ANTIOCH — Outgoing Antioch Mayor Lamar Hernandez-Thorpe recognized various city officials and a well-known community member for their contributions by awarding them a key to the city of Antioch on Monday at City Hall.
In his final mayoral address, Hernandez-Thorpe acknowledged the city officials for their valuable input, leadership, and willingness to step up and stand by the city as it faced turmoil, including an FBI investigation involving the police department.
Among those who received a key to the city were Kwame Reed, the city’s economic development director; Interim Chief of Police Brian Addington; city attorney Thomas Smith; Dawn Merchant, director of the Finance Department; Alan Barton, director of Information Technology; Brad Helfenberger, director of Recreation; Scott Bunting, acting director of Public Works; Kevin Scudero, acting director of Community Development; Ana Cortez, director of Human Resources; Tasha Johnson, director of Public Safety & Community Resources; and Susan Vasquez, principal executive assistant.
The late Barbara Sobalvarro, founder of Friends of Antioch Animal Services, also was among those who received a key for her fight to provide better animal protection.
Last week, Contra Costa County certified the results of the Nov. 5 general election. With his loss, Hernandez-Thorpe, who was elected as a councilmember in 2016 and became mayor in 2020, will pass the baton to former City Manager Ron Bernal.
“I leave in the same way that I started in 2016, with a heart filled with gratitude for the people of Antioch and the unsung heroes of the City Hall who make our city work,” Hernandez-Thorpe at a packed City Hall lobby.
In his remarks, Hernandez-Thorpe touched on his personal life. He said he was born at a jail in East Los Angeles to a mother who used drugs while she was pregnant and later placed in the foster care system. Because he couldn’t read or write English, he said was put in special education. He said he later joined the U.S. Navy, which helped him get into George Washington University.
“Honor, courage, and commitment is how I showed up as the mayor every single day. Who I am has never been determined by what office I hold,” said Hernandez-Thorpe. “Who I am honors the legacy of those who fought for the promise of tomorrow, who dared to stand up when it was unpopular to do so, and the commitment to see through the promise of tomorrow.”
Hernandez-Thorpe said he is proud of initiating strong police reforms during his tenure as mayor. Those reforms include mandating body cameras for officers, establishing Antioch’s first independent Police Oversight Commission, launching the mental health crisis response team, banning the use of police techniques that cause positional asphyxiation, and ending the hiring of officers who are under investigation from other departments or agencies.
He also spoke on the initiatives taken to tackle the city’s homeless population, such as opening a hotel for transitional housing, providing wrap-around services to help stabilize unhoused individuals, passing rent stabilization and anti-tenant harassment measures, and passing ordinances to protect people from being unjustly evicted.
During his speech on Monday, Hernandez-Thorpe picked up an infant seated in the front row with her grandmother and called her “baby opportunity.”
“This is Amaree (Faith Helton). I call her the baby opportunity. Her mother was addicted to fentanyl on our streets and got the opportunity to (enter) Opportunity Village,” said Hernandez-Thorpe, referring to Antioch’s first transitional housing program to help the unhoused. “This little miracle gets a chance to stand up here with the mayor and talk about the good things that we did in the city.”
Hernandez-Thorpe also highlighted various investments in technology to assist the police department, enhance safety in the community, and support youth programs. While he acknowledged that it was an honor to serve the city, he reminded the public that the FBI investigations were among the hardest things he had to deal with personally.
Hernandez-Thorpe said the public should not accept such investigations as normal and urged everyone to be accountable for their actions.
“I just have to remind people that in the midst of all that, the reason some of these folks are getting the key to the city is because it impacted everybody,” he said.
