Newsletter No. 60

• Why Chen and Kaji will lose re-election

• Bad news for Mattucci

• Finance director opening

• Commissioner pay issue

It’s December and time to look ahead. Here are my predictions for 2026 (yes, I’m skipping 2025):

Mayor George Chen, District 1’s Jon Kaji and District 5’s Aurelio Mattucci will no longer be on the Council that July.

What am I basing it on? I will explain in a moment. But first let me share a story to illustrate why I feel confident in my prognostications.

On Sept. 7, Adam Schwartz, a District 4 business leader and I hope a candidate to succeed Sharon Kalani when she is termed out, emailed me that he thought Measure TC would fail and asked for my opinion.

I responded: “Well, I am hoping you are right. I think it will pass because people see the word ‘restrict,’ and they like that. They don't know what they are NOT seeing. That it represents a big raise. This is one of those times when I will be thrilled to be wrong.”

Measure TC passed by more than 70 percent. My unscientific poll of yes voters – people who either hadn’t read my newsletter or who voted before they had heard from me – supports my theory: That residents had no idea that they were giving the Council hefty pay raises. When they discovered that they had been hoodwinked, they were uniformly unhappy. 

And that will come back to bite the pay-raise supporters in 2026.

Chen – a one-term mayor:

Torrance voters generally reward mayors with two terms. The one exception: Dan Walker. 

In the early 2000s, then-Council Member Frank Scotto disliked Walker‘s shenanigans and did something that, at the time, was politically brave: He ran against Walker and beat him handily.

In a newsletter, two years ago, I suggested Chen’s behavior was following in the footsteps of Walker and said he was risking the same end result.

Scotto had seen how Walker was taking big contributions – legal then – and wanted guard rails on that and other electioneering issues. When Scotto was installed, he established the Blue Ribbon Committee on Ethics and Integrity. Dee Hardison chaired it; I was one of its members.

We recommended a slew of election-financing reforms, including the donation limit of $1,000 per person.

Chen has gotten around those rules by using PAC funds for his candidates. His tactic was met with much opposition in the community. And last March both Chen-backed candidates lost. Measure TC says that PACs must follow Torrance financing rules, but some are questioning whether it is enforceable.

In a re-election campaign, I believe Chen will face voter anger over the deceptive language used on Measure TC. The L.A. Times quoted Chen as saying the language is "misleading only if you choose it to be misleading." Voters will remember that statement in 2026.

The question: Is there a qualified candidate as brave as Scotto?

The answer: Yes. And in my first newsletter of 2025 I should be able to share who that is.

Kaji – a one-term council member:

Kaji has incumbency going for him, but he has stockpiled a list of problems, any one of which could cost him re-election. Put them all together, and I predict he will join the list of Torrance one-term council members.

In 2022, he won for two reasons: He had a lot of money to spend on mailers and other election expenses. And he was in a field of four, none of whom could raise enough funds to match him.

That meant that most voters were unaware Kaji was a carpetbagger – he lives on the Peninsula but rents a home in District 1.

Looking ahead to 2026, he has angered a core constituency: the North Torrance Neighborhood Assn. 

In November after the election, he foolishly scheduled an evening community meeting outside. It was dark and cold, and the residents had to stand for the whole session. 

When the association’s leaders relayed people’s unhappiness to Kaji, he did not take it well. He demanded an apology from the association for complaining. Obviously, he didn’t get one. As a result, he ended communications with them.

Cut off from a key constituency, he turned to North High, even though he has no role with the school district, and he gave the school $10,000, which was appreciated. But I doubt he will get a good return on his money in the form of votes.

Perhaps his biggest problem is his stand on SST, the sales tax increase. He joined Chen and District 5’s Mattucci in opposing it. Fortunately, voters approved it, and Kaji has talked about how SST has saved Torrance from financial ruin. 

His wording makes it sound as if he supported it. But voters will remember – and those who have forgotten will have their memories jogged by Kaji’s opponent.

Kaji has taken a tack similar to his response to being criticized for his failed meeting: Instead of acknowledging he was wrong and moving on, he is attacking others. Specifically former Finance Director Eric Tsao, former City Manager LeRoy Jackson and former Mayor Pat Furey.

At the Nov. 19 Council meeting, he railed against them for 10 minutes. He didn’t just question their competence; he hinted of a criminal conspiracy that led to Torrance’s previous dire finances.

He then made a pro-forma motion to file the report that had led to his outburst. After it passed, Kalani said she agreed with the motion but not with Kaji’s “unfounded accusations.”

A few days later, I was talking to someone in the City about Kaji’s veiled threats to prosecute the three and was told: “In private conversations, they are not veiled threats.”

My prediction: If he continues down this road, it will come back to bite him in his re-election campaign. And, yes, there is an outstanding candidate willing to take him on.

No more Mattucci:

Because of all the chatter about an error in the revised Charter language allowing District 5’s Aurelio Mattucci to have a third term, City Attorney Patrick Sullivan sought outside counsel for an opinion. The definitive answer: no third term.

Someone in the City said Mattucci thought he had another workaround: In 2018 he was elected in a citywide vote; in 2022 he won in a district. So, he planned to argue for a second term as a district representative. Evidently, Sullivan was a step ahead of him: Outside counsel said no to that as well.

Then I started getting screenshots of a Mattucci posting on a Facebook page called Torrance Community Concerns. He had created a poll asking: “A legitimate question that could change my course of action. If I decided to run for Mayor of Torrance when the seat is vacant, would you vote for me?”

The people who sent it to me were wondering why Mattucci would run against Chen in 2026 or whether that meant Chen was pulling out of his re-election bid.

Someone who had talked to Mattucci explained he was referring to 2030 when Chen would be termed out.

Sheila Poisson will be missed:

The finance director has left the position, and in a never-before move, City Manager Aram Chaparyan was able to keep her on staff by allowing her to work part-time. Poisson made numerous moves that put Torrance on a better financial footing. She leaves big shoes.

Her replacement will be selected by Chaparayan, but Kaji has let it be known he would like to influence the decision. Poisson has said she wants to spend more time with her young children, and there is probably much truth to that. But reportedly another factor was interference from Kaji, Chen and Mattucci.

Kaji gave a hint as to whom he would like to see in that position. At the start of the rant that I mentioned earlier, he talked about how Shamindra Manbahal was his consultant on the City’s SST financial matters. If the name doesn’t sound familiar, check out Newsletter No. 12 at www.TakeBackTorrance.com. Or Google him.

Commissioner pay:

The Nov. 19 Council agenda listed an item to consider increasing commissioners’ honorariums. 

Knowing that TakeBackTorrance was taking November off, I sent the Council an email proposing that they do not raise the amount and, in fact, I suggested ending the practice, adding: “For those of you who have served on commissions, I would be surprised if any of you sought the position because you wanted to be paid.

“When I applied to be a Civil Service commissioner, I was surprised to learn that I would get a periodic check for my service. I donate the funds to the Volunteer Center, but that’s not the point. The issue: What should we consider public service?

“If the concern is the need to draw more people to the commissions, perhaps the issue isn’t financial but awareness. How are the openings being marketed? I would encourage you to broaden your outreach. That – and not money – may help you achieve your goal of broadening the composition of the commissions.”

The item was rescheduled to Dec. 3 because District 3’s Asam Sheikh, who had initially requested the proposal, was absent on the 19th.

How late was it?:

The Nov. 19 meeting adjourned at 11:24 p.m. – the Council is on a before-midnight roll.

Happy Holidays!:

Wishing everyone wonderful holidays. The next newsletter will start off 2025 with the latest on what is happening in Torrance.

Before I go:

• Congratulations to Dave Zygielbaum on winning more than 50 percent of the votes in a three-person School Board race. TUSD is fortunate to have him. He will fill out the term of District 6’s Jeremy Gershon.

• Congratulations to District 2’s Bridgett Lewis. Her day job is manager of security operations for the Port of Long Beach. She was just named the 2024 Homeland Security Person of the Year by the Government Technology & Services Coalition.

• The City’s deadline for correspondence to be included in the Council’s pre-meeting public supplemental is now 5:30 p.m. the Monday before the meeting. The Council will receive anything that comes in later before the meeting, but it won’t be posted until Wednesday. It will be at the top of the agenda. You can also leave voicemails to be included as Oral Communications in the supplemental. Call 310-618-2404 to leave up to a two-minute recording that will be transcribed. Voicemails have the same deadlines as the email.

• Want to tell the City Council your opinion on an agenda item or address any concerns? The City has changed how to have your comments appear in an agenda item’s Staff Report. You should use the OneMeeting Public Portal at https://torranceca.primegov.com/public/portal?fromiframe=true.

Jean Adelsman

Feel free to share this email -- or tell friends about www.TakeBackTorrance.com. And if you email a response to jeanadelsman@yahoo.com, please indicate whether you are expressing a thought for my eyes only or whether I may share your comments with the whole audience.