LA District Attorney Steve Cooley introduces Jackie Lacey to the Chinese community

Endorses Jackie Lacey for the next District Attorney at the Chinese Press Club

Los Angeles, December 9, 2011 – Los Angeles District Attorney Steve Cooley visited the Chinese Press Club in Los Angeles Friday to openly endorse Jackie Lacey for the next District Attorney and asked the Chinese community to support Lacey.

Lacey has been a career prosecutor for 26 years. She is now second-in-command to the District Attorney of Los Angeles County. If elected, she will be the first woman and first African American to hold the position in the county.

Daniel Deng, a criminal defense attorney, praised Lacey for her quality and integrity and promised that he would encourage his friends and colleagues to support Lacey.

Deng said Cooley has been a long friend in the Chinese community and his endorsement of Lacey will encourage more Chinese voters to support lacey.

Cooley has served as District Attorney for 12 years and has no intention to run for re-election next year.



Feature: Chinese American students experience U.S. political operation at federal level

LOS ANGELES, Jun 22, 2011 (Xinhua via COMTEX) -- by George Bao

Deanne Chen is a senior student at University of California at Berkley majoring in English and rhetoric, but her dream is to see how American politics are operating.

Her dream finally came true two weeks ago when she was accepted as an intern at the White House in Washington, D.C..

"I have been very active in politics and have spent time doing intern in San Jose, California at local government. However, my dream is to come to the U.S. capital to experience by myself the political operation at the top level. I am so pleased that now I am in Washington, D.C.," Chen told Xinhua in an interview over the phone.

Chen is among the very few students who can win a chance to intern at the White House, the center of American politics. She is not allowed to talk about what she is doing there, but one thing she can tell is that she is now experiencing some most important political events that are taking place in the United States.

Chen was born in San Jose, but since she was 6, her parents had sent her to the Chinese school to learn Chinese on Saturdays. Now she can have conversations in Chinese, but writing is still hard for her, she admitted.

"My bilingual ability is definitely a plus for me here," Chen said. Chen is the only Chinese American student who has won her internship this summer at the White House with the recommendation of the International Leadership Foundation that cooperates with the White House, the U.S. Congress and other government offices to select qualified students from the Asian community in the country to do intern there.

"I feel the urgency to learn more Chinese since many of my non- Chinese classmates are learning Chinese," said Chen. In Washington, she has many chances to use her Chinese language skills as an intern.

Lily Yin is another lucky Chinese American student who has won her chance to intern at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) office in the U.S. capital.

Yin is a student at University of Southern California majoring in business and accounting, but she has the intention to pursue her Ph.D program in education.

"I feel lucky being able to do my intern at the chief financial officer's office at NASA," Yin told Xinhua. She said Washington is different than Los Angeles, as she can only experience the operation of important government organizations like NASA there.

"I think my experience here will be a great help for my future career," said Yin.

Yin, who is also a member of the Civic Fellowship Program selected by the International Leadership Foundation, said she is expecting to meet students from China with the Young Ambassadors Program.

Joel Szabat, founder of the International Leadership Foundation, told Xinhua that this summer the Foundation has increased the number of internships from 30 to 50 Asian students, while 20 students from Beijing and 15 from Taipei will come to the United States as Young Ambassadors for a 2-week training.

He said students from the Young Ambassadors Program are not able to have internships in Washington, D.C., but they will have a chance to join the 50 Asian students who are doing their internships in the U.S. capital to exchange views.

It is a tradition for students in the United States to seek opportunities of internship during their school years to gain experience for future careers. Some internships are paid, some not.

In the United States, up to 2 million people participate in internships every year: around 75 percent of them are undergraduates.

Szabat said the tradition started in the 1970s, and in the 1980s and 1990s, it became more popular. However, Asian students often found it more difficult to get internship opportunities, and that prompted him to start the foundation.

Chiling Tong, president of the International Leadership Foundation, told Xinhua that students from China surprised their peers from the United States because of their ability to speak good English and their perceptions on world affairs.

"Those students from China are from top universities such as Beijing University and Qinghua University and have showed their solid knowledge on U.S.-China relations and issues on world affairs. They even performed better than many of the students from the Asian community in the U.S., based on the previous programs," said Tong.

She said right now students from China can not join other Asian students for internships at government offices, but they will have a chance to exchange views with other Asian students in the internship program.

"It is a good experience for students from China and the U.S.

to learn from each other and exchange views on many issues. They may have different views but they learn on ways to compromise.

That's the way for the younger generation to communicate. Today they are students, tomorrow they may be leaders in their own countries, and the experience they have today will surely be a plus for their future and for the two countries," said Tong. 

Mike Villines Comes to the Chinese Community for Support

San Gebriel, Oct. 22 (CPCLA) -- Mike Villines, Republican candidate for California insurance commissioner, spoke at a luncheon held by the Chinese Press Club Friday to win support from the Chinese community in his fight with his Democratic contender Dave Jones on November 2.

Villines addressed issues to the concern of the Chinese community and answered questions raised by the Chinese media.

Daniel Deng, Chairman of the Chinese Press Club, welcomed Villines together with Kenny Chang and Angela Chang and expressed the hope that through reports of the Chinese media Chinese American voters will have a better choice in their selection of the insurance commissioner.

An American girl's journey to help those needed in China out of poverty

by George Bao

LOS ANGELES, Aug. 26 (Xinhua) -- Casey Wilson is an American girl from California. Like many young Americans, she likes to learn Chinese. However, she did not expect that the six months at Tsinghua University in Beijing studying Chinese would have changed her whole life.

She did not return to California to find a high pay job to enjoy her life. Instead, she decided to do something for China, particularly for those living in the poor rural areas.

Wilson was shocked at the fast growing cities like Beijing and Shanghai. She knew that more Chinese have become rich along with the opening of China to the rest of the world in the 1980s, and some Chinese are even wealthier than Americans. However, she also learned that there are over 300 million Chinese who still live below the poverty line in the rural areas.

The American girl knows her own ability is limited, but she also knows if she starts to do something bit by bit, she can make a change.

In 2006, Wilson met with Courtney McColgan, another American girl from California, at a training project in Tsinghua University. McColgan studied Chinese community loans and planned to come back to the U.S. to start her own micro loan foundation.

The two girls decided to start their own loan foundation to help micro-entrepreneurs in China to start small businesses and lift themselves out of poverty.

Wilson raised about 20,000 U.S. dollars to register her own non- profit small loan foundation and built a website called Wokai, which means "I Start" in Chinese, to provide rural entrepreneurs in China with loan capital in the Spring of 2007. At the time, Wilson was 24 years old.

"I love China. I have lived there for four years and I speak the language, I think I can help them," Wilson told Xinhua in an interview in Los Angeles.

Wilson has a Chinese name Wei Kexin. In China, people called her Wei Kexin, and her Chinese is good. She even can understand some Sichuan dialect.

She said she has traveled most provinces in China, but now she travels to Sichuan and Inner Mongolia very often, because most of her micro loans have been released in the two provinces where she thinks there are more farmers who need help.

"Our loan could be 10 dollars but no more than several hundred dollars," said Wilson. She said even one hundred dollars can help a farmer start a micro business and start to make money to support themselves.

Fu Yanjun is a 30-year-old woman in Sichuan. She has two children, but lives in poverty. Wilson loaned 400 dollars to Fu to grow mushrooms at her home. Fu returned the loan to Wilson the next year with the money she made out of the mushrooms and her life is getting better. She is now able to send her children to school to receive better education.

Now Wokai has grown to 12 Chapters across the U.S., Canada and China with over 200 interns and volunteers, 10 corporate sponsors, and two field partners in Inner Mongolia and rural Sichuan.

Since the website launch in 2008, Wokai has raised over 169,000 dollars in loan capital and empowered over 400 borrowers in China to start small businesses. Wokai has offices in Los Angeles, San Francisco, New York, Boston, Seattle, Toronto, Beijing, Shanghai and Hong Kong.

Wilson said the next two years will be momentous as her team aims to raise over one million dollars in loan capital, connecting 50,000 contributors around the world to over 5,000 borrowers in rural China by 2012.

Wilson's ambition does not stop here. She said ultimately, Wokai aims to become the primary online resource for a growing number of contributors to help China's rural poor lift themselves out of poverty.

Wilson's idea is to help people who needed to get out of poverty by starting their own micro business, not just to give them money. Wokai has cooperated with local foundations to manage the loan with some service fees, but Wilson herself has never got paid with the money donated by contributors. She will make sure all the money contributed will go to those who needed.

She said so far she has received full support from the local governments in China and she has no conflicts with local governments. Also, 99 percent of the loan has been paid back so more people will get help with the fund.

While traveling in the poor rural areas in China frequently to provided help, Wilson also spends much effort in the U.S. to raise money. So far, 90 percent of donations come from Americans who know China or have relatives and friends in China. Most donations are small amount: between 10 to 100 dollars each. The largest amount she has received so far is a check of 50,000 from a Chinese American.

What makes Wokai unique is that donation and borrowing are all transparent over the Internet. Contributors get registered on the website and select the borrowers based on the stories posted on the website. Wilson will update each contributor and borrower once in every three months, and each loan will be followed for three years.

"So far we have found no abuse of the loans and more and more people want to support our work," said Wilson.

Chinese Press Club arraanges the Chinese media to visit Temple Station, Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department on July 16.

The station has contract cities of Bradbury, Duarte, Rosemead, South El Monte and Temple City, along with the unincorporated County areas of Monrovia-Arcadia-Duarte, North San Gabriel/East Pasadena , and South San Gabriel.
Temple Station also provides law enforcement services for the Chantry Flats area, located in the Angeles National Forest above the city of Arcadia.

Temple Station's patrol area encompasses 66 square miles and serves a diverse population of approximately 200,000 people.

Congressman Adam Schiff Meets Chinese Media

San Gabriel, June 4 (CPCLA) -- Congressman Adam Schiff met the Chinese media on June 4 at the Chinese Press Club to discuss issues on crime against intellectual property theft, war against terrorism, community safety and education, immigration reform and services his office provides to the Chinese community.

Adam, who met Chinese President Hu Jintao a few months ago, also talked about U.S.-China relations.

He said relations between the two countries, which deteriorated at the beginning of the year, are turning to the better. There are many areas which need the two countries to cooperate instead of confrontation, he said.

Stories by the Chinese media on the event will be put into our Chinese News section for your review.

California State Assemblyman Hector De La Torre meets Chinese press

San Gabriel, May 28 (CPCLA) -- California State Assemblyman Hector De La Torre came to the Chinese Press Club Friday to address issues of healthcare reform and other topics concerned by the Chinese community.

Hector announced his Chinese name as Du Hai De and said if he gets elected as the state's insurance commissioner, he will push forward for the translation of the insurance documents into Chinese, add more investigators to investigate insurance fraud and make sure that the low income families will have insurance.

Hector is running for the state insurance commissioner. He said the support from the Chinese community is important for him.

Please go to the Chinese News section to see how the Chinese media are reporting this press event. 

California State Assemblyman Hector De La Torre comes to the Chinese Press Club to meet Chinese reporters on May 28, 2010.

Here is the bio of Hector De La Torre:

Assemblymember Hector De La Torre (D-South Gate) represents the 50th Assembly District, which includes eight cities in southeast Los Angeles County - Bell, Bell Gardens, Bellflower, Commerce, Cudahy, Downey, Lynwood, South Gate as well as the unincorporated neighborhoods of Florence-Graham, and  Walnut Park.  He was elected November 2004.
Assemblymember Hector De La Torre has been named Chair of the newly created Assembly Committee on Accountability and Administrative Review.  The new committee will make its recommendations to the budget process and propose legislation based on hearings and investigations that would assist the economy and efficiency of state government. The committee will be responsible for reviewing and studying the administration, operation and effectiveness of programs and government agencies. In addition, it will review whether our government agencies are meeting their goals, delivering the services Californians have been promised and achieving results.
Assemblymember De La Torre serves on the following standing committees: Budget, Health, Housing and Community Development, Budget Subcommittee #1 on Health and Human Services and Budget Subcommittee # 4 on State Administration.
De La Torre has worked to bring healthcare solutions to the residents of the 50th Assembly District and pushed for the passage of landmark legislation to guarantee transparency in healthcare insurance policies throughout California.  He has fought to re-invest in our educational system, improve our water system, create awareness of recycled water, and tackle local infrastructure needs.  In addition, he has successfully expanded eligibility for state financial aid for students attending college.
 
De La Torre has a longstanding track record for championing legislation to ensure the integrity and accountability of public officials.  During his legislative tenure he has succeed in passing key bills to hold government entities accountable and financially responsible for safeguarding taxpayer money.  Examples include Assembly Bill 11 to reduce unethical practices by city councils, Assembly Bill 2753 prohibiting recalled elected officials from spending city funds when not authorized and Assembly Bill 2092 aimed at restoring public trust by assuring persons with a felony conviction cannot hold public office.
Prior to serving in the Assembly, he served eight-years on the city council of his native city of South Gate, including 2 years as mayor.  He is largely credited for leading South Gate residents in a grassroots campaign to recall corrupt elected officials, stabilize the city’s financial condition, and rebuild public trust.
Assemblymember De La Torre has worked to enhance the quality of life in the 50th Assembly District by ensuring funding to build new parks, investing in local infrastructure, attracting economic development, and improving police and community relations.  He has also worked as an advocate for new and better school facilities to alleviate overcrowding.
Assemblymember De La Torre holds a B.A. in Diplomacy and World Affairs from Occidental College and undertook graduate studies at The George Washington University.  He was appointed the Assistant to the Deputy Secretary of Labor in the Clinton Administration.
De La Torre has previously worked as a corporate project manager.  Most recently, he served as a judicial administrator with the Superior Court in Los Angeles County.
Assemblymember De La Torre and his wife, Christine, live in South Gate with their children Elinor, Henrik, and Emilia.

Congressman David Wu Meets Chinese reporters at Chinese Press Club

Rosemead, May 16 (CPCLA) U.S. Congressman David Wu met with Chinese reporters at the Chinese Press Club to talk about U.S.-China trade, re-evaluation of the Chinese currency RMB, U.S. exports to China, recent development of economic and trade relations between mainland China and Taiwan, and immigration reform in the United States.

The Chinese American U.S. congressman said sudden appreciation of RMB will not be good for both the U.S. and China.

He said the U.S. needs to improve in consumption and investment to increase U.S. exports.

Please go to our Chinese News section to see how the Chinese media report this event.  Readers can also take a look at photos showing the event at our Photo Gallery section.

Xinhua News Agency reports on Congressman David Wu:

by George Bao

LOS ANGELES, May 16 (Xinhua) -- A sudden appreciation of the Chinese currency is neither good for China nor for the United States, as it might cause tremendous job loss in China and inflation in the United States, a U.S. congressman said Sunday.

"I think over the long haul, there will be a re-evaluation of RMB (renminbi) against the U.S. dollar," David Wu, a Chinese American congressman, told Xinhua.

Wu has been appointed to the U.S. President's Export Council to give advises to the White House on trade issues.

On the issue of whether Washington will label China as a "currency manipulator" if China refuses to appreciate its currency as the U.S. side has asked for, the U.S. congressman said: "We will have to see."

Meanwhile, on whether the U.S. will lift restrictions on exports to China of some high-tech products to reduce the huge trade deficit with China, Wu said: "I don't think it will play a major role in recalibrating the monetary value going back and forth."

But he added that there will be some adjustments on the U.S. side on what things will be on which list. However, he did not go to details.

"I don't think that will be a tremendous monetary effect," he stressed.

He took Oregon, the state he is representing, as an example, saying that Intel is shipping the chip sets to China and put them into final consumer products there and shipping back to the United States.

He said exports of chip sets are of very high value, but not in the sense of high-tech restrictions. This is one way to increase exports to China to reduce the U.S. trade deficit.

He said the currency issue will continue to be important in the trade relationship between the two sides besides diplomacy, national security and environment, and trade relationship is the one that needs to be recalibrated.

Both sides will have major roles to play to make it a sustainable trade relationship, he added.

Wu meanwhile pointed out the need for the United States to make some changes to ways of consumption and investment.

"We, the United States, have over consumed in the short term and under- invested for the long term, and we need to become a more productive society and more investment-oriented society, and that will help our exports," he said.

News

LA County District Attorney Steve Cooley Meets Chinese Press

San Gabriel, May 14 (CPCLA) -- Los Angeles County District Attorney Steve Cooley, who is running for California Attorney General, talked to the Chinese media at the second press luncheon held by the Chinese Press Club Friday.

Cooley addressed issues such as Asian gang activities, illegal law practice in the Chinese community and how the DA's office deals with official corruption.

Cooley first got elected in 2000 and in 2008 he became the first District Attorney in the past 70 years to get the third term.

During his election campaign, Cooley promised to get more Chinese to work in his office. Now he said he has achieved his goal and more Chinese and Asian attorneys have come to work in different offices.

Such diversity is important to fight crimes, said Cooley.

Please go to our Chinese News section to read how the Chinese media are reporting this event and go to our Photo Gallery for photos showing the event.

About Steve Cooley:

THE HONORABLE STEVE COOLEY

Los Angeles County District Attorney

---

In the midst of his historic third consecutive term as Los Angeles County District Attorney, Steve Cooley has realized his goal of establishing the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office as the premier local prosecutorial agency in the nation. Mr. Cooley has hired bright, enthusiastic lawyers to join court-tested veterans. His staff includes recognized national experts in areas such as DNA evidence, public corruption, foreign extradition, fraud and gang prosecution.

The son of an FBI agent, Mr. Cooley is a career prosecutor. He joined LADA in 1973 as a law clerk and rose through the ranks. Nearly three decades later, he was elected District Attorney in 2000 by a landslide. He was overwhelmingly re-elected four years later. In 2008, he became the first Los Angeles County District Attorney in 70 years to be re-elected to a third consecutive term.

In his first term, Mr. Cooley led a massive reorganization of LADA based on his experience there and his nearly six years as a reserve officer with the Los Angeles Police Department. The changes to the nation’s largest prosecutorial agency are providing unparalleled breadth and quality of prosecution efforts. He has developed a team equally capable of fighting crime in the streets and in the corridors of power.

The District Attorney has been relentless in his pursuit of public corruption and of lawbreakers within the justice system. He created the Public Integrity Division that has prosecuted politicians whose misconduct had gone unpunished for years. For his work in this area and others, Mr. Cooley and LADA have received numerous awards and commendations. He also formed the Justice System Integrity Division, which holds judges, attorneys, police officers and others working in the justice system accountable if they break the law. Its motto is, “No one is above the law, especially those sworn to uphold it.”

Under Mr. Cooley’s leadership, the use of DNA and other new techniques in solving so-called “cold cases” has been given priority. LADA co-authored Proposition 69, California’s all-felon DNA database law.

The District Attorney led the international effort to bring justice to the families of murder victims whose killers fled to Mexico. He and his staff launched a massive campaign to pressure Mexican authorities to change a 2001 Mexican Supreme Court decision that barred the extradition of killers facing life sentences in the United States. Key to his efforts was the creation of the Web site EscapingJustice.com that highlighted the issue by telling the stories of victims whose killers fled to Mexico. In 2005, the Mexican Supreme Court overturned the previous decision and allowed criminals facing life terms to be extradited. LADA has since returned several murderers, including the killer of Sheriff’s Deputy David March.

To advance public safety, the District Attorney created the Criminal Justice Institute to showcase LADA experts who provide high quality training programs to justice system professionals.

Mr. Cooley directs more than 1,000 attorneys, nearly 300 investigators and more than 800 clerical and support personnel who prosecute 60,000 felonies and 130,000 misdemeanors annually. He oversees an annual operating budget of more than $330 million.

A native of Los Angeles, Mr. Cooley obtained a Bachelor of Arts degree from California State University, Los Angeles and a Juris Doctor degree from the University of Southern California Law Center. He and his wife, Jana, have been married for more than 35 years. They have two grown children.

Biography

David Wu has represented Oregon’s 1st Congressional District since 1999. Focused on ensuring our long-term economic success, he has fought to strengthen our nation’s schools, support innovative businesses, and improve our ability to turn cutting-edge research into new products, services, and jobs.

Wu advocates for Oregon students through his role on the House Education and Labor Committee, where he has helped make historic investments in federal student aid and is working to secure funds for K-12 schools to reduce class sizes and make much-needed repairs and renovations. As a member of the Higher Education, Lifelong Learning, and Competitiveness Subcommittee, he supports worker training for jobs in growing fields like clean energy and health care technology. On the Health, Employment, Labor and Pensions Subcommittee, he has helped craft health care reform legislation to make quality care accessible for all Americans. He has worked to improve job training programs and helped schools secure modern technology as a chair of the Congressional Community College Caucus.

Wu knows that innovation is the key to sustained economic growth, a healthy small business community, and the development of new green technologies to protect our environment. To grow Oregon’s innovation economy, Wu uses his role as chair of the Science Committee’s Subcommittee on Technology and Innovation to encourage new business investment and high-tech research. Because economic growth is based on turning new technology into commercial products and services, he is committed to overseeing strong tech transfer programs. As a member of the New Democrat Coalition, a group of moderate Democrats in the House, Wu helps craft smart policies to create stable, well-paying jobs and ensure our competitiveness for years to come.

The first Chinese American to serve in the U.S. House of Representatives, Wu is a constant supporter of efforts to protect and secure human rights and civil liberties at home and abroad. He is the former chairman and current Education Taskforce chair of the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus, as well as a member of the Congressional-Executive Commission on China.

Wu has lived the American dream. In October of 1961, at six years of age, he moved with his family to the United States after President John F. Kennedy signed an executive order updating unfair immigration quotas. He was educated in public schools, earned a Bachelor of Science from Stanford University in 1977, attended Harvard Medical School, and received a law degree from Yale University in 1982.

Early in his legal career, Wu clerked for a federal judge in Portland. He joined the Miller Nash law firm in 1984, and in 1988, co-founded the law firm Cohen & Wu. For a decade, the Cohen & Wu firm served the high-technology industry and numerous small businesses across northwest Oregon. Wu counts his work helping build new businesses that have thrived and provided well-paying jobs for Oregonians as among his proudest accomplishments during this time. His fifteen years of experience in the Portland business and high-technology communities make him uniquely qualified to represent the "Silicon Forest" district in Congress.

Police Chiefs from the Two Most Chinese Populated Cities Speak to Chinese Media

San Gabriel, May 7 (CPCLA) -- San Gabriel Police Chief David Lawton and Monterey Park Police Chief Jim Smith made their first appearaances at the Chinese Press Club Friday to meet the Chinese press and address issues closely related to the Chinese community.

It is the first press event the Chinese Press Club has held. About 15 Chinese meddia organizations sent reporters and representatives to cover the event.

Both police chiefs addressed issues such as whether their police officers will enforce immigration law, are there any quotas for the police to issue traffic tickets, whether the two cities will regulate family motels, and how the police departments will deal with city official corruptions.

Please check the Chinese News section from our website for the stories the Chinese media have published over the event.

You can also view photos of the news event at our Photo Gallery section.

Rosemead, April 27 (CPCLA) San Gabriel Police Chief David Lawton and Monterey Park Police Chief Jim Smith will come to the Chinese Press Club to meet the Chinese press to discuss important issues concerning the Chinese community.

Lawton and Smith become the first group of guest speakers invited by the Chinese Press Club. They will discuss issues on the impact of the Arizona immigration enforcement bill, whether local police will enforce immigration law, how the police will deal with the increase of crimes in the Chinese community, etc.

Chief David A. Lawton began his career with the San Gabriel Police Department in 1977.  He has worked as a Patrol Officer, Field Training Officer, Investigator, Patrol Sergeant, Administrative Sergeant and Captain.  He was appointed Chief of Police in July of 1990.

Chief Lawton has a Bachelor of Science in Criminal Justice from California State University, Los Angeles, and a Master of Science in Management from California State Polytechnic University, Pomona.  He graduated from Class 12 of the California Commission on Peace Officer Standards and Training Command College and Session 57 of the Federal Bureau of Investigation Law Enforcement Executive Development Seminar (LEEDS).

Chief Lawton is involved in numerous professional and civic organizations, including the International Association of Chiefs of Police, California Police Chiefs Association, Los Angeles County Police Chiefs Association, San Gabriel Valley Police Chiefs Association, Police Officers Association of Los Angeles County, San Gabriel Valley Peace Officers Association (past President), California Police Officers Association, Rotary Club of San Gabriel (past President) and the San Gabriel Community Coordinating Council (past President).

Chief Lawton is most proud of his volunteer efforts in serving youth. He is on the Board of directors for the Asian Youth Center. He serves on the National Law Enforcement Exploring Committee. He served as an Adult Advisor to the 1999, 2001, 2003, 2007 2009 National Law Enforcement Exploring Leadership Academies held in Washington D.C.

Chief Lawton served on staff at the 200, 2004, 2006 and 2008 National Law Enforcement Exploring Conferences in Flagstaff Arizona, Atlanta Georgia Fort Collins Colorado. He also served on staff at the 2001 and 2005 Boy Scouts of America National Jamborees held at Fort A.P. Hill, Virginia and will again be on staff for the 2010 National Jamboree again at Fort A.P. Hill.

Chief Jim Smith has over 28 years of service with the Monterey Park Police Department serving as an Explorer, Reserve Officer, and Police Officer. He has held a variety of ranks and assignments with the Department and believes in delivering police services to the community through a community based policing approach.