Satra Zurita
By Emilie St. John
Contributing Writer
COMPTON — A local elected official has returned a campaign contribution from a hazardous waste operator after reports surfaced about its negative impact on the community.
Compton City Clerk Satra Zurita returned a $500 campaign contribution to Demenno Kerdoon who owns and operates a hazardous waste facility in the 2000 block of North Alameda Street, that treats, stores, recycles and transfers used oil, used anti-freeze, oily water and contaminated oil and petroleum products.
“After public testimony and careful consideration, I found it to be in the best interest to return the campaign contribution to the company,” said Zurita when reached for comment.
“Demenno Kerdoon has been a good corporate partner to the Compton Unified School District. However, after the public spoke out about how the facility has personally impacted them and their family, it was important for me to return the contribution.”
Zurita provided a copy of the check that is dated Sept. 17, 2025.
“It’s extremely powerful for an elected official to return a campaign contribution because of concern for the community and about the businesses practices and/or dangers they may pose,” said John Mangia, president and CEO of St. John’s Community Health, who helps sponsor Zurita’s annual breast cancer walks. “This rarely occurs, so it’s a testament to Ms. Zurita’s independence and integrity.”
Residents spoke out during the Sept. 23 City Council meeting against the company’s operators and its impact on their families.
“My grandmother lived directly across the street from the refinery and raised my mother and her nine siblings here,” said Fidel Marquez, who spoke during the meeting. “My aunt passed from this rare illness, scleroderma, and I never knew anyone else to suffer from this until I met Vanessa whose mother had the same illness and who got it around the same time.”
Scleroderma is a group of rare diseases that involve the hardening and tightening of the skin.
“This issue has lit a fire inside of me to fight this company and hold them accountable to many rare medical issues caused by toxic chemical fumes poisoning our community,” Marquez said.
“I had a chance to speak with Ms. Zurita briefly after the meeting and she was the only person who spoke with us, offered an apology and explained her intention to return the contribution and I also asked her to please consult with the community that lives around the facility next time she is asked to write a letter of support and she pledged to do so,” said Abril Villanueva, who runs a local block club near the facility.
“I invited Mayor Emma Sharif and Councilwoman Lillie Darden to my Block Club Santa visit in December and they both showed up and smiled for pictures, only to turn around in February and write a letter of support for the company that is slowly harming our health and quality of life. I feel betrayed and heartbroken.”
Demenno Kerdoon recently applied for a hazardous waste class 3 permit modification that will substantively alter the facility’s design, operations or waste management practices, according to the state Department of Toxic Substances Control
In a Sept. 11 letter which included comments received by the public, the state agency said, “the calculated … cancer risk estimate (post-modification) would slightly increase due to the additional [volatile organic compounds] released per year, but the increase is not large enough to change the reported risk estimate after rounding to two significant figures.”
According to campaign finance statements posted to the city of Compton’s website, the city’s elected officials have taken campaign contributions from Demenno Kerdoon and World Oil Recycling.
Compton Councilwoman Lillie Darden’s campaign received a $1,000 campaign contribution from Demenno Kerdoon, according to her campaign finance statements covering the reporting period between Feb. 18, 2024 and June 30, 2024.
In 2021, then Councilwoman Emma Sharif received $1,500 from Demenno Kerdoon for her successful campaign for mayor.
Sharif’s 2026 re-election campaign has received additional payments of $1,036.58 in June 2024, and $1,500 in May 2025, three months after she wrote her support letter for the permit modification.
Neither Darden nor Sharif have said if they will return the campaign contributions they have received.
Emilie St. John is a freelance journalist covering the areas of Carson, Compton, Inglewood and Willowbrook. Send tips to her at emiliesaintjohn@gmail.com.
