City Council
Updated March 11, 2010
Cerritos City Council meetings are regularly held at 7 p.m. on the second and fourth Thursday of every month at the City Hall Council Chambers at 18125 S. Bloomfield Avenue. Meeting dates may be changed due to holidays and events. The current year's meeting schedule is posted on this website.
Mailing Address
P.O. Box 3130
Cerritos, CA 90703
Telephone: (562) 860-0311
Facsimile: (562) 916-1373
Mayor Joseph Cho, Ph.D.
Elected: 2007
Term Expires: 2011
Mayor Cho Biography
Telephone: (562) 547-4434 (cellular phone)
Mayor Pro Tem Laura Lee
Elected: 2003
Re-Elected: 2007
Term Expires: 2011
Mayor Pro Tem Lee Biography
Telephone: (562) 926-9860
Councilmember Bruce W. Barrows
Elected: 2007
Term Expires: 2011
Councilmember Barrows Biography
Telephone: (562) 860-6644
Councilmember Carol K. Chen
Elected: 2008
Re-Elected: 2009
Term Expires: 2013
Councilmember Chen Biography
Telephone: (562) 884-9357 (cellular phone)
Councilmember Jim Edwards
Elected: 2005
Re-Elected: 2009
Term Expires: 2013
Councilmember Edwards Biography
Telephone: (562) 924-6582
The City Council is composed of five members elected at large by the citizens of Cerritos to serve for four-year overlapping terms. As the City's legislative body, the City Council is responsible to the 51,488 residents of Cerritos for the implementation of all programs and services provided by the City. Annually, the City Council reorganizes, choosing one of its members to serve as Mayor and one of its members to serve as Mayor Pro Tem, both terms commencing in March and continuing for one year.
The City Council acts upon all legislative matters concerning the City by approving and adopting all ordinances, resolutions, contracts and other matters requiring overall policy decisions and leadership. The Council appoints the City Manager, the City Attorney and the City Clerk/Treasurer as well as the various commissions, boards and citizen advisory committees which ensure broad-based citizen input into the affairs of the City.
In reaching policy decisions, the City Council reviews proposals designed to meet community needs and sustain demanded service levels, initiates new programs to upgrade existing services, determines the ability of the City to provide financing for the proposed budget as submitted by the City Manager and oversees the expenditure of all City funds throughout the fiscal year.
Regular City Council meetings are held in the Cerritos City Council Chambers on the second and fourth Thursday of each month. In addition, following public notice, the Council may hold special meetings as may from time to time be appropriate. In addition to regular and special Council duties, the members of the City Council also act as members of the Cerritos Redevelopment Agency.
Cerritos Redevelopment Agency
The Cerritos Redevelopment Agency was established on November 19, 1970. The Redevelopment Agency's primary purpose is to prepare and execute plans designed to address blighted areas within the City. The Agency's initial project facilitated one of the largest shopping centers in Southern California to locate within the City. This year's budget begins the nineteenth full year of activity of a multi-year program designed to implement the provisions of both the amended Los Cerritos and the Los Coyotes Redevelopment Plans.
The administrative costs advanced to the Agency by the City of Cerritos for staff services and other operating expenditures, are retired and paid out of increment monies received from within the project areas.
