SOUTH PASADENA >> Attitudes were civil and crosstalk nonexistent at an in-person forum for South Pasadena City Council candidates on Monday night at City Hall.

With more than 50 residents in attendance, Mayor Evelyn Zneimer faced off against Omari Ferguson, chair of the Public Works Commission, for the District 1 seat she has held since 2020.

Finance Commission Vice Chair Sheila Rossi is going against Public Safety Commissioner Charley Lu for the District 2 seat, which is open after incumbent Jack Donovan decided not to seek a second term.

Councilmember Jon Primuth, who is running unopposed for District 3, made a brief statement at the beginning of the event, which was co-hosted by the Women Involved in South Pasadena Political Advocacy, the South Pasadena Chamber of Commerce, and the League of Women Voters.

Neither District 4 or 5 has an open seat this year.

It was Rossi who was the most openly critical of the current council.

“I think transparency and communication has actually been a major problem for the last seven years,” she said. “Our city has been plagued with issues with public record requests.”

She also said she wants to see more deliberations done in public.

“There’s been a lot of things that have been in closed sessions that actually weren’t supposed to be,” she said.

While she indicated that some issues with public record requests were due to staff turnover, Zneimer defended the council as a body open to public input.

“I think this present City Council is very progressive,” she said. “We are listening to the residents and also giving voice to the commissions … We listen to the residents to make an informed decision.

“The transparency has improved,” she said.

Following a question about the current effectiveness of the city’s Finance Department, Ferguson cited transparency as pivotal to repairing matters.

“When it comes to the financial responsibility of our council and representing our city, like most things I would say, it starts with transparency,” he said, noting that at this time there is no program in place that allows the public to see how finances are being spent throughout the year.

“The second thing would be defining a clear financial process,” he said, which would reflect community input.

Rossi hit hard with her assessment of the recent financial crisis, noting that the former “inexperienced” finance director provided untimely and inaccurate financial reporting over the past seven years.

“Our biggest financial issue is that we actually don’t know what our financial position is,” she said, noting she had pushed to have a consultant brought in to unravel the issues.

“One thing we can’t accept anymore is to say we don’t have accurate financials,” she said.

Zneimer credited her own watch with righting the financial ship.

“We are aware of the previous problems and we are implementing consultants to fix our back office operating problems,” she said, noting that they’ve managed to turn things around.

“Right now we have a big healthy reserve,” she said.

Lu cited both staff issues and general past practices as leading to financial concerns for the city.

“Outdated financial management and staff turnover has stalled progress,” he said.

“Recruiting has been righting our finance team by providing the right group … and empowering them with the respect they deserve to do their job professionally,” he said.

The forum saw a spectrum of questions for the candidates, with topics ranging from global warming and what positions the city should take on international issues, down to local items including bike lanes, rent control, and campaign contributions from local businesses, which all four candidates indicated they were avoiding.

Questions were left unanswered regarding Measure SP, a ballot measure under consideration on Election Day that would, among other things, allow for higher density housing in an effort to meet the state’s mandated housing goals while still maintaining some local control on the matter.

“Right now I am not commenting either for or against that,” Zneimer said, stating that if she gives her own personal opinions, by default people think she is speaking on behalf of the city.

“I support Measure SP,” Lu said. “We have an opportunity to make housing more affordable.”

Ferguson said that, regardless of how the vote went, there needs to be more discussion with residents about future development.

“We should be engaging with the community to define what we’re going to do in the event of it passing or in the event of it not passing,” he said. “That way we can have a clear, actionable path forward.”

Rossi pointed out that Measure SP came about as a result of the city’s “misconduct” with regard to public record requests, which led to it being made an example of with a lawsuit through Californians for Homeownership, she said.

The role of technology was also touched on, with Lu noting it can play a key part in streamlining the permit process for new businesses.

“We need to update our infrastructure so we can automate the process … without human error,” he said.

Zneimer pointed out that the city was already putting new tech in place, including with the Finance Department, updating procedures and operating policies.

“We as a city have already started to embrace and (are) implementing all the IT for our daily services,” she said.

Ferguson pointed out that pedestrian planning tied in with bigger issues, such as climate change, and spoke to cohesive planning that linked different aspects of infrastructure.

“I would like to see bike lanes as part … of a cohesive transportation plan from the city,” he said.

Mary Urquhart, WISPPA president, commended both the candidates and the audience on its civility, also praising the candidates for their commitment to the city.

“I feel so lucky that we have dedicated citizens who are willing to sacrifice their time and their energy in taking on this role,” she said.