OPINION: Compton Cannot Function if City Council Ignores Its Own Charter

In the City of Compton, the most basic promise of government is that elected officials will show up, follow the Charter, face the public, and conduct the people’s business in the light of day. On Tuesday, that promise was broken.

The abrupt cancellation of the City Council meeting—without the Council even appearing in the chambers—was not only a breach of public trust, but a violation of the Compton City Charter itself. Section 603 requires the Council to convene; if there is no quorum, the proper and legal procedure is to open the meeting on record and then adjourn. Compton’s own laws are unambiguous. What happened this week was not how lawful governance works.

This is why residents are outraged. This is why community organizations are sounding alarms. The Charter was ignored at the exact moment transparency was most needed.

Local governments are held accountable through their city charters. So is Compton, California. Click the image to learn more!

A Meeting Canceled—Conveniently, When Accountability Was on the Agenda

For weeks, Compton residents have been demanding answers about Councilmember Spicer’s credit-card expenses—expenditures totaling thousands of taxpayer dollars, all approved by the City Manager, with no meaningful oversight, justification, or consequence. The community has every right to see the Credit Card Report that still has not been presented. They have every right to ask why public records requests are being delayed or ignored. And they have every right to expect a full accounting of how their money has been used.

Instead of answers, they were given a closed door.

To many citizens, the timing of this cancellation looks like an attempt to control the narrative—to shield City Hall from scrutiny at a time when the public is demanding financial accountability. When the community stands ready to ask hard questions, suddenly the meeting disappears. Not postponed. Not adjourned. Canceled, in direct contradiction to the Charter.

This is the kind of behavior that destroys faith in local government.

Compton Has Lived This Before — And Learned Hard Lessons

Residents have not forgotten the past. They remember former Mayor Omar Bradley being prosecuted in federal court for misusing a city credit card—over charges as small as a bowl of oatmeal. Whether or not one agrees with the outcome of that case, the message was clear:

Public funds must be treated with absolute integrity.

So why is Compton now tolerating thousands of dollars in questionable charges while City Hall looks the other way? Why are some officials held to the strictest standard while others are shielded from even basic public review? The double standard is unacceptable.

Leadership Cannot Pick and Choose When Transparency Applies

The Citizens Coalition is calling for the following:

1. Immediate release of the full Credit Card Report, including all expenditures by Councilmember Spicer and all approvals by the City Manager.

2. A public explanation for why the Council meeting was canceled in violation of Charter Section 603.

3. A reaffirmation by the Mayor and Council that no meeting will ever again be canceled outside the Charter’s legal process.

4. Independent review of internal financial controls to determine how inappropriate charges were authorized.

5. Consequences for any official—elected or appointed—who knowingly violated policy, procedure, or the public trust.

Compton residents deserve better than excuses, silence, or procedural games. They deserve accountability. They deserve consistent rules. They deserve a government that obeys the same laws it expects the community to follow.

The people of Compton are watching. And they are demanding better—not next year, not someday, but right now.