Featured News News Community Sentinel endorses Dotson, Padilla, Bowers and Richardson-McGhee for a better, stronger Inglewood
March 28, 2013
Inglewood, the city at the hub of the South Bay is a catalyst for economic empowerment for the entire Los Angeles Region. With its close proximity to LAX, an MTA multi-billion dollar public transportation line is scheduled to begin construction right through Downtown Inglewood. Its western and southern borders laying at the 405 and 105 freeways both vital transportation routes for shipping coming in and out of Southern California and it being the home of the newly acquired and currently being remodeled Fabulous Forum (purchased by Madison Square Garden) and the pending revitalization of the Hollywood Park Property the city of Inglewood is primed for a resurgence back to being the “crown jewel” of the South Bay.
Mayor James Butts has done a remarkable job of navigating the city through some of the most challenging economic times that California and the nation have ever seen. He has managed to bring economic revitalization back to the city, and has worked in partnership with both state, city and community leaders to help navigate Inglewood through the take-over of the school district by the state while insuring that Inglewood’s students receive the best education possible. The Sentinel has taken a close look at each candidate running for both the Inglewood City Council and the Inglewood School Board and we are comfortable and confident that these candidates are the best and most qualified candidates for leading Inglewood into the future.
George Dotson and Alex Padilla are candidates in the April 2 election for Inglewood City Council. Both men have served Inglewood well and have shown an ability to grasp and bring forth new ideas and step above the confines of the city’s financial and legislative challenges while always keeping the needs of the city’s residents as a whole and their respective constituencies at the forefront of their individual agendas. They have shown an ability to work in partnership with Mayor Butts rather than embark in the divisive political wrangling which has made the Inglewood City Council ineffective over the
years.
Dotson, in Inglewood City Council District 1 and Padilla in District 2 have been endorsed by Butts and Eloy Morales and Ralph Franklin, currently serving as Inglewood Council members they will be part of a coalition which is going to need to work together in order to be effective in the future as Inglewood works through this economic recovery and as the city grows in the coming years.
The Sentinel encourages the Inglewood voters to acknowledge that if a candidate is incapable of securing the support of their peers, who they have served with and who have first-hand knowledge of their abilities and inabilities to navigate through the challenges of local government then they should consider casting their ballot for Dotson and Padilla, two candidates who are offering new ideas and a new focus on how to effectively and efficiently move Inglewood forward.
In addition to the mayor and council members’ endorsements, Dotson and Padilla have also won the endorsement of all the elected officials representing Inglewood both in Sacramento and Washington D. C.
The Sentinel strongly believes and encourages all Inglewood residents to say good bye to 2nd District Councilmember Judy Dunlap, who has been in office nearly 20 years, but who has been unable to get any credible leader who serves the Inglewood community to support her candidacy. She has demonstrated an inability and an unwillingness to work well with other city, state or local leaders. She has not promoted or supported local, women or minority businesses in the city and has been an ineffective leader.
On the other hand, in addition to the support of Inglewood elected officials, Dotson and Padilla have won the support of Maxine Waters, U. S. Congresswoman; Curren Price, State Senator, 26th District; Mark Ridley-Thomas, Chairman, Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors; Dr. Kenneth Ulmer, Senior Pastor, Faithful Central Bible Church; Dr. Cecil “Chip” Murray, Pastor Emeritus, First African American Methodist Episcopal Church; Jacqueline Seabrooks, former Inglewood Police Chief; Wanda Brown, Treasurer, City of Inglewood; Inglewood Police Officers Association; Local County Firefighters; Inglewood Police Management Association; and many other citizens, ministers, labor organizations and other groups.
Because of George Dotson’s and Alex Padilla’s unwavering commitment to the residents of Inglewood and their vast knowledge and experience in dealing with the issues that are important to the residents of Inglewood, The Sentinel proudly endorses George Dotson and Alex Padilla for Inglewood City Council District #1 & District #2.
Inglewood School District
Margaret Richards-Bowers and Carliss Richardson-McGhee are two women who not only understand the importance of a quality education for the children of Inglewood but have dedicated their lives to insuring that our community does whatever it can and needs to do to guarantee the best that is country has to offer is available to our children, our people and our community.
Margaret Richards-Bowers is a mother a nurse and an advocate for her community who has dedicated her life to fighting for the future of our children. She is running to represent the 3rd Seat on the Inglewood Unified School District, because as she puts it “I believe IUSD can be a great school district again”.
She says she will support the efforts of the State Administrator to put the school district on a sound financial footing, so that local control can be reinstated. She wants to see to it that IUSD teachers receive the support they need to get the results we expect them to deliver.
Margaret Bowers also believes in accountability, when asked she stated “she will ensure that the Measure GG funds approved by the voters will be used for the purposes intended by the taxpayers: school facilities, and classroom improvements, as well as up to date technology in the classrooms.
Margaret believes that we must work toward changing the culture of education in Inglewood, improving expectations of student performance, by building partnerships with our community stakeholders, parents, teachers and students to achieve our common goal of providing a quality education that will prepare our children to compete in the global marketplace.
Carliss Richardson-McGhee has spent her adult life working with parents and children. She began her career as a Head Start State Pre-School Teacher and she believes that if we are going to see growth and development in our children we must look at everything that impacts children. She remains firmly committed to her belief. She developed one of the first programs for parents that encouraged or required them to read the same books that their children read. This program allowed parent and child to have an active dialogue with each other. Also, she has created and implemented a program where parents and children traveled together, thereby providing them with the same experience (West and South Africa, Europe, China and cities throughout the United States).
She spent ten years serving as the director for the United Negro College Fund surpassing all of her colleagues and receiving the first President’s Award for raising 130% of her annual goal. She brought one of the most celebrated family events to the City of Inglewood (Magic Johnson’s “Mid-Summer Nights Magic), that allowed 3,000 children in Inglewood to attend at no cost. She provided scholarships for more than 1,300 students to attend Historically Black Colleges and Universities. She has been a motivational speaker for parents, teachers and students stressing the need for each to work together to insure educational excellence.
She remains an active participant in several school systems as a community organizer and educator. She started English and Spanish as a Second Language classes in the community and developed “Law Day” in many schools wherein the legal profession and the police department outlined the law for students before their sixteen birthdays. She established mock courts as a deterrent to gang violence. Ms. McGhee worked as a behavior specialist for several centered based programs advising and educating parents with special need children. Ms. McGhee is among a select group to mentor teen parents (focusing on finishing school and developing educational training). “Miss Carli “, as she is affectionately known, is a multi-cultural literacy coach using storytelling as her base to educate parents, teachers and students in the schools. She currently has Khocolate Keepsakes in 13 after-school programs throughout southern California.
Because of Margaret Richards-Bowers’ and Carliss Richardson-McGhee’s unwavering commitment to the children of Inglewood and their vast knowledge, life-long commitment and experience in dealing with the issues that are important to overall quality of education for our children, The Sentinel proudly endorses Margaret Richards-Bowers for seat #3 and Carliss Richardson-McGhee for seat #2 on the Inglewood Unified School District.