The mayoral candidate cites legal and governance concerns regarding Mayor Emma Sharif actions against the Willie Hopkins Jr.
Compton, CA- City Councilmember and mayoral candidate Andre Spicer recently blasted the actions of Mayor Emma Sharif that led to City Manager Willie Hopkins Jr. allegedly being put on administrative leave. Sort of.
According to Spicer in a press release that he sent out, during a closed door meeting at the April 7 city council meeting, Sharif allegedly made the decision singularly, without a vote or the council receiving any type of legal counsel advice to address the matter that she was concerned about.
Spicer alludes there were no lawyers present during the portion of the closed door session, which centered around Hopkins’ performance evaluations.
“I am concerned about the lack of legality, process, and transparency of recent actions taken by the mayor involving the city manager,” Spicer said.
Hopkins’ employment contract with the city, in documents provided to The Bulletin, specifies that those evaluations take place annually and semi-annually. In a released statement, Spicer had superseded those barometers.
“The city manager has now been scheduled for multiple performance evaluations this year, most recently on April 7, 2026, even though his employment agreement provides for evaluations at the six-month and one-year marks,” according to Spicer.
“Repeated evaluations outside those parameters raise questions regarding contractual compliance and proper use of the evaluation process” he added.
Spicer sees what the mayor did as a red flag from a legal standpoint.
“The Mayor has stated that legal advice exists to support these actions; however, that advice has not been provided to the full City Council, and legal counsel was not present during key discussions,” Spicer stated. “This is concerning given the legal and financial implications involved. Additionally, the city manager appears to have been placed on administrative leave without a clearly gendized action or formal vote on the dais. A pre-prepared notice of leave further raises concerns regarding whether the action was authorized by the full council.”
Spicer goes on to harshly rebuke the mayor further for her actions.
“At the same time, the City is conducting nationwide recruitment for key executive positions, while the state auditor-both in 2022 and 2025-has already cited instability in the city manager position as a governance issue,” Spicer remarked. “These actions risk compounding that instability. It is also concerning that while the mayor, and apparently at least two other colleagues, appears to have acted swiftly in response to an undisclosed issue not clearly presented to the council or the public”.
Spicer continued, “Here was not a comparable response to concerns regarding the performance of the city’s most recent city attorney. This raises questions regarding consistency in executive oversight. The factual and legal basis for placing the city manager on leave has not been clearly articulated. Any such action must comply with the city manager’s contract, applicable law, and principles of due process.”
Spicer is hoping for full disclosure over the matter.
“I am calling for a pause on further action until the full council receives formal legal guidance and the matter is properly agendized and considered in accordance with the law. As many have stated most recently, as it relates to other matters, residents of the City of Compton deserve transparency, accountability, and lawful governance.”
Source: Compton City Councilman Andre Spicer. Andre Spicer. Photo caption: Compton City Councilman Andre Spicer at the 68th Annual Compton Christmas Parade on Dec. 9, 2023.
