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Public commenters at San Gabriel meeting allege misuse of homelessness funds and raise parking-enforcement concerns
Summary
During public comment at the Dec. 2 San Gabriel council meeting, one speaker alleged the city and county misused tens of millions of dollars and demanded firings; another speaker described unresolved parking-enforcement issues and alleged differential treatment. No formal council response is recorded in the meeting transcript.
San Gabriel — Two public commenters at the San Gabriel City Council’s Dec. 2 special meeting used the allotted public comment period to raise sharply worded allegations about county homelessness funding and to report unresolved parking enforcement problems.
What speakers said: Kash Patel, the first public commenter, accused local government and county attorneys of mismanaging homelessness funds, referenced a 2023 court matter involving U.S. District Judge David O’Carter, and said ‘‘Where is the $38,000,000 that the city and the county stole under their…programs.’’ Patel urged officials be fired and submitted three documents into the meeting record. He used profanity and a racial slur during his remarks; the council record contains the speaker’s full statements as part of public comment.
A second commenter, identifying themself as "transgender goddess queen," said staff had incorrectly told them speaker cards were required despite the public form stating submission was voluntary, described repeated incidents of unauthorized parking near their leased spaces and said officers told them the area was private property managed by Lotus Property Services and therefore not enforced. The speaker said a citation dated Nov. 22 had not been resolved and alleged the response was affected by their national origin.
Response: The transcript records the comments but does not show a substantive response, investigation or follow-up by the council or staff during the meeting. No staff report or council direction relating to the allegations appears in the meeting record.
Context and caveats: Public comment is an opportunity for residents to voice concerns; statements made during public comment are not evidence of wrongdoing. The allegations about $38,000,000 and other claims were presented by a member of the public and were not substantiated or verified during the meeting. Journalistic practice requires seeking corroboration from county or city records, court dockets, and relevant agencies before treating such claims as established fact.
Next steps: The city clerk’s office maintains public comment submissions and the speaker said he submitted documents into the record; anyone seeking further action on these claims should contact the city clerk to request follow-up. The meeting proceeded to consent calendar business and other agenda items after public comment.
Representative quotes: "It’s a ******* game. You’re playing with lives," Kash Patel said, and later, "Where is the $38,000,000 that the city and the county stole under their...programs?" The speaker also said he was submitting three documents into the record. The other commenter said, "I have called so many times that you guys refused to enforce there because when I called, maybe because I'm not a not a Latino, I'm not a Mexican, so I'm not able to get any services."
