FIREWORKS IN COMPTON! 

CITY MANAGER & ATTORNEY DROP BOMBS

by Cynthia Macon

Fireworks came to the City of Compton from one of the most unusual places, inside city council chambers, on Tuesday night, June 18th—and the display was simply spectacular! 

A dramatic showdown occurred between the new City Manager, Willie Hopkins, and recently elected City Attorney Eric Perrodin, former Mayor of Compton, between 2001 and 2013. For some months, the two high-ranking city officials have been reportedly locked in a power struggle within city hall walls over mutual allegations of crossing the boundary lines of their given authority as laid out in the city bible, the city charter.

So, with Compton Mayor Emma Sharif wrestling to maintain control of the council meeting, residents watching from home and present in the council chambers were witnesses to fireworks as the two officials verbally battled, back and forth, to exert and assert control during a series of heated and intense exchanges.

The confrontation led City Attorney Eric Perrodin to go so far as to threaten to cause a shutdown of the city government by delaying passage of the Fiscal Year 2024-2025 Compton City Budget if he did not get his way or claimed right to present a verbal report to the audience. 

A perceived threat caused City Manager Willie Hopkins to respond that Perrodin was attempting to hold the city hostage.

However, Eric Perrodin made the greatest but perhaps failed strategic move of the night.  He claimed language in the municipal code makes the City Attorney, and therefore him, the ultimate official and authority in control of approval of all city agendas, the primary tool by which the city sets priorities and gets city business done. Perrodin’s claim, if it remained unchallenged, would formalize and make the Mayor, City Manager, and the wishes and vote of the city council all secondary to Perrodin’s authority. So you guessed it, the move was unacceptable, so bombs went bursting in the air!

PRE-SHOW

Let’s go back to the start. The Compton City Council had called for an item on the agenda to approve the Fiscal Year 2024-2025 budget. The budget must have been approved and completed by June 30th, or the city faced a shutdown, meaning employees, for instance, would not be paid on time starting July 1st.

But Perrodin, claiming it his right, went behind the council and contacted and instructed appointed City Clerk Vernell McDaniels to cancel the council’s budget item and, instead, place Perrodin on the agenda to give a verbal report by the City Attorney’s office. 

So it turns out neither the mayor, city manager, nor council were informed of Perrodin’s cancellation of the budget item or the subject of his proposed verbal report. Perrodin had laid an ambush, one might say. And why? The new budget is known to contain severe cuts to the City Attorney’s office and staff that Perrodin seeks to avoid, so he had something to say to the public to plead his case or block the action.

But City Manager Willie Hopkins would have none of the agenda switching and challenged Perrodin’s authority to control such matters. Reading from the Compton City Charter (Section 706) and Compton Municipal Code § 2-1.9, Hopkins pointed out that all reports are to be in writing and not verbal, submitted to the City Manager’s office, and distributed to the city council beforehand. More importantly, a City Attorney cannot overrule the council’s wishes regarding the agenda’s contents and timing.

But to that response, City Attorney Perrodin insisted he had authority, reading and emphasizing a line from Compton Municipal Code § 2-1.9: “All submissions are subject to City Attorney’s approval.” With that, Perrodin attempted to lay down the law in a “I hate to do this to you, but you had it coming” type of manner, saying he has tolerated disrespect long enough. However, according to the municipal code, he, in fact, has approval over the entire city agenda and, therefore, control of the city. Bam! Ace card.

But wait. City Manager Hopkins knew enough to point out that the language Perrodin was referencing from the municipal code was a “transcriber’s error” and not in keeping with the higher intent of the city charter. Hopkins pointed out that the city charter is the highest authority, and it says Perrodin’s claimed approval authority is only “to the form” of the agenda, not to approval power over its contents, timing, or priorities.

In other words, the City Attorney must ensure a contract or ordinance, for instance, is written correctly and in legal form but does not have the authority to vote on, delay, advance, reject, write, approve, or calendar an item of the council.  That’s setting policy and priorities, the city council’s right, or controlling the city and its administration, the City Manager’s right.

So when Perrodin went “Bam!” and pulled out what he thought was his ace card, Hopkin corrected him, saying Perrodin’s power was limited “to form,” meaning not “to content,” and pulled out a laid down a bigger trump card. Bam-Bam!!”

The Compton city charter calls for a five-person council to rule the city, so why would the charter hand a sideline official all power? It’s illogical and goes against the spirit of the charter. Perrodin should have known or figured that out. But power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely. Compton city attorneys have been getting away with that “bait and switch” for a long time.

So, what we now know is that agenda items can be requested by the Mayor, city council, city attorney, or city manager—a fact on which both men agreed. 

So, losing that battle, City Attorney Perrodin shifted to directly criticizing and insulting the credentials of the City Manager on the question of law, boasting: “Which Law School did you attend? To which Hopkins replied: “Right is right.” That is a good answer because Perrodin should know right from wrong better than anyone in the city as its top lawkeeper, and that’s the problem. He doesn’t.

Even Mayor Emma Sharif’s authority came under the gun by Perrodin on Tuesday night over who controls and guides the meeting, a right granted only to the Mayor in the charter. When Sharif, for once, amen, did not bend his way, Perrodin raged loudly against her authority, stating, “I am going to read. And you will listen!” Say what?

So, being denied the chance to speak by Mayor Emma Sharif, Perrodin went even further, defiantly attempting to shout out his report to the audience during a call recess. His actions overall, City Manager Hopkins pointed out, broke with the rules of decorum outlined in the city charter which dictate the expected behavior of all city officials. Mind you, and this is the same Perrodin wants to throw residents out of council meetings for very small infractions of decorum. Ironic.

So, with Perrodin declaring Mayor Emma Sharif was not allowing him to speak. At the same time, some in the audience shouted in his support, Perrodin apparently missed the part where he was the one who had first silenced the entire council by taking it upon himself to change the agenda! Karma and it didn’t take long.

The utter ridiculousness of Perrodin’s legal opinions was also on display when a vote over whether to permit fireworks stands in the city this year ended in one affirmative vote, “yes” by Andre Spicer, and four abstentions, or one “no” and three abstentions by the council. To which, City Attorney Perrodin shouted out: “One yes and four abstentions, it passes!” 

Absolute absurdity. A criminal justice lawyer, maybe, a municipal lawyer, obviously not, because no one bought that conclusion. This is what happens when a criminal lawyer, acting as a municipal lawyer, tries to make legal calls when chasing not the law but a win and political gain by any means. The concept of protecting democracy, as in “majority rules,” goes out the window. That’s also how you end up with five appointees and six employees governing the city, while your City Attorney, who is supposed to hold up the spirit of the charter, calls for eight residents to govern and looks the other way.

So, with more bombs bursting in the air, the council meeting was called to a sudden stop, and the matter was carried over to the next and very critical last council meeting of the month to approve the budget. Tick-tock. 

And since recessing and delaying until the next week often buys time for a corrupt or losing official to regroup and devise another coordinated way to manipulate and win—a known Aja Brown tactic—expect even more fireworks at the next council meeting.