MONTEBELLO IS UNDER THREAT
Brown Act Violation During the Recall Process of District 5
Georgina Tamayo (D1), Scarlet Peralta (D2), and Ric Alonzo (D5) are run by the same campaign manager, Christina Cortez D4 (former mayor).
Scarlet Peralta (D2) endorsed Ric Alonzo in 2022 and donated thousands to his District 5 campaign.
April 26, 2024, Rick Alonzo circulated a text message to residents asking for signatures in the appointment for District5; indicating Ric's inside knowledge of the recall.
April 30, 2024, Recall PAC officially registers.
Recall meetings were held at Christina Cortez's residence, where she was present during the meetings. However, the meetings and recall were run by Julian Cepeda Castro, who is her best friend’s son.
Julian Cepeda Castro is a paid consultant for Georgina Tamayo (D1), Scarlet Peralta (D2), and former Councilmember David Torres (D4) and received TENS of THOUSANDS. Also received $20,000 from Neighbors for Better Leadership as a paid consultant. Cepeda lives in Whittier holds, a commissioner position there and serves on the Democratic Assembly District 56.
November 2024, Christina Cortez paid a visit to Bill Paolisso, a District 5 resident who had expressed interest in applying for the appointment to District 5. It is important to note that Christina and Bill have been friends for over a decade. Bill also ran for city council in 2015 and remains heavily involved in District 5. During the visit, Bill declares that Christina urged him to step aside in favor of Ric Alonzo’s appointment. After Bill refused, Christina asserted that he "did not have the votes." Her comments indicate inside knowledge and conversations of who the council was planning to appoint. That is considered a serial meeting which is illegal and prohibited under the Brown Act. (See Video)
December 2024, Christina Cortez paraded Ric Alonzo to other officials to gather support, during the Montebello reorganizations. Ric Alonzo's appointment was predetermined without public input and indicates a lack of transparency, which is a core principle of the Brown Act.
January 21, 2025, Resident's urged the City Attorney preserves integrity and transparency and insist that Scarlet Peralta (D2) recuse herself from the appointment process to ensure a fair and impartial appointment. Both City Attorney and Ms. Peralta ignored the call of concern.
January 29, 2025, City Attorney lied to the residents and set PRECEDENCE that a 2 out of 5 member body meets quorum resulting in an illegal appointment. (See Video)
District 5 has been exploited once again. Those in power misled and manipulated the residents of
District 5, who were unaware that the appointment with Rick Alonzo was already A DONE DEAL.
What is a Brown Act Violation?
Typically, a serial meeting is a series of communications, each of which involves less than a quorum of the legislative body, but which taken as a whole involves a majority of the body’s members. For example, a chain of communications involving contact from member A to member B who then communicates with member C would constitute a serial meeting in the case of a five-person body.
Similarly, when a person acts as the hub of a wheel (member A) and communicates individually with the various spokes (members B and C), a serial meeting has occurred.
In addition, a serial meeting occurs when intermediaries for board members have a meeting to discuss issues. For example, when a representative of member A meets with representatives of members B and C to discuss an agenda item, the members have conducted a serial meeting through their representatives as intermediaries.
