Q&A Profile: Cerritos City Council Candidate Frank Aurelio Yokoyama

Get to know your City Council candidate Frank Aurelio Yokoyama a little more through Patch's Q&A session:

General Information About Frank Aurelio Yokoyama

Name: Frank Aurelio Yokoyama
Age: 44
Married? Children? My wife Wendy Ha Yokoyama and I have two children who attend elementary school and play youth sports.
How long have you lived in Cerritos? I have been a Cerritos resident since 1976.

Education

College: UC Berkeley (Business Administration) and Harvard Law School 

Employment Information

Job titles held: Cerritos Planning Commissioner, attorney, real estate broker, local businessman

Political Information

Party affiliation: Democrat
Running for: Member of the City Council
District: Cerritos City Council 

Election URLs

Website: www.frankyokoyama.com
Facebook: FRANK AURELIO YOKOYAMA

Extra Tid Bits About Frank Aurelio Yokoyama

What is something unique the public doesn’t know about you?

• My wife Wendy Ha Yokoyama is Korean and speaks Korean and Spanish.

What, if any, significant endorsements or shows of support have you received during your campaign?

• Los Angeles County Deputy Sheriffs; Los Angeles County Firefighters; Cerritos City Employees AFSCME Local 619, Los Angeles County Democratic Party; Hubert H. Humphrey Democratic Club. Congressman Alan Lowenthal; former Cerritos Mayor Laura Lee; Cerritos Councilmember Mark Pulido; ABC Board President Celia Spitzer; ABC Clerk Lynda Johnson; ABC Board Members Olympia Chen and Armin Reyes; Bellflower USD Board Member Debbie Cuadros; former Cerritos College Board Member Dr. Tina Cho

Questions for Frank Aurelio Yokoyama

Why are you running for a spot on the on the city council?

• I have been a Cerritos resident since 1976. I am running for City Council to give back to my hometown.

What specifically qualifies you to represent Cerritos and its citizens?

• I am a Cerritos Planning Commissioner, attorney, real estate broker, local businessman, and Cerritos youth sports coach. After graduating from Whitney High, UC Berkeley (Business Administration) and Harvard Law School, I returned home to Cerritos with my wife Wendy Ha Yokoyama to raise our two children who attend elementary school and play youth sports. Wendy and I have been school PTA and Foundation Boardmembers and volunteers.

What will you do to help draw more business and additional revenue sources to the city?

• Provide innovative ideas to strengthen our local economy.

What do you think are the city’s most pressing issues to date?

• Community safety is a top priority.

Do you have any pledges or promises you would like to make to Cerritos residents if you are elected to the council?

• Make community safety a top priority; Protect the quality of life for all residents; Partner with our school leaders to better serve students; Provide innovative ideas to strengthen our local economy; Fix our streets, sidewalks, trees and parks.

It seems like all cities have been forced to make cuts due to the recession and elimination of redevelopment funds. Where do you think these cuts should be made in the Cerritos budget?

• City Council travel expenses. We are overpaying for water.

Why are you the person the people should vote for on March 5?

• I have a vision of the diverse residents and families of Cerritos coming together to move Cerritos forward in shared positive ways over the next 4 years.
• Cerritos has an aging deteriorating infrastructure. Now is the critical time to reinvest in our community’s infrastructure, our streets our sidewalks our walls our parks and last but definitely not least our trees.
• Crime has been rising in Cerritos the past 4 years. burglaries are occurring every day in Cerritos. We have to come together as a community and say no more to crime.
• We need to move Cerritos forward together. I promise to be your city councilperson that is transparent, hard-working, ethical, open-minded, fiscally responsible, and accountable to you, the diverse stakeholders in the future of our great city of Cerritos.