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Residents criticize San Gabriel council over LGBTQ proclamation and outreach during public comment
Summary
During public comment at the June 3 meeting, residents criticized the City Council for what they described as performative support for LGBTQ communities and urged deeper engagement, including funding and youth advocacy programs.
Two residents used the public comment period at the June 3 San Gabriel City Council meeting to criticize the council's handling of LGBTQ outreach and to urge concrete support for local LGBTQ organizations.
Vicky Godo, identified as a former HHEAR commissioner and San Gabriel resident, told the council the city's proclamation recognizing June as LGBTQ Pride Month was "hypocritical" and called on the council to participate in regional Pride events and the San Gabriel Valley Bridal Tour. Godo named multiple regional Pride events and said the San Gabriel Valley LGBTQ Center and others are building a regional network of support. "Photo ops and empty gestures were never enough," she said, urging the city to do more than symbolic proclamations.
Chastity Jennings Nunez, who said she had participated in council discussions a year earlier, asked the council to be "bold and in your face with their allyship and support for diversity and equity." She described a proposed committee from the prior year and said the committee's only tangible action was to invite the San Gabriel Valley LGBTQ Center to local festivals, which she characterized as insufficient. Nunez offered two concrete suggestions: that the council engage directly with young adults in San Gabriel to connect them to safe spaces, and that the city consider in-kind support or a grant to the San Gabriel Valley LGBTQ Center amid state funding uncertainty.
Both speakers asked the council to move beyond symbolic recognitions and to consider concrete measures including youth advocacy, funding support and proactive outreach.
Ending: The council did not take action on the public comments during the meeting; councilmembers and staff heard the requests and the speakers left informational materials for follow up.
