Mountain Views News, Combined Edition Saturday, October 31, 2020

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 Mountain Views News Saturday, October 31, 2020 

PORTRAIT OF OUR NEIGHBORS by Stuart Tolchin


JOHNNY LAI

 

Johnny Lai is a very atypical Sierra Madre resident. He 
was born in Taiwan and spoke no English when he came 
to the United States. He is a graduate of the UCLA School 
of Law’s Public Interest Section, coincidentally a classmate 
of my daughter. He has over 18 years of experience as a 
Criminal Defense Attorney and considers this to be a part 
of his mission as a Progressive Person. He is a married man 
who together with his wife are raising their two teenage 
children in this unprecedented time of school closures and 
required sheltering in place. 

He recognizes that his decision to practice as a criminal 
defense lawyer for the oppressed would not be as lucrative as 
other fields. He feels that this sacrifice is well worth the price. 
Sometimes, as bills becomes due, he may wonder about his 
decision but on the whole is very pleased with his decision. 

 Surprisingly, given his already described professional 
goals, Johnny was born to a successful family within Taiwan. 
His paternal grandfather was a dentist and his recently 
deceased father was a physician here in the United States. On 
the maternal side his mother’s family owned several factories 
and it was always expected that Johnny too would become 
a financially successful person. Johnny educated me as to 
the competitive nature of Taiwan. From the very beginning 
in the three year program that corresponds to American 
kindergarten, children are presented with mathematics 
and spelling and are rigorously tested. Parents with high 
ambitions for their children stay up until the early mornings 
reviewing school materials. Johnny explained that in order to 
gain entry into the most prestigious schools it was necessary 
to be almost perfect right from the beginning. Parental 
pressure was extreme and to disappoint one’s parents was a 
terrible calamity.

 It was with this sheltered background that Johnny, 
right after kindergarten, emigrated to the United States. The reason for this emigration was explained to Johnny as resulting from 
questions about Taiwan’s status as an independent country. The political description of Taiwan is still currently ambiguous but 
Johnny’s father determined that immigration to the United States was immediately required. After three years of kindergarten, 
during which time he excelled, he was brought to the United States unable to speak English. For this reason he was held back in 
school which was a source of humiliation and resulted in the terrible feeling that he had disappointed his parents. At this time 
in his life this was the worst thing he could imagine. 

 Moving ahead now to 1992, Johnny went to school in San Marino living within a privileged upper middle class bubble. 
His world view radically changed as the comfortable bubble in which he lived was pierced by the L.A. “riots” connected to the 
acquittal of white policeman who had brutalized an unarmed Blackman. (Sound familiar.) During the six day civil disturbances 
internationally known as the L.A. riots. Rodney King was interviewed and famously said “Can’t we all just get along?” Thirty years 
later that question which many viewed as simplistic and superficial still has not been answered. As a result of his recognition of 
existing inequities Johnny rebelled. He told his family that he was going to become a lawyer rather than a doctor. In his family 
that was rebellion.

 Today people like Johnny (and I) believe that Rodney King’s question can be answered positively. Yes we can get along 
provided we first eliminate the racism that has existed in this country since inception. Johnny believes that police reform, better 
training of police, better wages, and accountability will affect needed change, He has encouraged his children to develop broad 
skills and interests and to become knowledgeable about the world that exists beyond their comfort zone, Johnny supports 
Progressive Political candidates and is always interested in finding ways to improve conditions. Overall, not a bad guy to have 
in our community. 


In addition the County of 
Los Angeles has an item on 
the ballot and the State of 
California has twelve ballot 
measures for you to vote 
on. The League of Women 
Voters at the invitation of 
this newspaper, presented 
the Pros and Cons of each 
on Zoom last week. You 
can view the presentation 
and listen to the discussions 
by going to: https://us02web.
zoom.us/rec/share/cqcy-p2uMvannMTl81W9JVP4E5SNPWumr5OY1aoA2YD7sY2Nf6mmp2NTAKWUoGwg.
QcIo4jvULGvaGxRl Passcode: 8YE=q&M4.

Mountain Views News Recommendations:

Every election, the Mountain Views News brings together its 
'Editorial Advisors' to discuss the candidates and issues that are 
on the ballot. When done, we have our endorsement list to share 
with you. 

PRESIDENT/VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES

 JOE BIDEN/KAMALA HARRIS

US HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 27TH DISTRICT

 CONGRESSWOMAN JUDY CHU

US HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 28TH DISTRICT

 CONGRESSMAN ADAM SCHIFF

CALIFORNIA STATE SENATE DISTRICT 25

 ANTHONY PORTANTINO, JR.

CALIFORNIA STATE ASSEMBLY DISTRICT 41

 ASSEMBLYMAN CHRIS HOLDEN

PASADENA UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT - 6

 CRYSTAL CZUBERNAT

SIERRA MADRE CITY COUNCIL - 2 YEAR SEAT

 EDWARD T. GARCIA

SIERRA MADRE CITY COUNCIL - 4 YEAR SEATS

 ANDY BENCOSME

 ROBERT PARKHURST 

LA COUNTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY

JACKIE LACEY


Susan Henderson, 

Editor/Publisher

California Proposition 14, the Stem Cell Research Institute 
Bond Initiative

A "yes" vote supports issuing $5.5 billion general obligation 
bonds for the state's stem cell research institute and making 
changes to the institute's governance structure and programs.

California Proposition 15, the Tax on Commercial and Industrial 
Properties for Education and Local Government Funding 
Initiative

A "yes" vote supports this constitutional amendment to require 
commercial and industrial properties, except those zoned as 
commercial agriculture, to be taxed based on their market value, 
rather than their purchase price.

California Proposition 16, the Repeal Proposition 209 

Affirmative Action Amendment

A "no" vote opposes this constitutional amendment, thereby 
keeping Proposition 209 (1996), which stated that the government 
and public institutions cannot discriminate against or 
grant preferential treatment to persons on the basis of race, sex, 
color, ethnicity, or national origin in public employment, public 
education, and public contracting.

California Proposition 17, the Voting Rights Restoration for 
Persons on Parole Amendment

A "no" vote opposes this constitutional amendment, thereby 
continuing to prohibit people who are on parole for felony convictions 
from voting.

California Proposition 18, the Primary Voting for 17-Year-
Olds Amendment

A "no" vote opposes this constitutional amendment, thereby 
continuing to prohibit 17-year-olds who will be 18 at the time of 
the next general election to vote in primary elections and special 
elections.

California Proposition 19, the Property Tax Transfers, Exemptions, 
and Revenue for Wildfire Agencies and Counties 
Amendment

A "yes" vote supports this constitutional amendment to: 

*allow eligible homeowners to transfer their tax assessments
anywhere within the state and allow tax assessments to be transferred 
to a more expensive home with an upward adjustment;

*increase the number of times that persons over 55 years old or
with severe disabilities can transfer their tax assessments from
one to three;

* require that inherited homes that are not used as principal residences, 
such as second homes or rentals, be reassessed at market 
value when transferred; and

*allocate additional revenue or net savings resulting from the
ballot measure to wildfire agencies and counties.

California Proposition 20, the Criminal Sentencing, Parole, 
and DNA Collection Initiative

A "yes" vote supports this initiative to add crimes to the list of 
violent felonies for which early parole is restricted; recategorize 
certain types of theft and fraud crimes as wobblers (chargeable 
as misdemeanors or felonies); and require DNA collection for 
certain misdemeanors.

California Proposition 21, the Local Rent Control Initiative

A "no" vote opposes this ballot initiative, thereby continuing to 
prohibit rent control on housing that was first occupied after 
February 1, 1995, and housing units with distinct titles, such as 
single-family homes.

California Proposition 22, the App-Based Drivers as Contractors 
and Labor Policies Initiative

A "yes" vote supports this ballot initiative to define app-based 
transportation (rideshare) and delivery drivers as independent 
contractors and adopt labor and wage policies specific to app-
based drivers and companies.

California Proposition 23, the Dialysis Clinic Requirements 
Initiative.

A "yes" vote supports this ballot initiative to require chronic 
dialysis clinics to: have an on-site physician while patients are 
being treated; report data on dialysis-related infections; obtain 
consent from the state health department before closing a clinic; 
and not discriminate against patients based on the source of 
payment for care.

California Proposition 24, the Consumer Personal Information 
Law and Agency Initiative

A "yes" vote supports this ballot initiative to expand the state’s 
consumer data privacy laws, including provisions to allow consumers 
to direct businesses to not share their personal information; 
remove the time period in which businesses can fix violations 
before being penalized; and create the Privacy Protection 
Agency to enforce the state’s consumer data privacy laws.

California Proposition 25, the Replace Cash Bail with Risk 
Assessments Referendum

A "no" vote is to repeal the contested legislation, Senate Bill 10 
(SB 10), thus keeping in place the use of cash bail for detained 
suspects awaiting trials.


Mountain Views News 80 W Sierra Madre Blvd. No. 327 Sierra Madre, Ca. 91024 Office: 626.355.2737 Fax: 626.609.3285 Email: editor@mtnviewsnews.com Website: www.mtnviewsnews.com