Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Public Comment Ethics topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Residents accuse Commissioner Richard Quirk of racism during heated public comment at Whittier Planning Commission
Summary
Multiple members of the public accused Commissioner Richard Quirk of racist conduct and urged his removal during public comment at a Whittier Planning Commission meeting; speakers also alleged corruption and police or federal investigations without providing documentary evidence.
At a regular meeting of the Whittier Planning Commission, several members of the public used their allotted three minutes to accuse Commissioner Richard Quirk of racist behavior and to call for his removal from the commission.
Roland O’Connell told commissioners he had a recent court ruling enabling him to speak and repeatedly addressed Quirk directly: “You are a racist,” O’Connell said, and urged the commission to remove him and to challenge projects tied to Quirk in court. Magdalena Moe later told commissioners she believed Quirk had violated the city’s code of ethics and said she looked forward to his removal.
Other commenters made broader allegations about long-standing corruption in the city and said the FBI had been contacted. An unidentified speaker said, “The FBI is getting involved,” and urged residents to prepare for prosecutions; the commission took no official action in response to those claims during the meeting.
Several speakers who opposed Quirk urged organizing and chants at future meetings. Alex Rocha, participating remotely, led chants and told the commission, “Richard Quirk out the door.” The meeting chair and staff repeatedly reminded speakers to limit their remarks to three minutes.
The commission did not take substantive action on those accusations during the meeting. Chair Rodriguez moved the agenda forward after the public-comment period closed; commissioners later discussed procedural and ethics-related safeguards as part of subsequent agenda items.
What’s next: Allegations of misconduct and ethics violations raised in public comment require either a formal complaint to the city or legal action; the Planning Commission did not open an ethics investigation at this session.
