From left: Councilmember Jennifer Hong, Mayor Pro Tem Lynda Johnson, Mayor Frank Aurelio Yokoyama, Councilmember Mark Pulido, Councilmember Sophia Tse.
Newly elected members of the Cerritos City Council were officially seated and a new mayor and mayor pro tem selected during a special meeting of the City Council held March 26 at the Cerritos Center for the Performing Arts.
The City Council selected Frank Aurelio Yokoyama as mayor and Lynda Johnson as mayor pro term. This followed the installation of new Councilmembers Mark Pulido, Jennifer Hong, and Sophia Tse, whom voters selected in the March 4 general municipal election.
“I am grateful for the unanimous support and trust of my fellow councilmembers in this selection, and honored to serve as mayor of my hometown of Cerritos,” said Yokoyama. “Throughout its history, Cerritos has continually elevated our service to residents and embraced the needs and makeup of our diverse community.
“As we prepare to celebrate our 69th year as a city, I’m pleased to serve on a council that will represent many firsts: Cerritos’ first all-Asian American City Council, including three members of Filipino ethnicity, and the first majority female City Council. I’m proud to serve as the first Japanese American mayor of the City of Cerritos. Together, we will serve the diverse needs of all residents and build upon this city’s strong foundation.”
Pulido, Hong and Tse were joined by family and friends as they were officially sworn in. Administering the oath of office for Pulido was State Attorney General Rob Bonta, with the oath for Hong administered by San Gabriel Mayor John Wu, and the oath for Tse jointly administered by ABC Unified School District School Board President Ernie Nishii and Deputy Superintendent/Chief Financial Officer Toan Nguyen.
The new councilmembers succeed outgoing Mayor Naresh Solanki, Mayor Pro Tem Chuong Vo, and Councilmember Bruce Barrows. The three were recognized for their nearly 40 years of collective service to Cerritos during a special meeting of the City Council on March 19.
Councilmember Biographies
Frank Aurelio Yokoyama, a Cerritos resident since 1976, was elected to the City Council in 2017, became mayor pro Tem in 2019, and was re-elected. He previously served on the Cerritos Planning Commission from 2011 to 2013.
Yokoyama has achieved Level I leadership in the League of California Cities Mayors and Council Members Leadership Torch Program and currently serves as president of the National League of Cities Asian Pacific American Municipal Officials. He has served on the Southern California Association of Governments (SCAG) Executive Administration Committee since 2020 and is the SCAG Regional Council District 23 representative.
Additionally, he is a member of the League of California Cities Asian Pacific Islander Caucus and has served on the Rancho Southeast Realtors Fair Housing, Diversity, and Inclusion Committee since 2023.
Yokoyama is a businessman, attorney and a youth sports coach. He graduated from UC Berkeley Business School and Harvard Law School. In honor of his service as a volunteer coach for the city’s Youth Sports Leagues, he earned the Merit Award in 2013 for coaching six sports teams, the Commendation Award in 2014 for coaching 10 sports teams, and the Mayor’s Award in 2020 for coaching 20 sports teams.
Yokoyama and his wife, Wendy, are parents to daughter Makenna and son Maddox.
Lynda Johnson, a resident of Cerritos since 1971, was elected to the City Council in April 2022. She has served as a governing member of the ABC Unified School District Board of Education from 2011 to 2017.
A 38-year employee of Los Angeles County, Johnson was a paralegal with the District Attorney’s Office for 20 years. She also served as the field deputy to Sheriff Alex Villanueva from 2021 to 2022. Currently, Johnson serves as special assistant to Supervisor Janice Hahn.
Johnson attended ABC Unified School District schools, including Patricia Nixon Elementary School, Haskell Junior High School and Artesia High School.
Mark Pulido, a Cerritos resident since 1973, is a two-time former mayor. Beginning in 2001, he served three terms on the Board of Education, including as president from 2007 to 2008. He was first elected to the City Council in 2011 and served until 2020. During that period, he was re-elected in 2015 and served as mayor in 2014-2015 and 2018-2019. After sitting out due to term limits, Pulido was elected to the City Council again this year.
Pulido worked nearly three decades in local, state and federal government, as Assembly consultant to the California speaker, State Senate district director, and most recently district chief of staff to Rep. Alan Lowenthal. Gov. Jerry Brown appointed Pulido to the California Volunteers Commission (2013-2017), the board of the California Science Center and Exposition Park (2017-2019), and the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum Commission (2017-2019).
Pulido graduated with honors from Whitney High School in Cerritos. He and his wife, Gloria, raised their family in the city.
Jennifer Hong, a Cerritos resident since 1984, was first elected to the City Council this year. She previously served as a member of the Parks and Recreation Commission, chair and member of the Planning Commission, and chair and member of the Let Freedom Ring Committee.
Hong is a businesswoman and entrepreneur, having launched a successful garment business in 1990, and remains active in the global apparel industry. Her community involvement includes being a long-term member of the Women’s Club of Artesia-Cerritos 2024-2025 president of Soroptimist International Club of Artesia-Cerritos, and vice chair of the I-Chinese American Political Action Committee.
Hong and her husband, William Palmer, have two adult sons.
Sophia M. Tse, a resident of Cerritos since 1983, was first elected to the City Council this year. She began her elected service career with the ABC Unified School District Board of Education in 2007 and was re-elected four times. During that span, she served three terms as president.
Tse is a business owner and teaches in the Nursing Program at Compton College. She previously taught at CSU Long Beach, CSU Dominguez Hills and UCLA, and was a long-time employee at St. Francis Medical Center. Tse holds numerous instructor licenses, including Basic Life Support, Advanced Pediatric Life Support, and for the Neonatal Resuscitation Program.
Tse’s volunteer service includes serving as president of the Whitney High School Chinese PTA, a member of the Chinese American Elected Officials Organization, and a member of the Asian Pacific Islander School Board Association. At Compton College, she has served on the By-Law, Enrollment Management and Academic Senate committees.
Additionally, she has served with the American Red Cross, Soroptimist International Club, and Optimist Club of Cerritos, and has volunteered in Neighborhood Watch and as a community instructor for basic life support and parenting classes.
Tse and her husband, Nie Long Tse, are the parents of three children, Susan, Gary, and Gabriel.