A Compton resident’s proposal to rebuild his community may have been shot down because of political drama amongst leaders in the city.  

Former gang member Chico Brown raised $500,000 for a community-based project to bring rival gang members together to repair the city’s infrastructure, according to Atlanta Black Star. 

“I got guys from East Side Crips, Pirus and Hispanics working together to rebuild the city,” Chico told Good Day L.A. “I went to the Mayor [and said], ‘Do you think this is possible?’ She said ‘Yeah, write up a proposal.’”

Many of the former gang members who signed on to participate in the project had prior experience in construction and contracting. 

“It seemed to be a no brainer to go to the city, ‘Hey, we got this money, we got these guys that want to come back and repair some of the damage that they’ve done over the years,’” general contractor Derrick Amos told Fox 11. 

Yet, when the proposal was rejected in a 3-2 vote by the city council, it unearthed mounting tensions between Compton Mayor Aja Brown and members of the city council, Janna Zurita, Tana McCoy and Isaac Galvan.  

As Chico was filming the proposal process for a documentary, he captured his conversation with Councilwoman Zurita, who said “That’s what you get for f—ing with Aja. That is what it is.”

Making it clear that it was a matter of her versus us, Zurita continued by saying, “This is her whole project! Sometimes, it ain’t what you do, it’s who you associate with. You know that better than me Chico!” 

Zurita has since denied claims about any feuds between her and Mayor Brown. 

According to Brown, Zurita, McCoy and Galvan have created a voting block, making it nearly impossible for the mayor to get anything done in the city. 

“I have experienced bringing on Adidas, bringing projects forward to restore our parks, even to repair our streets and there is a voting block that has voted no against these improvements,” Brown said. Brown became Compton's youngest mayor in 2013 and has worked to improve conditions in the city. 

Councilwoman Emma Sharif said she attests to the mayor's statement, saying she has had proposals blocked by her fellow councilmembers as well.

Because of this, the Compton mayor said she is considering launching an investigation against the councilmembers, as their actions are a violation of the Brown Act, which guarantees the public’s right to attend and participate in local legislative body meetings. 

While his proposal may have been rejected, Chico said at this point, he wants to expose the corruption of Compton politics so real change can eventually happen.