Things took a sour turn in Compton last week. The mayor of Compton, Emma Sharif, is now asking for the resignation of the head of Compton’s Public Safety Commission publicly in light of a complete meltdown that took place at city hall. The whole thing was filmed on video, which tends to make matters worse. A disparity of opinion arose in a political context before video cameras, and now people are taking sides in this entire episode.
The Compton Mayor finally says, “Enough is enough!”
The demand for an immediate resignation from the Public Safety Commission at Bishop Guillory due to a lack of professionalism in the leadership of the city came from a statement issued by Mayor Emma Sharif.
Sharif stated, “As leaders, we have a responsibility to ensure that our residents are safe, to bring our community together, and not to separate it.” Sharif pointed out that there is a need for a high level of professionalism among the leaders of the city, given the divisive political discourse.
The entire controversy started with some controversial statements made by Guillory regarding the enforcement of immigration laws in Compton, which is a multicultural city with a large number of Latinos. A press conference was organized in Compton on Friday just to call for Guillory’s resignation in protest of these inflammatory statements. Speakers expressed their worry about the effects of Guillory’s immigration policies on the fear created among the people, as well as serious doubts about his leadership qualities.
Guillory said in a news conference that while he will be stepping down as chairman at the end of the year, he will still remain a part of the commission. Of course, this news conference will be on Monday, and that will be when he makes this official announcement, as well as asking for an overhaul of the structure of the commission as a whole. When Mayor Sharif came to him with an offer of resignation, he says it took a full twenty-four hours for him to consider it, which is contradictory to a denial by the mayor.
Physical altercation leads to a political dispute, to a criminal investigation
This confrontation between Guillory and activist Najee Ali escalated to a physical altercation when video footage showed Guillory sticking his finger in Ali’s face and poking him in the eye as they had a fierce argument.
“Guillory came and provoked us and tried to intimidate us, and he just demonstrated this through his behavior, and he even poked me in the eye,” Najee Ali said while explaining his confrontation with Guillory.
Guillory also disputes the sequence of events as described by Ali and alleges that he himself was interrupted by Ali, pushed by him, and hit during this encounter. According to him, he only defended himself against Ali when he criticized Sharif for failing to address the “violence” inflicted on him during this incident. The conflicting narratives have made this already divided community worse, and there is a demand for accountability on both sides of this politically increasingly divisive struggle.
Future implications pose a threat to the political stability of Compton
Guillory has already stated that he will be running in the primary for the mayor. This is another dynamic that is involved in this very complicated political situation. The fact that he resigned as chairman, but is still on the commission, is an indication that he wants to have some type of influence within politics despite the controversy that has surrounded some of the things that he has done.
This meeting is representative of much more than a struggle between two people and a split within the world of Compton’s political elite, but rather a call for a moral example to be set. The events that have followed this meeting could very well be the determining factor in what direction this incident will take, as being the cause of positive change in the city of Compton or merely another struggle in this city.
