Lakewood candidate confronts homelessness & crime
Former educator presents new ideas not tried yet in Lakewood.
By Brian Maquena
May 5, 2022
SOUTHWEST LAKEWOOD, CA —Michelle Hamlin and her family recently woke up to a transient on their property.
“A homeless person who was out of their mind,” said Hamlin, describing the trespasser to City Council at its Feb. 22 meeting. “It took 30 minutes to talk that person off our porch. That’s not a unique story in Lakewood, unfortunately.”
Hamlin is running against longtime incumbent Todd Rogers, who has served on Council since 2001. Rogers, a former assistant sheriff, is well respected for his public safety background. Yet Hamlin says the deterioration of Lakewood’s public safety is why she is running for Council district 1. The election is June 7th.
This isn’t the first time Hamlin has taken on the role of a crusader. As an elementary teacher at Los Angeles Unified School District, Hamlin voluntarily ran an afterschool tutoring program.
“She gave a lot of extra time to her kids,” said fellow teacher Debbie Weaver. “She would give up her lunch hour.”
After working at Los Angeles Unified for 17 years, Hamlin became a realtor and homeschool mom. She and her husband bought a home in Lakewood in 2006.
“I love my neighbors like crazy. I love my community,” said Hamlin, “I hate what’s happening to it!”
Rogers has taken notice.
The 21-year incumbent changed his mind on a no-confidence vote against District Attorney George Gascon after the Lakewood Populist on Feb. 16 announced Hamlin’s intention to run. Rogers called for a vote against Gascon on Feb. 22.
This stood in sharp contrast to Rogers’ previous statements against anti-Gascon votes.
“There have been several cities that have taken these no-confidence votes against the DA [Gascon] and it’s a political thing,” said Rogers at the Sept. 14 Council meeting. “The Lakewood way is not to just blast people from a distance.”
Rogers has also taken personal aim against Hamlin on Facebook.
After a user posted pictures of a major Lakewood homeless encampment, Hamlin on April 22 wrote that she was running to fix the situation.
Rogers pounced.
“Your suggestions certainly would have been welcomed over the years we have been on the front lines grappling with this pandemic of homelessness,” Rogers wrote to Hamlin.
“Should the Lakewood community expect results in another 2 decades?” Hamlin responded.
“I work on behalf of your family every single day,” Rogers responded in a now-deleted post. “If you have the solutions to the homeless problem then by all means let’s hear them. You can have all the credit.”
Hamlin has been working on solutions, lending a helping hand to one local homeless and researching possible rehabilitation programs.
Personal homeless outreach efforts
When stealing bicycles, Norman’s heart is in the right place —sometimes.
The Hamlin family for two years has given homeless Norman care packages and recyclables. He has confided to them how he gets robbed of his bicycles and loses cell phones and EBT cards given to him by Los Angeles County.
In response, Norman steals bicycles and gets more free cell phones and EBT cards, even hotel vouchers. Feeling bad, he sometimes gives stolen bicycles to residents from whom he stole earlier.
“He doesn’t have the skills, the coping mechanisms, to handle...the challenges of life,” Hamlin explained.
All this has convinced Hamlin that the county’s current approach of free stuff and shelters is not working.
“He needs to learn coping skills,” Hamlin said about Norman. “Where’s that being offered?”
New rehab programs
In researching solutions to Lakewood’s homeless crisis, Hamlin has scoured the internet and spoken with others, including Lakewood’s homeless services deputy Chuck Nowotny. Two approaches have caught her eye.
Officials in San Antonio have utilized faith-based and secular organizations to personalize rehabilitation homeless services. Hamlin is researching local businesses that may be interested in helping to fund such a program, pointing to the San Antonio model.
“What have we been doing? Because, whatever that is, it hasn’t been working,” Hamlin said.
Another approach she highlights is the Costa Mesa Bridge Shelter program, created via a partnership between the cities of Costa Mesa and Newport Beach. The shelter only serves homeless with strong ties to those cities, having a no-walkup policy. Bellflower has a similar program.
Challenging state & county officials hurting Lakewood
Hamlin called out Council for not challenging officials making harmful decisions against Lakewood.
“None of our City Council has come out and condemned [LA County Supervisor] Janice Hahn,” said Hamlin, citing the supervisor’s actions against Sheriff Alex Villanueva.
Between February and April, Hahn and fellow board members developed new rules enabling the possible termination of 3,000 unvaccinated Sheriff’s deputies. The change took away from Villanueva the power of enforcing vaccine mandates, giving it to the director of personnel.
Villanueva called the new rules a “death blow” to public safety.
Similarly, while Council publicly condemned a state housing mandate for multifamily zoning, Rogers took a campaign-styled photo with state Speaker Anthony Rendon who passed the mandate. California Senate leader Toni G. Atkins said in August 2021 that the housing mandate was passed “in large part due to the partnership and leadership of Speaker Anthony Rendon.”
Hamlin would like to challenge officials like Rendon and Hahn via social media.
“Any and all people who are making decisions and writing legislation...at odds with the safety and best interest of Lakewood citizens,” said Hamlin, describing whom she would challenge. “Everybody will be put on blast.”
Hamlin’s neighbors have expressed concern over the worsening quality of life. Joe Neric, who sold his home with Hamlin’s help, left Lakewood for Indiana in part because of the crime.
“It was just not going away,” said Neric.
Neric’s daughter found a hypodermic needle at a play area in Biscailuz Park. He also found drug users parking in front of his house and getting high.
“If she’s running on cleaning up that city, she’s the right person to do it,” Neric said. “She takes pride in that neighborhood.”
“I’m going to give it everything I have,” said Hamlin of her run for Council. “I’m not going to roll over. ... I hope Mr. Rogers understands that.”
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