From right, Sharon Kalani and George Chen participate in a candidates forum hosted by the Torrance Area Chamber of Commerce on Wednesday, April 1, 2026. (Photo by Drew A. Kelley, Press-Telegram/SCNG)
Sharon Kalani gives her closing remarks during a candidates forum hosted by the Torrance Area Chamber of Commerce on Wednesday, April 1, 2026. (Photo by Drew A. Kelley, Press-Telegram/SCNG)
From left, George Chen and Sharon Kalani participate in a candidates forum hosted by the Torrance Area Chamber of Commerce on Wednesday, April 1, 2026. (Photo by Drew A. Kelley, Press-Telegram/SCNG)
George Chen, left, gives his opening remarks during a candidates forum hosted by the Torrance Area Chamber of Commerce on Wednesday, April 1, 2026. (Photo by Drew A. Kelley, Press-Telegram/SCNG)
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From right, Sharon Kalani and George Chen participate in a candidates forum hosted by the Torrance Area Chamber of Commerce on Wednesday, April 1, 2026. (Photo by Drew A. Kelley, Press-Telegram/SCNG)
Candidates for Torrance mayor and treasurer shared their tactics for supporting the local business community during the Torrance Area Chamber of Commerce candidates forum on Wednesday, April 1.
Torrance residents will have the opportunity to vote for the city’s next mayor come June 2 and they will need to decide between two candidates that have very different views on how to preserve the business community in Torrance.
Sharon Kalani speaks during a candidates forum hosted by the Torrance Area Chamber of Commerce on Wednesday, April 1, 2026. (Photo by Drew A. Kelley, Press-Telegram/SCNG)
Councilmember Sharon Kalani is going after incumbent Mayor George Chen’s spot as mayor, citing a need for “new leadership.” A through line in Kalani’s campaign has been a need for the city to shift away from investing in international relationships and focus on expanding support for local small businesses.
Chen, however, has championed the city’s current sister and friendship cities across the globe and increased investments in international travel. And, each candidate argued their position during Wednesday’s forum.
City Investments
Throughout his four years as mayor, Chen has put forward motions supporting increasing the city council’s international travel budget and prioritizing events that attract international city leaders and delegates.
George Chen speaks during a candidates forum hosted by the Torrance Area Chamber of Commerce on Wednesday, April 1, 2026. (Photo by Drew A. Kelley, Press-Telegram/SCNG)
Chen said this is incredibly important with global sporting events taking place in Torrance’s backyard like the 2026 FIFA World Cup and the LA 2028 Olympics. This has paid off, he said, noting that the Taiwan National Olympic Committee has selected Torrance as their “base camp,” renting out city facilities for training and booking 50 rooms at the DoubleTree hotel.
“The more things we generate for the revenue for our city, the more we can help with affordability,” Chen said. “The best thing we could do to help the business community to be successful, is to bring in new businesses to generate revenue; to make Torrance the destination for LA 28 (and the) World Cup.”
Chen said fostering international relations and drawing big businesses to the city is the best way to generate revenue for the city.
“At the end of the day, it’s not just about the money, it’s all about the money,” he said. “Folks from the international community coming for the big games will stay in the city of Torrance, go to our hotels and restaurants, and generate revenue for us. That’s the best way for our city to generate revenue to overcome all the challenges in our nation.”
Kalani, on the other hand, said that if elected, she would roll back the funding for international relations and expand resources for the businesses already established in the city.
“I would remove expenses that are paying for projects like the Friendship City program,” she said. “Those are programs like our business attraction, retention and expansion programs along with our commercial facade improvement programs.”
Kalani is the owner of a small business within the city and said that her experiences as a business owner will inform the decisions she makes as mayor.
“I know the challenges that businesses are going through today,” she said. “We have rising costs, navigating regulations, finding and keeping a strong workforce and dealing with the uncertainty of our economy. It’s important to know there are positive reasons for businesses to be doing business in Torrance.”
Kalani said that she would also invest in public safety which she said is essential for the success of local businesses.
“I will prioritize public safety because safe communities are essential for your business to succeed,” she said, highlighting the current vacancies in the Torrance Police Department and an incentive program she put forward as a city councilmember offering police officers $100,000 to transfer into the Torrance Police Department.
Taxes
Chen was specifically asked about Measure SST (Safe Strong Torrance) which voters approved in 2022. Measure SST is a 0.5% sales tax that is exclusively spent on services benefiting residents. These include restoring public safety, capital contributions, reserve contributions, cyber security upgrades and homeless response efforts.
Over the past four years, Measure SST has contributed approximately $20 million to the city’s reserves. And, that has contributed to the reserve growing exponentially – from $581,000 to $150 million. This growth is something that Chen has “accomplished” during his time as mayor.
However, he attributes it to business growth in Torrance, not Measure SST.
“Mayor’s get things done,” he said, “and that’s what we’ve been doing during my first term as your mayor. We’re now the third highest sales tax generator in the county. Business is booming in Torrance.”
Chen was actually against SST, saying that Torrance needs to keep their sales tax rate low so that more people will shop in the city.
“I believe that the city of Torrance, from a business perspective, needs to have one of the lowest sales tax rates in the county or the state so that we can be competitive,” he said. “We need to be able to capitalize on new money.”
Kalani, on the other hand, was a strong supporter of the SST tax.
“The city needed a lifeline,” she said. “I walked for SST. It has delivered $95 million since its inception. That is a balance of saving your taxpayer money and earning revenues for the city.”
From right, Aurelio Mattucci, Mike Griffiths and Charles Deemer participate in a candidates forum hosted by the Torrance Area Chamber of Commerce on Wednesday, April 1, 2026. (Photo by Drew A. Kelley, Press-Telegram/SCNG)
Treasurer Forum
The Torrance Area Chamber of Commerce also asked questions of the Torrance treasurer candidates. Running for the position are current Councilmember Aurelio Mattucci, former Councilmember Mike Griffiths and city Commissioner Charles Deemer.
Aurelio Mattucci speaks during a candidates forum hosted by the Torrance Area Chamber of Commerce on Wednesday, April 1, 2026. (Photo by Drew A. Kelley, Press-Telegram/SCNG)
Not all candidates were asked the same question, but the topics discussed that are important to the business community include sales tax, investment priorities and relationships with local businesses.
Mattucci said that he does not support increasing sales tax, believing it would be unnecessary.
“Most cities have a spending problem not a revenue problem, so we have to start with that,” he said. “And, that’s the reason why the council is very aware of what they’re spending on. We can’t always go the easy route which is raising taxes. I’ve always been against raising taxes because you have to really start with cleaning up what you’re spending money on.”
Mike Griffiths, center, speaks during a candidates forum hosted by the Torrance Area Chamber of Commerce on Wednesday, April 1, 2026. (Photo by Drew A. Kelley, Press-Telegram/SCNG)
When it comes to investments in local infrastructure, Griffiths said that would not necessarily be the role of the treasurer, but he would help inform the policy makers of what would be financially sound.
“I’d be happy to share my input along with the investment brokers that we would work with as a city to make sure that we are providing the best options for the city council to make decisions on how we’re financing our different capital projects,” he said
As far as maintaining relationships with local businesses, Deemer said that he would hold quarterly meetings with the chamber and discuss what the city council can do to support them.
Charles Deemer, left, speaks during a candidates forum hosted by the Torrance Area Chamber of Commerce on Wednesday, April 1, 2026. (Photo by Drew A. Kelley, Press-Telegram/SCNG)
“I would meet with the chamber to look at the issues they’re looking to bring up to the council and coordinate the two of them so that the city infrastructure can support business opportunities,” he said.
Upcoming Torrance candidate forums
Here is the schedule for upcoming Torrance candidate forums:
Mayor, city treasurer and council District 5: 7 p.m. April 6 at South High School auditorium, 4801 Pacific Coast Highway. Hosted by the Riviera HOA and Seaside Neighborhood Association.
Mayor and city treasurer: 7 p.m. April 13 at Bert Lynn Middle School, 5038 Halison St. Hosted by the Southwood HOA and West Torrance HOA.
Mayor, city treasurer and Districts 1, 3 and 5: 6:30 p.m. April 23 at Toyota Meeting Hall, 3330 Civic Center Drive. Hosted by the League of Women Voters.