Opinion

EXECUTIVE EDITOR

Christina Fuoco-Karasinski christina@timespublications.com

DEPUTY EDITOR

Matthew Rodriguez mrodriguez@timespublications.com

CONTRIBUTORS

Bliss Bowen, Andres De Ocampo, Kamala Kirk, Frier McCollister, Julia Shapero, Ellen Snortland

ART DIRECTOR

Stephanie Torres storres@timespublications.com

PHOTOGRAPHER

Luis Chavez

ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER ZAC REYNOLDS

Zac@TimesPublications.com (626) 360-2811

ADVERTISING

SALES AND MARKETING

Lisa Chase For Advertising Information Call (626) 360-2811

CLASSIFIED ACCOUNT EXECUTIVE

Ann Turrietta (Legals)

OFFICE MANAGER

Ann Turrietta

CIRCULATION Don S. Margolin

TIMES MEDIA GROUP

PRESIDENT

Steve Strickbine

VICE PRESIDENT, CHIEF REVENUE OFFICER

Michael Hiatt

Pasadena Weekly is published every Thursday. Pasadena Weekly is available free of charge. No person may, without prior written permission from Pasadena Weekly, take more than one copy of each weekly issue. Additional copies of the current issue if available may be purchased for $1, payable in advance, at Pasadena Weekly office. Only authorized Pasadena Weekly distributors may distribute the Pasadena Weekly. Pasadena Weekly has been adjudicated as a newspaper of general circulation in Court Judgment No. C-655062. Copyright: No news stories, illustrations, editorial matter or advertisements herein can be reproduced without written permission of copyright owner. All rights reserved, 2020.

HOW TO REACH US Address:

161 Pasadena Ave., South Pasadena CA 91030 Telephone: (626) 584-1500 Fax: (626) 795-0149

AUDITED CIRCULATION of 26,275 Serving Alhambra, Altadena, Arcadia, Eagle Rock, Glendale, La Cañada Flintridge, Montrose, Pasadena, San Marino, Sierra Madre and South Pasadena

MAYOR TORNEK NEEDS TO BE HELD ACCOUNTABLE

Like a person aggrieved, Pasadena Mayor Terry Tornek is “Since I cannot talk you out of going, can you give me a point now playing the victim as he fights for his political life. person here in Pasadena that I can communicate with in your

The reason: criticism by his mayoral opponent about absence?” the editor wrote March 9. how Tornek decided to take a ceremonial Sister City visit in The next day, March 10, the editor sent an interview request March, leaving his colleagues scrambling to protect the rest of us with an ominous postscript. during the onset of a once-in-a-century pandemic. “Just as an FYI, as of today, Senegal now has 4 reported cases

Tornek was marked “absent” for a critical March 17 special of the COVID-19 virus.” council meeting to approve a citywide declaration of emergency. Too late. Tornek was on a jet to Senegal, where emails and Unlike his colleagues, Tornek never even phoned in. texts show he began having immediate regrets.

Now Tornek wants us to believe he was on top of things 6,000 Tornek exchanged a flurry of frantic emails with his Pasamiles away and that he’s the target of a political “smear cam- dena travel agent, who spent hours on the phone trying to cobble paign.” His chief supporter, John Kennedy, has denounced criti- together a return flight for everyone that avoided fast-moving cism of the trip as an “evil, unworthy and unmerited campaign international travel bans. distraction.” Curiously, Tornek was not as communicative when his col-

As veteran politicians, they know better. This is no hit job. leagues asked for a special meeting to declare a citywide emerThis is an accountability moment for an incumbent who is asking gency. for another term. When the preferred dates of March 14 and 16 were floated,

Tornek should have known he was tempting fate when he in- Tornek texted: “Not available.” sisted on going through with the nonessential goodwill mission He’s never explained why. But emails show around that time, to Senegal March 10. Tornek and crew were scheduled for five days of heavy sight-

By then, the World Health Organization, state of California seeing. and Los Angeles County had declared health emergencies. Hours Highlights included an overnight in the old colonial capital, before he boarded a jet, Tornek himself had presided over a City a wetland for birdwatchers, a canoe ride, a train ride, a beach council meeting in which he voted to do the same in Pasadena. picnic of Mar Lodj Island, and a tour of a large mosque.

What most people don’t know, however, is that Tornek also The documents don’t say how many tourist spots they actually ignored other warnings and requests to delay the trip from key reached or, more importantly, enjoyed. Emails reflect a rising people involved. anxiety among Tornek’s troops.

These warnings, revealed in city emails released under the Until March 17, when everyone finally caught a flight home Public Records Act, came weeks before Tornek left. through Dubai.

On February 5, Tornek’s official host, Dakar-Plateau Mayor Tornek admitted in a recent debate he missed the special Alioune Ndoye, asked for a two-week delay because he would meeting because he was herding the delegation onto the flight. be away on government business when Pasadena’s 12-person He’s been less forthcoming on other questions, including the delegation arrived. most important: Why were you so hellbent on leaving in the first

“Too late; tickets purchased & council agendas set,” Tornek place? texted. “Sorry we’ll miss him.” Emails suggest it might have been the lure of a European

Then, as COVID-19 became a looming threat, others tried to vacation. persuade Tornek to push the trip back. After Senegal, the Torneks were booked for a week in Portu-

Boualem Bousselem, chair of the Sister City’s Senegal Com- gal—where, in a sad twist, some of their luggage sat unclaimed mittee, sent an urgent email February 27 asking to meet with in the Lisbon airport as their travel plans blew up. Tornek and Kennedy about rethinking the excursion. We are grateful the delegation got back safely.

“We need to discuss the possible impact of the coronavirus But make no mistake, they were at risk in the first place epidemic on our trip and probably set up a plan B,” wrote Bous- because of Tornek’s astounding lapse in judgment. He was MIA selem, who had invested months on arranging the privately paid during the crucial days of a civic crisis because of a stubborn mission. refusal to heed those around him, a common complaint about his

Records show they met twice, but no Plan B. leadership style.

Even a local news editor tried and failed to discourage It’s altogether fair and proper that he be held accountable for Tornek. it. n

•LETTERS•

THE END OF POLICE BRUTALITY EDITOR:

Solutions are often so obvious that they go unnoticed. How long did it take for us to figure out the advantage of placing wheels on luggage?

Police misconduct is a pervasive problem that costs American taxpayers millions of hard-eared dollars, not to mention innocent lives. These issues would not exist if the unions were as committed to protecting the public as they are to protecting the interests of their members. Rogue cops exist because the majority of good cops face retribution when they call out the misconduct of fellow officers. The unions protect officers who they know are unqualified and even a threat to the public.

So, let’s end police brutality and misconduct immediately by simply making the police unions liable for the conduct of their members. I guarantee you that if the actions of a racist cop forced the police union to dip into its coffers for millions of dollars, police brutality would end next week. Of course, there will always be misconduct in human interaction. But I don’t think we’d see unarmed citizens shot in the back 15 times as a matter of course. If qualified immunity was limited—no longer protecting police from egregious conduct—we’d see an immediate decrease in misconduct and the beginning of a better overall relationship with communities of color. However, this must go hand in hand with real efforts to increase real opportunities for our youth.

Unions are not all bad. Most are just mismanaged and greed driven, putting union dues and membership over the common good. As we contemplate these issues, let us not forget the teachers unions, who protect the jobs of incompetent and even dangerous personnel. I realize the complexity of these problems, but I sincerely believe that when we make the police unions liable for the actions of their members, we’ll see less killing, more cooperation and a better society. ~Billy Mitchell

THUGS IN SUITS, CREEPS IN CAHOOTS FLYING IN THE FACE OF DECENCY

The 2020 presidential campaigns have now boiled down to watching Pence’s fly. No, not that fly. I’m talking about the Pence Pest, the fly that dominated the VP debate. Considering Pence’s evangelical faith, flies in Christian Scripture are horrible! I am not one to bandy about Bible verses, so either trust me or Google “flies in the Bible.” They are considered more than mere insects: They are harbingers of other plagues. How very appropriate.

There’s so much on social media already about “the” fly, but come on! That fly dominated the debate for over 2 minutes and was far more interesting than VP Pence, a sneaky white wolf dressed in white sheep’s clothing. It’s interesting to note that flies like sheep, and I have a tip about wolves later in this column.

Speaking of sheep, the shepherd Pence follows is not Jesus but rather Drumpf. (Regular readers know I will not use the “T” word and instead refer to the Cheeto in Chief by his actual name.) Which brings to mind the Ten Commandments. In that context, the hypocrisy of what No. 45 says and does should be making Pence’s head explode; most of us already have that reaction. The fact that it all seems fine with Pence speaks volumes about his hypocrisy.

Using the simplified version of the Ten Commandments and with a nod to Seth Meyers, let’s take a closer look:

1. You Shall Have No Other Gods Before Me—Drumpf worships power above all. 2. You Shall Not Worship False Gods—Have you seen Drumpf’s buildings with their hideous all-gold interiors? It’s obvious that he worships money as well … and that he has no taste. 3. You Shall Not Take the Lord’s Name in Vain—I’m not sure what Drumpf says (although insider accounts say he swears a lot), but both his and Pence’s actions cause me to violate this on an almost daily basis. 4. You Shall Keep the Sabbath Day Holy—for Drumpf, does golf count? 5. Honor Your Mother and Father—Doesn’t Drumpf’s screwing family members out of their inheritance strike you as dishonoring his parents? 6. You Shall Not Murder—Considering those who have perished in ICE detention camps, along with the over 200,000 Americans who have died of COVID-19 as the White House dragged its feet, both Drumpf and Pence are murderers. The shame of it. 7. You Shall Not Commit Adultery—The Adulterer in Chief. Ugh. Pence, probably not. He reminds me of limp pasta, just sayin’. And calling his wife “Mother”? Ewwww. 8. You Shall Not Steal—The Orange Menace and his White Shadow are in cahoots about promising relief to those in need during these pandemic times while lining their own pockets along with their corporate friends. Thieves both. 9. You Shall Not Bear False Witness Against Your Neighbor—When it comes to this administration, it’s nothing but lies 24/7 … lies that hurt all of us. And in the campaigns, they lie (and coerce other governments to lie) to hurt Joe Biden and Kamala Harris. Even Hillary got thrown under their false witness bus in the last election. 10. You Shall Not Covet—These goons covet the love so many of us had (and still have) for the Obamas and what they accomplished. You can even see the green pallor of envy on the orange face of Drumpf and the white blankness of Pence’s face.

There is a deeper and more unsettling aspect to Pence being a “wolf in sheep’s clothing” revealed in “The Family,” a must-watch documentary miniseries on Netflix. The show shines a light on a secretive, decades-old Christian cabal that has its fangs and claws sunk deep into the inner workings of our government, as well as other governments. The group extolls the virtues of the killer instincts of “wolves” for Jesus, and has no use for “sheep.”

And this is why Pence always looks the other way. He and his kind see Drumpf as the lynchpin in finally turning America into a Christian theocracy—and they will stop at nothing to get it.

Finally, Drumpf used a COVID-19 “cure,” a drug cocktail of Regeneron and Remdesivir, manufactured from fetal stem cells. The administration banned use of fetal cells in 2019, but the new medicines are using cells derived from aborted fetus tissue from the 1980s. Nice hack, anti-choice folks.

We must not only pray that these thugs get kicked out of office but also that their subthug minions get swatted like flies. God help us.

Note: I’m being honored by the Pasadena UNA-USA with a Lifetime Achievement Award! The main speaker is the UNA-USA’s executive director, Rachel Bowen Pittman. Join us for this 75th anniversary of the UN celebration and award ceremony at 2 p.m. Saturday, October 24. And it’s free! To register, go to http://bit.ly/UNA-USA-Snortland n

Ellen Snortland has written “Consider This…” for a heckuva long time, and she also coaches firsttime book authors! Contact her at ellen@beautybitesbeast.com.