On September 15th, Chris Imm kickstarted his campaign to gain a seat in the Cerritos City Council and is currently the youngest Democratic running. The 2020 Cerritos General Municipal election is on March 3, 2020 and is consolidated with the statewide election; all Cerritos residents are eligible to vote for city council seats. In preparation, Imm hosted his first event, which was a Meet & Greet BBQ at Heritage Park, where he explained his platform and reasoning for running.
Imm’s plans are extremely progressive and liberal: his main 3 goals for Cerritos are to create a sustainable and safe future, increase financial transparency in the city council, and increase political participation in teens through an ambassador programs for students.
Out of his three main goals, when asked what his first priority is, he responded: “My main vision is to create a cleaner community in Cerritos.” He plans on creating a “recycle, reduce, and reuse initiative” to help combat the city’s carbon-emissions and urges for residents to visit local parks in addition to actively participate in their Neighborhood Watch group.
Imm He also emphasizes that the city council’s purpose is to serve the people, which is why its decisions should not be overly convoluted for the common voter to understand. He believes that it is the City Council’s responsibility to communicate with Cerritos residents on how exactly the annual budget is being utilized, which increases transparency. With a “utilization analysis,” which works similarly to an annual record, the public will be informed through an open forum on how funding is distributed throughout the city. Jason Hong, a junior at Boston University and previous Cerritos resident, states, “[Imm’s] campaign reminds me a lot of U.S. presidential candidate, Andrew Yang’s, both of whom are extremely progressive and have unique solutions.”
Imm’s extensive background in the political sphere has provided him with the experience necessary to serve on city council. In 2007, Imm volunteered for President Obama’s first Presidential election and served as an intern under Congressman Ted Lieu. At Chapman University, Imm earned a dual degree in Political Science and Psychology, with a minor in English; since then, he has worked at the LA District Attorney’s Office while finishing his last year at Loyola Law School.
With the March 3rd election quickly approaching, Imm is working tirelessly to win a seat. On December 13th, Chris Imm held a “Smash Tournament,” where his supporters gathered to play rounds of Super Smash Bros Nintendo. Ryan Bowdre, who runs a Smash Ultimate Facebook group, was the winner out of 15 competitors. Imm utilized this opportunity to speak with the players individually about why he is running. His campaign is a grassroots approach, utilizing volunteer efforts, lawn signs, door-to-door campaigning, and his “Coffee with Chris” events to reach out to voters. Canvassing, which is the systematic contacting of city residents mainly through phone calls, is a crucial part of his campaign to increase publicity.
There are many ways to help Imm’s campaign: donating through his campaign website (https://chrisim4cerritos.nationbuilder.com/donate), hosting a house party, or meeting fellow residents to spread awareness. Voting is on March 3, 2020 and will be provided directly by the
Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk’s Office.
Stella Hong, Grade 11
Whitney High School
