Pasadena’s New Vice Mayor Andy Wilson Looks Forward to Recovery, Unity in 2021

On January 9, 2021, Pasadena’s newly selected Vice Mayor Andy Wilson told Pasadena Now that he’s ready to leave 2020 in the rearview mirror and focus on recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as divisive politics, in 2021.

Wilson was unanimously appointed by his City Council colleagues to fill the position last month, taking over for Councilman Tyron Hampton.

“I don’t know about you, but we burned our 2020 calendar in hopes of putting that behind us,” he said. “I have to confess the first seven days of 2021 have not been a lot better… My view is: It’s always darkest before the dawn.”

While by the ongoing distribution of COVID-19 vaccines, much work lies ahead, Wilson said.

“We’ve got to survive before we can recover,” he said. “We’re, hopefully, seeing the light at the end of the tunnel with respect to getting through this. But I think the recovery is going to be a long, concerted effort to help businesses and residents get their feet back on the ground.”

“So I think you’re going to see a lot of our work trying to support people who have been disproportionately impacted, whether that be food security, [or] ongoing focus in terms of tenant protections and evictions,” Wilson added. “I’m hopeful that we can start that transition sooner rather than later.”

The pandemic has strained the city’s budget, which will also require attention, he said.

“I give Mayor Tornek kudos for making sure that we were putting dollars away for a rainy fund,” Wilson said. “It’s been more of a hurricane than a rainy fund.”

While revenues are sharply down, “we also need to provide more services than ever, so that really squeezes our budget,” he said. “I’m hopeful that we have sufficient resources… but the financial strain on the system is quite significant.”

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