(코리아타운뉴스) “My Wife and Kids Are All Koreans!”

Frank Yokoyama is running for Cerritos City Council seat
Seung-hee Ha, his wife, is Korean-American

“I’m a homegrown candidate who lived in Cerritos for over 40 years.”

Frank Yokoyama is a self-proclaimed “homegrown” politician raised in Cerritos. He moved to Cerritos in 1976 with his Japanese father and Filipina mother. Since then, Yokoyama has never left home.

After graduating from Whitney High School and receiving his BA in management at UC Berkeley, he attended Harvard Law School. When he completed his studies, Yokoyama returned to Cerritos to work as a lawyer. Now, he is collaborating with his father on a family real estate business.

Yokoyama chose to run for a seat in the Cerritos City Council because of his “love for the city,” he said. He added that the goal is to make further changes to a place he called home for more than 40 years.

Yokoyama’s aspirations were strengthened even more while he was working as the Cerritos City commissioner. He emphasized that public safety and sanitary are his top priorities and explained that the budget to protect those two values will never be compromised.

“Reducing the budget for public safety should never happen as the crime rate in Cerritos is rising,” Yokoyama said. “I’m going to secure a variety of local businesses to increase tax money.”

Yokoyama also elaborated on his relationship with the Korean-American community. “I’m part Filipino and Japanese, but my wife is Korean,” he said.
“I believe my children are closer to being Korean,” Yokoyama said.

“We’re a Korean family. I’ve been married and have lived in Cerritos for such a long time. I’ve developed a close relationship with the Koreans here and I’m confident that I can be the voice for the Korean-American community in the city council.”

Some will still remember that Yokoyama ran for the same position just two years ago. He fell behind by 27 votes and finished fourth in the race that was set to elect three officials. For the upcoming election, seven candidates are butting heads for two positions.

When asked what differs him from other candidates, Yokoyama showed off the T-shirt he was wearing. It was a shirt provided to volunteer workers in Cerritos.

“As a lawyer and a businessman, what makes me more proud than my career in Cerritos is coaching the local youth sports teams,” Yokoyama said. “As a homegrown candidate, I’d love to have a chance to contribute to the growth of Cerritos.”


By Won Hee Cho