Galvan will serve on a city council of five total members, with four council members and one mayor with the same authority.
Sponsored message
Correction: An earlier version of this story incorrectly stated that Bradley was the incumbent.
One year ago, Congress voted to defund public media, eliminating a critical $1.7 million from our budget every year going forward. But they couldn’t silence us, and we’re not going anywhere. LAist is now 100% community funded and that means we’re taking our future into our own hands and turning to you to keep local reporting strong.
You come to LAist because you want independent reporting and trustworthy local information. Our nonprofit newsroom doesn’t answer to shareholders looking to turn a profit. Instead, we answer to you and our communities. We are free to follow facts wherever they lead and to hold power to account without fear or favor. Our only loyalty is to our readers and listeners and our mission: to inform, engage, and strengthen Southern California’s communities.
If this story helped you, please become a monthly member today to help sustain this mission. It just takes 1 minute to donate below.
You come to LAist because you want independent reporting and trustworthy local information. Our nonprofit newsroom doesn’t answer to shareholders looking to turn a profit. Instead, we answer to you and our communities. We are free to follow facts wherever they lead and to hold power to account without fear or favor. Our only loyalty is to our readers and listeners and our mission: to inform, engage, and strengthen Southern California’s communities.
If this story helped you, please become a monthly member today to help sustain this mission. It just takes 1 minute to donate below.
Senior Vice President News, Editor in Chief
