Read the March 5 meeting.

!

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

guitar solo

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

I'm sorry.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

piano plays softly

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

piano plays softly I love you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

guitar solo

Thank you.

Thank you.

piano plays softly

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

piano plays softly

Thank you.

piano plays softly

Thank you.

Recording in progress.

Valerie Amezcua

Madam Clerk, please start the meeting.

Jennifer L. Hall

Yes, Mayor, go ahead.

Valerie Amezcua

I hereby call the Santa Ana City Council meeting to order. this meeting is taking place with in-person attendance and by teleconference via zoom the public may access the meeting via the Santa Ana YouTube channel or the city's website please bear with us as the technology may disrupt the flow of the meeting madam clerk please conduct roll call

Jennifer L. Hall

Thank You mayor councilmember Becerra councilmember Hernandez present councilmember Lopez councilmember Penaloza present councilmember Vasquez Mayor Dukes. Mayor Dukes. Mayor Pro Tem Phan. Mayor Emescu. Mayor Emescu. The records show we do have four members. That is a quorum.

Valerie Amezcua

Thank you, Madam Clerk. Are there any additions or deletions to the closed session agenda? There are none. Do any council members need to announce or abstentions on closed session items?

Valerie Amezcua

Hearing none, Madam Clerk, do we have any speakers for closed session?

Jennifer L. Hall

We do not have any speakers on closed session, nor did we receive any e-comments related to the closed session agenda.

Valerie Amezcua

Perfect. Thank you. this time we'll recess the portion of the meeting to the closed session agenda thank you

recording stopped

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

I'm sorry.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah

Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

guitar solo

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Ooh, ooh, ooh

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

guitar solo

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

piano plays softly

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

piano plays softly

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Recording in progress.

Jennifer L. Hall

Meeting is being recorded.

Valerie Amezcua

Thank you very much. I hereby reconvene the Santa Ana City Council meeting to order. This meeting is taking place with in-person attendance and by teleconference via Zoom. The public may access the meeting via the Santa Ana YouTube channel or the City's website. Please bear with us as the technology may disrupt the flow of the meeting. As a reminder, this is a meeting to conduct the business of the City. As Mayor, I am afforded the opportunity to call for a recess or even to clear the meeting room if a meeting becomes too disruptive to properly conduct business. Warnings will be provided prior to any action being taken.

Valerie Amezcua

We appreciate your cooperation. For everyone's safety, per the Fire Marshal, please do not stand or place objects in the aisles, in front of the dais, along the back wall of the Council Chamber, or in front of the entrances or exits. To ensure that all members of the public may watch and participate in the meeting without disruption, designated media areas for filming and photography are marked. Guidelines for members of the news media and anyone else who wishes to film or photograph the meeting are available in the lobby.

Valerie Amezcua

During City Council presentations and oaths of office, guests of individuals being recognized are invited to come to the front to take photos. Madam City Clerk, please conduct the roll call.

Jennifer L. Hall

Thank you, Mayor. Council Member Becerra?

Phil Bacerra

Here.

Jennifer L. Hall

Council Member Hernandez?

David Penaloza

Present.

Jennifer L. Hall

Council Member Lopez? Here. Council Member Penaloza?

David Penaloza

Present.

Jennifer L. Hall

Council Member Vasquez?

David Penaloza

Present.

Jennifer L. Hall

Mayor Pro Tem Phan? Here. Mayor Meskwa? Present. The records show all seven members present.

Valerie Amezcua

Thank you, Madam Clerk. Before we proceed to the Pledge of Allegiance, please make your announcement, Madam Clerk.

Jennifer L. Hall

Thank you, Mayor. FOR MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC ON ZOOM OR TELECONFERENCE TO REQUEST TO SPEAK DURING PUBLIC COMMENTS ON CONSENT CALENDAR AGENDA OR NON-AGENDA ITEMS WITHIN THE CITY'S JURISDICTION, YOU MUST DIAL STAR 9 FROM YOUR PHONE OR CLICK THE BUTTON LABELED RAISE HAND FROM ZOOM NOW IN ORDER TO BE IN THE SPEAKER QUEUE ONCE PUBLIC COMMENTS COMMENCE. THIS DOES NOT PERTAIN TO BUSINESS CALENDAR ITEM 18, CONSIDERATION OF A CEASEFIRE RESOLUTION FOR WHICH PUBLIC COMMENTS WILL BE HEARD DURING CONSIDERATION OF THAT SPECIFIC ITEM.

Jennifer L. Hall

So if you currently have your hand raised on Zoom for item number 18, we ask that you lower it at this time, and we will call for you when that item is heard. Hands in Zoom now would be for the remainder of the consent calendar items, 1 through 17, or any specific non-agenda related comments. Thank you.

Valerie Amezcua

Thank you, Madam Clerk. First item on the agenda is the Pledge of Allegiance. Mr. Garcia, can you lead us in the Pledge of Allegiance, please?

Please join me in the Pledge of Allegiance. Ready? Begin. I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands, one nation, under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.

Valerie Amezcua

Thank you, Mr. Garcia. At this time, the words of inspiration will be provided by Mayor Beltone. Please come to the podium, please.

Thank you. Hi, my name is Maribel Tuan, and I am one of the pastors at New Song Church. I'm the local global pastor. It's an honor to be here with you today, and I just wanted to share a little bit about what I felt God was putting on my mind. Oftentimes, I hear words and the word that came to mind today, all day, is unity.

And our church came to the city of Santa Ana after being 20 years old because we really believed that this is one of the most beautiful places to live out our vision of diversity and inclusion of everyone. one a sanctuary for all and for us to just be able to live it out here the last 10 years has been incredible because there's no other place we think in this county that we could have been in this where we are now so santana is a blessing to not just the people here but the people in the county

we've had in the past months visitors from all over the world come and just see what is happening happening here. I really strongly believe that Santa Ana can impact the world. It can impact so many places that need it at this moment. And that is going to be the blessing that I will now take time to do. Heavenly Father, we thank you God, Creator, Light. We thank you for this beautiful, beloved city of Santa Ana.

It is favored grace, and in that favored grace, we ask that you give grace for in wisdom, in unity for the city. May the things that really matter be the ones that come to pass. May lives be transformed, not just in this city, but in the world. the city has so much beauty power and most of all the diversity that you created we ask that in this place you meet every single person where they're

at in their own in their own diversity God would you just welcome we welcome you in this place to bring about change and transformation thank you in your

Valerie Amezcua

name thank you very much madam clerk are there any additions or deletions to the City Council agenda there are none thank you first presentation is the Santa Ana high school girls wrestling team come on up

Thank you.

Valerie AmezcuaItem 1

Don't they look great? A girls wrestling team! They look amazing! I don't know about you, but how many of you want to go to the mat with them? Right? From what I hear, they're rock stars. So tonight, and it's, you know, it's Women's History Month, so how could I not? Right? How could I not? These amazing girls. Alright, so tonight I'm pleased to welcome the Santa Ana High School girls wrestling team. team. The team recently made history for their outstanding athletic performance at the California State Tournament. They became the 2024 CIF runner-up team and qualified for state. And

Valerie AmezcuaItem 1

coach, correct me if I'm wrong, this is the first time, right? Or how long has it been? 20 some years for girls? For girls? Since 2009? All right, correct me, good. All right, Alright, yeah, let's give them a round of applause.

Valerie AmezcuaItem 1

You want to stand next to Teresa and make a mistake and give them all these, like, accolades, right? They're amazing. Where's Monica?

She's behind you. Oh, where is she? I thought you were with us.

Valerie AmezcuaItem 1

Okay, the Santa Ana High School girls wrestling team includes 21 girls, one head coach, and four assistant coaches. Head coaches Tim Byers, assistant coach Liborio Salazar, assistant coach Fernando Serratos, assistant coach Monica Serratos, assistant coach Brenda Perez.

Are you all here besides the others?

Valerie AmezcuaItem 1

Co-head coach. Okay, so whoever wrote this up gave it to me. I apologize. See, this is why I don't read things. I should just go by what I want in my heart. That's usually how it works. So, together they broke barriers and made Santa Ana extremely proud. I'm going to read their accomplishments and then I'm going to put these down. Achieving 10th place out of 275 schools in the state. Achieving 2nd CIF Central Division. So far so good. Achieving 6th Masters Southern Section. Winning the league championship. Right? Let's give a round of applause.

Valerie AmezcuaItem 1

So those of you who know about wrestling know that, yes, they get on the mat alone. but they don't do it alone they do it as a team and they do with their parents and their families and so that's what makes them all very special is this look at that they've accomplished so much together and they have a wonderful principal miss and though and she supports them as well and so yes let's give her a round of applause please

Valerie AmezcuaItem 1

Santa high school is the biggest school in the district and so she has a lot on to play and so thank you for being here tonight and she's a Santa Ana resident

Valerie AmezcuaItem 1

the most important part of the team's accomplishment that it was a total team effort from the rookie girls in practice to the state placers and everyone in between each girl was part of the success with that said I want to congratulate the team for the outstanding season that you had and I know some of you are freshmen some of you are sophomores some of you are juniors how many seniors you're off to college or somewhere right this is great how many freshmen look at that all right we'll be seeing you here every year so what i wanted to say is thank you

Valerie AmezcuaItem 1

for representing santa ana high school and being a good example and good to each other and supporting each other and to your parents let's give your parents a round of applause please thank you

Thank you.

Valerie AmezcuaItem 1

Thank you. Because we know how much work it takes, and I know Monica, we spoke earlier, and we talked about the work it takes, right? To travel and everything with you. So we just wanted to give you this, I wanted to give you this and say thank you from the city of Santa Ana for all that you did this whole season. You guys are remarkable and I'm so very proud of you. As a woman mayor and a girls wrestling team, I'm proud of you guys. So I'm not gonna read off very bit but I'm gonna have your coach and your principal and your co-assistant coach come up and speak okay come on up.

I just want to thank everyone we've got such a support group at Santa Ana High School we've got great community we have got great principals and leaders our athletic director is the top bar none got great coaches they all come in and and help us out. Everybody has their part of the pie. And then the girls, they just come in, and whatever we throw at them, they take it. From working hard in practice, going through the positions, fighting through, beating that person that beat them before, taking over those challenges, something

you haven't done before, and just rising to those occasions. I couldn't be more proud of these young ladies, the coaching coaching staff, and our whole entire administration at the high school. And we just want to thank the community for also supporting us so well. Thank you. Thank you.

Come on. You're a mom. So I played kind of a different role. I have two of my own daughters on the team. My husband is a coach. I'm a coach on staff. So it's really been a family dynamic for us. and we couldn't have landed in a better spot you know just as Byers mentioned it has been support across the board from administration to the community to the families the girls and trusting all the coaches that we kind of know what we're doing and they have just given their all this season to see this team flourish the way it has has been amazing and I think all the coaching staff is just

honored to be a part of it so if you guys are out and about you know again we appreciate the support we hope it continues and these girls are you know on on their way to success and I think you'll be seen and hearing a lot more about these fantastic girls so thank you

Valerie AmezcuaItem 1

come and close it out for us you get to be the closer I'm so incredibly proud of

of our Lady Saints, they are amazing. They are leading the way for Santa Ana High School and I couldn't be more proud of the female leadership that we have here, not only academically but athletically and then just the strength of their mindset amazes me every single day. So incredibly proud to be able to serve them and thank you so much for honoring us tonight. You're very welcome. This is for you. All right girls, let's take a picture.

Thank you.

Thank you guys. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

Thank you.

Second.

Benjamin VazquezItem 2

Thank you. See you again.

Take care.

What Oscar? Rodriguez.

Valerie AmezcuaItem 2

Next presentation please by Councilman Hernandez.

Johnathan Ryan HernandezItem 2

Alright, if we could please invite the Santa Anita Neighborhood Association up to the front. Felipe Guerrero and Martha Calderon. Please welcome your way to the front.

Benjamin VazquezItem 2

Hold on, I think I see his girlfriend.

Oh, yeah?

Benjamin VazquezItem 2

She works here, too.

Johnathan Ryan HernandezItem 2

All right. Well, what an honor and a pleasure it is to be here with you all today. March 5th, 2024. Today, my office is presenting a certificate of recognition for outstanding contributions to the community. Today, we are recognizing neighborhood leaders from the Santa Anita community, Felipe Guerrero and Malta Carderon. Please give them a round of applause.

Johnathan Ryan HernandezItem 2

The Santa Anita community is one of the older communities in Santa Ana. its stories go back generations. Through the efforts of the Santa Anita Neighborhood Association for several decades families and children have been brought together to participate in community events including movie nights, camping trips, opportunities for local youth, community beautification activities, and my favorite is their holiday events. Additionally through Through annual neighborhood cleanups in Santa Anita, the neighborhood association continues to improve the environment in which its members live in.

Johnathan Ryan HernandezItem 2

This has resulted in an increased interest from residents in caring for their community as a whole. Some of the neighborhood's recent accomplishments include unveiling of a neighborhood mural at the Lucky Center Market off of Fifth and Jackson, of which that mural would not be possible without a collaborative effort of community artists, neighborhood leaders, government elected officials, and more importantly the city coming together. The Santa Ana Arts Coalition came together and they have inspired so many muralists to bring communities together. We have some of the artists that worked

Johnathan Ryan HernandezItem 2

on this mural in the room here today. What makes me excited about the mural at the Lucky Center Market is it was comprised of artists in our community that have created many murals that you all love and appreciate. But they worked with the neighborhood leaders in the Santa Anita community. They worked with people like Joe Gonzalez, who is now passed on. They worked with leaders like Felipe and Marta Calderon. And many of the people that you see reflected on the mural that is located off of 5th and Jackson are residents who once lived in the Santa Anita community.

Johnathan Ryan HernandezItem 2

community. Not only that, but family members who are now past, like the young Victoria Barrios, who was raised in the Santa Anita community, her mural can be seen. The beautiful image of her face is there. And so these murals tell the family stories of the Santa Anita community, and it is something special. And I want to thank my colleague, Councilmember Phan, because she worked collaboratively with the Santa community to actualize this mural. So I want to give her a round of applause for her efforts in supporting them as well.

Johnathan Ryan HernandezItem 2

Santa Anita was inspired to begin an anti-graffiti campaign in their own backyard. They started with the Lucky Center Market. They also along the way have coordinated their annual Thanksgiving event, which ensures that families in the Santa Anita community receive food and turkey donations and vouchers to help them during the holidays. They also coordinate their annual holiday toy and food distribution event where they're able to give to family members and their neighbors in the Santa Anita community exceeding over 250 people every single year. We thank

Johnathan Ryan HernandezItem 2

the Santa Anita Neighborhood Association for leading by example, for the care and devotion that they give to the city of Santa Ana and all of its residents. Their Their dedication, hard work, and their initiative to, more importantly, help the community does not go unnoticed. We, the mayor and the city council, are proud to honor you and to recognize you for your outstanding contributions to the Santa Ana community. Without further ado, this goes to Felipe Guerrero and neighborhood leader Martha Calderon.

Johnathan Ryan HernandezItem 2

If you could please do us the honors of sharing your guys' words.

I'd like to thank everybody for this award, especially Councilman Hernandez and Pam. They were really the ones that were really supportive of us, supporting us when we put up that mural project and continue to look for other areas that are graffiti written on everything to improve the city the image of the city thank you

Johnathan Ryan HernandezItem 2

okay well martha we just want to say thank you once again for being here

Johnathan Ryan HernandezItem 2

So do you guys want to come down for this photo? Sure. Come on up.

And on the count of three, we'll say Santanita.

Thank you. Thank you.

Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

Valerie AmezcuaItem 3

Next up is Councilmember Lopez.

Jessie LopezItem 3

Okay, the folks from the Orange County Community Housing Corporation, come on up, please.

Thank you.

Hi.

Jessie LopezItem 3

Hello, welcome. And I know some of you live in the city, so thank you for waiting.

Jessie LopezItem 3

Well, good evening everyone. Tonight we are here to recognize Orange County Community Housing Corporation for their ascending contributions to our local community and to the County of Orange as a whole. The Orange County Community Housing Corporation was founded in 1977 when members of the League of Women Voters, the Orange County Fair Housing Council, and the County of Orange Housing Committee came together with the vision to meet the housing needs for Orange County residents living under the poverty line. And so for over 45 years, they have remained committed to its mission to transition extremely low income families

Jessie LopezItem 3

towards greater self-sufficiency by assisting them with housing and education. And I encourage you to follow their social media websites. They share a lot of these workshops that they host, almost on a month-to-month basis. And thousands of families have been housed, and hundreds have been supported and prevented from entering the homelessness stage by OCHC. And some of those families continue to break their very own cycle of poverty through the free educational programs provided by OCCHC's signature program, Stepping Up. So please, as I said, follow them on social media.

Jessie LopezItem 3

And in 2023, OCCHC and its Stepping Up program accomplished the following. They housed over 1,330 at-risk individuals. So thank you for your work. Thank you. educated over 556 at-risk youth on a path to and through college, celebrating 120 college graduates to date. They empowered economic empowerment for 816 adults and celebrated their 100th homeowner

Jessie LopezItem 3

during their five-year anniversary of being a HUD-approved counseling agency. And so our often, often shares programs that they put for the community to participate. If you have questions about how you can become a homeowner, what is the initial step, I highly encourage you to follow them. They're a very educational organization, and I think they're also a very realistic organization in terms of the process of becoming a homeowner. And so we just want to thank you for your outstanding contributions to the community and your commitment to solving the region's shortage of housing for so many of our lower wage earners.

Jessie LopezItem 3

And so we would like to present you with the certificates, and we would also like to hear from all of you.

Yeah, of course. Thank you so much for this wonderful recognition. WE ARE ACTUALLY CELEBRATING OUR 47TH YEAR WORKING IN THIS COMMUNITY, IN THE COMMUNITY OF SANTANA AND HEADQUARTER HERE IN SANTANA. SO WE HAVE SEEN THIS BEAUTIFUL COMMUNITY TRANSFORM. AND I'M VERY HAPPY TO SEE A LOT OF FAMILIAR FACES HERE AT THE CITY COUNCIL. THANK YOU FOR ALL YOUR SUPPORT. WE COULD NOT DO WHAT WE DO WITHOUT THE SUPPORT OF THE COMMUNITY AND OF OUR LOCAL ELECTED OFFICIALS. At Community Housing, we are not a landing pad. We are a launching pad because when the families come at Orange County Community Housing,

we give them a hope and the vision, and we help them and give them the tools for them to become homeowners. And that's really the only way that we're going to be able to help them create generational wealth. And that's one of the many, many things that we do at Orange County Community Housing. I used to be a recipient of affordable housing. I went through college and the educational programs. I attended Santa Ana Community College, and as a resident at a community housing, they helped me and my family and gave us the tools that we needed to become successful and to get out of affordable housing and become homeowners.

So that's what we do here. We help a lot of families here in Orange County and in the city of Santa Ana. So we're so delighted to be here.

Thai Viet PhanItem 3

And Lady, Lady's gonna share a few things of what we do.

Really quick, Leti Plascencia, Orange County Committee Housing, advocates of home ownership. We believe that becoming homeowners is what revitalizes our neighborhoods as well. We take more pride and take more initiative in building wealth through home ownership. So as Jesse was saying as well, we do offer home buyer workshops. The city of Santa Ana has an amazing down payment program. We promote it in most of our workshops. It's what has helped a lot of our families get into home ownership. We've had five homeowners, we created five homeowners within the last year and

four of them took advantage of the down payment. So it's an amazing program. We guide them, we prepare them and fit them with the best lender that has good programs out there. So becoming a homeowner is not far from reach. It's actually easier to get into homeownership than impressing a landlord in today's eyes. So I encourage you guys to take the class and get educated. Thank Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Valerie AmezcuaItem 3

all right next up is councilman panelosa and councilman vasquez before we start i just want

Benjamin VazquezItem 3

to say que viva la mujer it's a women's history month and to all of you ladies who here are celebrating you guys tonight all the work that you all do we appreciate your work and the ladies that were here in the Santa Ana Women's Wrestling Team. Amazing work, amazing work. Thank you.

David PenalozaItem 3

Good afternoon, everybody. It is an honor to stand here with my colleague, Council Member Vasquez, to recognize a couple of individuals who have made our city more beautiful with their talent. And this is for their outstanding contributions to arts and culture in our city. So please, I would like to welcome, I hope they're all here, at least some of them, the 14 artists who are recognizing today. This evening, we gather to recognize and celebrate the culmination of a collaborative effort between multiple city agencies, local artists, and community members.

David PenalozaItem 4

The South Main Street Corridor Improvement Project represents a significant, which Councilmember Vasquez and I both represent, represent a significant endeavor aimed at revitalizing a key thoroughfare in our city. Yes, if you guys could please join me up here, that would be great.

David PenalozaItem 4

The project scope included various enhancements such as enhanced crosswalks, street lighting, and pavement rehabilitation.

David PenalozaItem 4

A standout feature of this project is the seamless integration of public art into the fabric of our community. Seventeen unique pieces of artwork were carefully selected that were beautifully designed by the individuals behind us to again to adorn a newly installed bus shelters on newly installed bus shelters along South Main Street the Public Works and

Benjamin VazquezItem 4

Community Development agencies issued a call for public arts proposals inviting artists or our teams with connections or ties to Santana for original designs to be implemented along South Main a panel consisting of community members local ARTWORK, WHICH LOCAL ARTISTS AND EDUCATORS REVIEWED ALL SCORED IN SUBMISSIONS. ARTWORK WAS SCORED BASED ON CRITERIA THAT INCLUDED ARTIST MERIT OR ORIGINALITY ADDRESSING SOUTH MAINE HISTORIC THEME AND POTENTIAL COMMUNITY IMPACT. COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT WAS PARAMOUNT THROUGHOUT THE PROCESS FROM THE INITIAL CALL FOR ART PROPOSALS TO THE SELECTION OF THE ARTWORK LOCATIONS.

Benjamin VazquezItem 4

THIS ENSURED THAT THE ARTWORK WAS NOT ONLY BEAUTIFIES OUR STREETS BUT ALSO RESONATES WITH with the people who call Santa Ana home. Each artwork is accompanied by a QR code, providing an interactive experience for residents and visitors to learn more about the history of Santa Ana, Maine, and the inspiration behind the work.

Benjamin VazquezItem 4

We encourage all residents and visitors to take a stroll along South Main Street, experience firsthand the beauty and cultural significance of these artworks.

David PenalozaItem 4

And as you're driving down Main, Please be aware that there are bulb outs and trees. Don't crash into them. We've had a couple of those, you know, get taken out. But tonight we have the honor of recognizing the 14 talented artists you see behind us, whose creativity and vision have enriched our cityscape. Their contributions to this project will leave a lasting legacy for generations to come. Thank you for your outstanding contributions to art and culture. your art plays a vital role in enhancing the visual appeal of our city while also reflecting the cultural richness and history of our community. Now if I could

David PenalozaItem 4

I wish all 14 of you could speak. I mean if you all 14 of you want to please go ahead but I'd like to invite one of you whoever I would like to. No pressure. No pressure. All right, come on.

How's it going, everybody? Hope you're all having a great night. I think opportunities like these are really, really great for our artist community because it gives opportunities for young artists, up and comers, and also established artists, but really for everybody because these opportunities not only beautify, but really allows people to have pride about where they live and our city and come on, the city is so great. How can you not love it? And I'm just glad to be part of this great group of artists here some of our friends and some I don't know and I Wanted to get to know but we're here and if you guys need more out there

That's what we're here for so glad you guys have thought are having us over in All right

David PenalozaItem 4

Shamina

David PenalozaItem 4

Maria Spinoza

David PenalozaItem 4

Roger Ayas.

Did I say that right? Yes.

David PenalozaItem 4

Rogelio.

David PenalozaItem 4

Eric. Alicia Rojas.

David PenalozaItem 4

And Bud. Lori. Okay. So we will have staff mail these to them.

Jose Lozano.

David PenalozaItem 4

but Herrera Alicia Rojas Valerie Henderson and Kimberly Duran who cannot be here tonight but we will make sure that they get these no to them or hand delivered whatever they prefer so thank you all so very much the city of Santa Ana thanks you Ward six and Ward two thank you we thank you for making our city just more beautiful to live in.

David PenalozaItem 4

If our colleagues want to join us for a picture please come on down.

Go ahead.

Thank you. Thank you all very much. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you very much.

Thank you.

All right.

Valerie AmezcuaItem 4

Some really great presentations. Thank you to the council up here. At this time, we're going to go to the city manager comments. Mr. City Manager, may we please hear your comments at this time?

Yes, thank you Madam Mayor and members of City Council. Good evening. Good evening to our staff and community members. I wish I wasn't given this report this evening because the reason I'm given this report is because the City of Santa Ana has been notified that a new application is being submitted to the State of California.

Valerie AmezcuaItem 4

Can you speak into the mic? I'm sorry. Thank you.

Can you hear me now?

Valerie AmezcuaItem 4

There you go.

Okay. One more time, thank you for allowing me to give this presentation. But again, as I mentioned, I wish I wasn't providing this presentation because the reason I'm providing the presentation is to alert the community. The council wanted to make sure the community was aware that a new application has been submitted to the state of California for a group to provide a needle distribution program in the city of Santa Ana. As we know, a few years ago there was a program in Santa Ana to distribute needles and it was a complete failure and caused a lot of concern and and

havoc in the city of Santa Ana. Tonight is about the first step in the process which is alerting the public and the council wanted to make sure the public was aware of these issues that these are concerns and we're taking some steps to to understand the process and protect Santa Ana as we move forward. I'll do four things, five things briefly this evening. First, quickly go over the legislative history related to this issue. The second one is to talk a little bit more about the distribution program that was in Santa Ana between 2016 and 2018.

I'll also cover quickly the new application details. And number three, tell you a little bit about what we've done so far and tell you a little bit more about what we're going to do. Next slide.

Next slide please. Thank you. In terms of legislative history, I won't go over all this in detail, but in 2011, the The Health and Safety Code section was signed into law, which allows the State Department of Public Health to authorize entities to provide hyperdermic needles and syringe exchange programs in any location the Department of Public Health determines that conditions exist for rapid spread of disease. This was amended again in 2018. This was amended again in 2020

2020 to allow the distribution without a prescription and finally it was amended again in 2022 to really eliminate or reduce the city's ability to look at these issues and how they might impact our environment next slide in terms of Santa Ana history in February of 2016 a group called the Orange County needle exchange program opened in Santa Ana the statements that were occurring at that time were that Santa Ana said during the time they were operational from 2016 to 2018 we experienced an overwhelming increase in needle debris

not only in the Civic Center but throughout the entire city another statement said ever since the needle exchange program was removed here in the city we have seen a dramatic decrease not only in the Civic Center area but throughout the city of the proliferation of discarded needles. Finally, you can't call it a needle exchange program when it's not a one-on-one, one-to-one ratio. It was a needle distribution program. The concern there was there wasn't a good enough job of collecting needles and ensuring they were properly disposed of. The Orange County needle exchange program

The program was closed in the beginning of 2018, and again, it was an epic failure that created heartache in our community. Next slide.

Needle distribution impacts. The city of Santa Ana experienced increased community complaints regarding discarded needle debris throughout the city. Dirty needles found in the Santa Ana library. Dirty needles were found outside of the library in parking lots, around government buildings, and slough all over the downtown Santa Ana area. Next slide. The needle distribution impacts. Overall, 250,000 needles never collected as part of that program. Next slide. Where the needles went. This is an example of the hazardous waste

that was left around the city of Santa Ana during that period. Next slide. Next slide. Here's a picture of a needle left in our Santa Ana Public Library where it could be accessible to many guests and obviously young children as well. Next slide. Where the needles went. Again, quite a few needles were found in various restrooms. This is a picture of one floor of a restroom. Next slide. This is another example of several needles that were located in an additional restroom room in Santa Ana. Next slide. This is an example of a needle that we might not have seen right away, or some other toddler or kid

could have picked up this needle. It was just discarded behind a plant in a government building. Next slide. In terms of the new application I described, this is from the current application. From that application, there are several items that are listed, and the applicant is responsible for providing an answer. The first question here that I listed, there was many, what is the estimated annual number of participants you will serve? 500. And again, from our point of view, 500 is a very low number. The impact that all of us feel

and that the image of Santa Ana, because of this distribution, because we see these needles and we have to worry about them is a significant impact to us. Item number four on that application talks about what is the estimated annual number of syringes you will provide. The answer is 300,000. This is a real telling item here. What is the estimated annual number of syringes you will collect? The answer is an estimated 180,000.

So if accurate, if accurate, they are, the applicant for this program is not planning to collect 120,000 needles as part of their program annually. Next slide, please. From the current application, how will syringes be provided? It's a needs-based approach, and basically there's no restrictions on how the needles are handed out and how often and how many. Next slide, please. From the current application as well, the program will be staffed by six employees. The total cost is just over $700,000. And when we look at that cost is, what is the cost to us?

We're going to have to be ensuring that we're publicizing how to be safe with this program. We're going to have to be collecting the needles. We're also in discussions with the county, and they're anticipating having several of their environmental staff having to go out and collect needles as well, taking away from other good things they could do for our community. Next slide please. What's next? The California Department of Public Health is required per state law to have meaningful consultation with our community. So we've started discussions with the state about how to do that. We're concerned that meaningful conversation

will take place. We want that to happen. We're gonna push hard for that. that has not been set in terms of the dates for that consultation but we'll be providing more information about that when that consultation concludes there will be a 45 day public comment period and we really will be expecting and hoping the community will help us and we will be publicizing how you can get involved with that process after that 45 day public comment period there'll be a decision rendered by the state within 30 days after that period. We've listed on this slide the the Santa Ana website. There's a lot of

information on our city website about this program already. Prior information from the prior program as well as the new application and a lot of the additional information. And so what have we done so far? We've organized ourselves we're we're having internal discussions and preparing for how to respond to this issue. We've met with our local state legislatures including Senator Umberg and Assemblyman Valencia. We've met with our County Health Officer and just to be real clear the County Health Officer has significant concerns about this program and doesn't feel it's the right time for this and doesn't feel Orange County is

prepared for this. The county also as a whole has a position that they are opposed to needle distribution programs. We also met with the county CEO and and an internal team is working on this issue to prepare ourselves. The next step for the community and council is, of course, we will keep you informed. We will push for meaningful consultation that you'll be hearing more about, and you need to get involved, especially during the public comment period. And again, as I mentioned, there's more resources for you on the website. We produced a fact sheet that's a two-page document that's easy to understand,

as well as the entire application is located on our website and easy for you to find and read and thank you miss madam mayor for the time to present this this evening thank you thank you

Valerie AmezcuaItem 4

very much mr city manager at this time we're going to go to closed session report madam city attorney

Sonia R. CarvalhoItem 4

thank you mayor members of the city council members of the public we had several closed session item discussions this evening we do have reportable action on item number two which was the liability claim the city council has approved a settlement in the amount of $199,883 and that's all the reportable action that we have thank you very much this is the time of the

Valerie AmezcuaItem 4

meeting for the city council to receive comments from the public on the consent calendar agenda and non-agenda items please hold any comments on business calendar item number 18 for proposed resolution which will be heard separately madam city clerk please explain the public comment procedures and call the first speakers please Thank You mayor pursuant to

Jennifer L. HallItem 4

resolution number 2023-047 speakers are requested to address the City Council directly and to refrain from profane language racial epitaphs and libelous or slanderous statements that disturb the decorum of the meeting pursuant to the Brown Act the City Council may not enter into discussion at this time speakers SPEAKERS WILL HAVE TWO MINUTES FOR THEIR COMMENTS. BEFORE CALLING THE SPEAKERS, I'LL PROVIDE A REPORT, THE FOLLOWING SUMMARY OF EMAILS. AS OF 2 P.M. TODAY, WE RECEIVED EIGHT EMAILS ON NON-AGENDA TOPICS. THOSE WERE DISTRIBUTED TO THE CITY COUNCIL AND POSTED TO THE CITY'S WEBSITE.

Jennifer L. HallItem 4

WE'LL NOW HEAR FROM MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC THAT ARE PHYSICALLY PRESENT IN THE COUNCIL CHAMBER FOLLOWED BY THOSE ON THE CONFERENCE CALL OR ZOOM TO PROVIDE THEIR COMMENTS ON CONSENT CALENDAR, AGENDA OR NON-AGENDA ITEMS ONLY. Item 18 comments will be heard later. Please state your name and the ward or neighborhood that you reside in for the record.

Jennifer L. HallItem 4

And I'll be calling three speakers at a time. If the first speaker could approach the podium and the other two line up behind, please. First speaker, Janine B., followed by Graciela Lepe, and public speaker on a non-agendized topic. No name provided. I'm sorry, clerk.

Valerie AmezcuaItem 4

Please set the clock for two minutes, please.

Jennifer L. HallItem 4

Yes, two minutes.

Valerie AmezcuaItem 4

Thank you.

Hi, I'm Janine, and I want to congratulate this council. I think your budget process and hearing from your constituents is very important. And you may already have this as a part of things, but I wanted to ask this council to consider providing additional education to the people of Santa Ana on how their tax dollars are spent. With the federal IRS tax deadline of April 15th quickly approaching, many people do not realize that most of the money taken out of their paychecks goes directly to the federal government. When you file your tax returns with the IRS, that money goes to the federal government.

It is the federal government that makes decisions about what funds will be spent on foreign policy, diplomacy, intelligence, and the military. While the state also collects payroll and sales tax, those funds are not used to fund the federal government. The City of Santa Ana gets a share of those funds. In addition, the City of Santa Ana, I believe, also has a sales tax that adds to your budget. The city does not have any control over how the federal government spends taxpayer dollars. So if you want the federal government to defund UNRWA or stop sending humanitarian aid to

terrorist organizations to build terror tunnels then you must reach out to your federal legislators since the city has no control over those taxes the use of taxpayer dollars does not make this issue a city issue it makes it a federal one it would be helpful to educate your city and that may already be what you plan as part of your budget process thank you

Jennifer L. HallItem 4

Thank you. Graciela Lepe, followed by public speaker on non-agendized topic with no name given, and Andrew Moreno.

Good evening. I'm Graciela from Ward 4. I would like to remind everyone here that you are on native stolen land.

And I would like to thank Jesse Lopez for listening to me and my concerns for clarifying what we talked about, about the resolution and so forth. But we need to add more words instead of taking away words to that resolution, which will be discussed by people here later on. Mayor, I am particularly here to discuss the McDonald's coffee with the residents. I am a resident. You saw me out there, and you saw that I was not allowed into that McDonald's.

Out of all places to hold a cafecito with the pueblo, right, with the people, you chose – I don't know how long this has been going on, but during a global boycott, you chose McDonald's. So, not only did you choose that place, but I as a resident was not respected or allowed in the place. I'm sure you're very aware because you were two feet away from me. And lastly, I don't know if it's your assistant, Ms. Claudia, Fernando de Vera said she was a nice, welcoming person and she did not welcome me.

I don't know if I need to wear a suit next time or wear my degrees on my neck, but I would like to know how I may approach you next time that you have a public event like this. And I have a few seconds to address Ms. Tai. I would like to ask for you to open your heart, put aside your personal and political agenda on this genocide and think of how your personal story relates to this genocide right happening right now thank you

Jennifer L. HallItem 4

the next speaker declined to give a name but wrote non agendized followed by Andrew Moreno and Mario Alvarado.

Good evening. I just wanted to be known that I'm a law-abiding citizen. I've never broken any laws. I've never been arrested. I wanted to actually meet the mayor and participate in her birthday fundraiser and I registered and I came. I I was respectful. There's people in this room that saw me there. I didn't disrupt anything. I was just there to meet you, and I did. And I shook your hand, and I wished you a happy birthday. And truthfully, I don't know you. I don't have anything personal against you. I came there to understand you, and I came there just to see what kind of person you are. And I swear to you, I had an open mind.

And Claudia is my witness. I was peaceful. I waited outside for an hour for you. I was removed from your party just for being there. Somebody said that I made them feel uncomfortable. But I was talking to a lot of the gentlemen here, and I didn't make anyone feel uncomfortable. I was fitting in and networking and talking about business, and I was there just to get to know you. And I was removed, and the police said the mayor removed me. And I didn't disrupt, and I didn't do anything. So why do you have a prejudice against me or Palestinians or whatever it is? What's the prejudice for? Why was I removed?

I drove 40 minutes to get there. I didn't understand it. She kept telling me that you were going to come outside and see me and talk to me, and you didn't. Like, you came for a second, and you didn't want to face me. And I talked to Claudia for such a long time, your staffer, and I kept making her cry by telling her things, and she felt so bad. But where's your humanity? I'm not here to defame you. I don't want to defame you. You're doing a good enough job yourself. I'm here just for one reason, and you know what it is. But give me some rights. Give me some respect.

like treat me like a human being because I am a human being. Do you remember meeting me? Do you remember shaking my hand? Do you remember me telling you happy birthday? Yes, you do. Do you remember me disrupting anything? No, you don't because I didn't. I didn't. A man set himself on fire to prove this point. A white man in the army. He set himself on fire to prove this point. I will do anything within my power to get this going. Anything. I won't set myself on fire and and I won't break any laws, but I'll do anything else. We will disappear and vanish from this chamber. We will not show up again.

Your voices, they will make a difference here for this community that's in pain, that's hurting. We're hurting so badly. If it was Mexicans that were hurting, I swear to you I'd be the first one here to stand with you. If it were any one of you guys were hurting or your communities were hurting, we would be there for you. That's what we believe, and we believe in equality for all. And that's why I'm standing here today, just to call for equality, people are starving to death. Actually process that. Process your kids when they were hungry. Process how much it hurt you when they were thirsty for 10 seconds.

These people have been thirsty and hungry for five months. Process it. Process it. I'm serious. It doesn't need to be any bigger than that. Just let that go to your mind. We were all children once. We were all babies. We were all raised by parents. We were all given love. Just let it process. I'm not here reading a speech. I'm just here to try to talk to you guys as humans. Phil, look at me. Make eye contact with me. Look at me. I'm a human. Me and you are the same. Your choices, my choices, we're the same. David, I'm a human being. I know your wife's running for

Congress. I'll be behind her. Be a human being. That's all I have to say. Your time is up.

Jennifer L. HallItem 4

up. Next speaker, Mario Alvarado, followed by Miguel Angel Vasquez and Dale Helvig.

Valerie AmezcuaItem 4

Mario? Can you repeat the names again, Madam Clerk? It was loud in here. Yes. Thank you.

Jennifer L. HallItem 4

Mario Alvarado followed by Miguel Angel Vasquez followed by Dale Helvig thank you thank you

uh good evening mayor and city council my name is Mario Alvarado I am a lifelong resident of Santa Ana and the amazing ward five um I'm here because uh well first I want to thank you for making uh allowing everybody's voices to be heard today um but I do want to invite everyone in the city and all the residents that we also have other platforms to be heard um and I'm talking about the city budget meetings we are one of the highest tax residences in Orange County and so these budget meetings are another place where residents can actually be heard and share your focuses on

where you want you know monies to be to be sent to I highly encourage residents to do that I've received several phone calls during the couple months the last couple months and email especially with regards to from just residents for its problems on the streets with potholes with trees all the way to crime especially recently what happened with the three-year-old victim legal shot in you know on 15th and Spurgeon that really was close to me by the way but I want to let residents know that you have the ability to tell the city where to allocate these funds and the city will

listen and so if you are for more police if you are for more parks if you want to help the homeless population attend the meetings. There is a site where you can actually focus and encourage the city where do you want those funds allocated. In the spirit and lastly in the spirit of Women's History Month I want to say thank you to all the women in my life had that have shaped me from friends to family, teachers that were really encouraged to to stay in Santa and live in Santa Ana and of course say a big thank you to my mom Gloria Alvarado. I And thank you so much for allowing me to voice my opinions here today.

My name is Mario Alvarado, and I am Ward 5.

Jennifer L. HallItem 4

Miguel Angel Vasquez, followed by Dale Helvig, and Alejandra Chavez.

Jennifer L. HallItem 4

Miguel Vasquez.

Thank you. poquito más de nuestra organización ya que estamos festejando a la mujer muchas mujeres ahorita ya la organización crece un poquito más ya con señoras y este son mujeres que algunas están pasando por cáncer otras están pasando por otras cosas entonces de verdad de todo corazón me encantaría que que fueran y que escucharan y que vieran todos estos tristemente lo voy a hacer en buena park

a group of girls here in Santana who are playing the violin. They are playing right now and that day they will present everything we have been doing. And it is to honor and celebrate the woman in this month of March, in the International Month of the Woman. I am going to send you the information. We have been sending you information and a little bit of support. I hope you can support us because we do need it a lot. Thank you very much.

Good evening, my name is Miguel Vasquez. I am from Grupo Versace. You've seen me, I've been here before, some of you know me. I'd like to invite you to a women's event for Santa Ana women on March 17th. And we would love to see you, for you to see our organization. We have women and now we have older ladies and many of these ladies are suffering from cancer and other issues other things we would love for you to come see us to come see them unfortunately it will be held in Buena Park because we do not

have the support from Santa Ana but I'll send you the invitation and hope that you can join us we have all these women and girls that have gone through lots of things and they have lots of things to share with you to tell and we have some for the first time we have some girls who are learning to play the violin and they'll be playing on that day and This is to celebrate women to celebrate March International Women's Month, and we hope that you can support us. Thank you very much

Dale Helvig Ward 3 Was going to talk about the needle exchange program, but Mr.. Hatch got into that very well I'll still add a few points though. This needle exchange program, as they like to harm its harm reduction Institute likes to put it, it's not a needle exchange program, it's a needle giveaway program. If it was a one-for-one exchange then I could see that, but it's not. They're gonna give away 600 needles per person

by their application. 600 needles per person per year, two a day on average. You know, that's just unbelievable. And I'm hoping that the city, the county is successful in fighting this. And I'll be more than happy to participate in any community program that they have for community input because because living up near the Santiago Creek, we would do community cleanups there, and it was very upsetting to find needles in the playground equipment areas where kids could pick it up and being told that we cannot even touch it as an adult.

It had to be handled by professionals. Well, the professionals weren't coming out rapidly enough, and it was just going to be up to the kids to find them and say, hey hey look at papa look what i found you know and that's unacceptable so i hope we are successful in stopping that program altogether the other thing i'd like to mention is related at bristol project i think the community and related of california have been working very well together from what i've heard i hope that program or that project eventually gets to the point where it's

presented to you guys and we can move ahead with that if they adopt some of the things that the community is looking for as far as improvements thank you next speaker alejandra chavez

Jennifer L. HallItem 4

alejandra chavez

Jennifer L. HallItem 4

mayor that concludes the in-person cards we can move to the zoom speakers thank you

Jennifer L. HallItem 4

Speakers on Zoom or conference call, when unmuted, please announce your name and the ward or neighborhood that you reside in within the City of Santa Ana for the record. These are for comments on consent calendar and non-agenda topics. Caller whose phone number ends in 299, please dial star 6 from your phone or select the microphone icon to unmute and proceed with your comment.

Jennifer L. HallItem 4

Caller 299.

Jennifer L. HallItem 4

Next speaker, Tim Johnson. Johnson.

Hi, good evening, Mayor and Council members. Tim Johnson, Ward 3 here. As a member of the Major Exit Citizen Oversight Committee, I would like to bring to light the need for all of our positions to be filled for that committee. We currently have two open positions in Ward 2 and Ward 6. On occasion, having open positions can create quorum issues. issues. However, at all times, not having enough voices will diminish idea generation and the diversity of those ideas. Remember, we are designed to provide information to the Council and to the community, but this is best done when all seats are filled. I

hear folks talk about city finances, budgets, sales tax, but I would highly encourage everyone that may be interested in participating in a more formal manner to seek out one of these vacant positions, especially if you are in Ward 2 or 6. Although it is up to each of these council members to appoint committee members, they need our help to find folks that want to get involved. Maybe even one of the many members I see in the chambers via the camera tonight. You don't need to be a financial expert to participate. And for Council Member Vasquez

and Penalosa, please do your best to fill those empty seats on the committee. Additionally, I'd like to bring to attention South Main Street as one of the highlights of our city. And as Council Member Penalosa indicated, the bulb outs have been taken a beating. The curbing has been destroyed destroyed in places, the painting has definitely deteriorated in a very short period of time. I bring this to your attention simply because Main Street has not even been completed yet and it still needs our attention. Further to the underground gas line project, there's multiple steel plates disrupting the street.

I can't imagine the very same Main Street as it goes through the city of Irvine would be allowed to be in the state that it currently is for months on end since the project won't be completed for a few months still. That is all I have to say tonight. thank you for your service to all of us in the community appreciate it bye bye

Jennifer L. HallItem 4

next speaker Michelle

project won't be completed

Jennifer L. HallItem 4

Michelle? Yes. Next speaker, Michelle. If you could mute your device and proceed with your comments. The background. Okay.

Okay. Okay, here I am. Michelle? Yes.

Good evening. You can mute your, the background. The background is not mine. It's-Madam city clerk, we brought it to our attention.

Valerie AmezcuaItem 4

We brought it to our attention, city's attention that we're having issues.

Yes, good evening. My name is Michelle Sugarman and I've been a resident of Santa Ana for over 50 years and live in Ward 4. Thank you for allowing me to speak. As we all know, Santa Ana City Council has no legislative authority on foreign policy matters. Those matters are exclusively in the jurisdiction of our federal officials.

Santa Ana City Council was elected to focus on the local issues that impact the local community. Not to... Ma'am, these comments are for later. deal with wars abroad. I respect you, our council members, for your unwavering dedication to that mandate. And I hope that even among loud and distracting voices, you continue to focus on improving the safety and development of this great city. I'm concerned about our public spaces,

our synagogues, mosques, and churches, and our homes that are all being endangered by reckless speech and threat. Please vote no on agenda item 18. No resolution is the best resolution. Thank you.

Jennifer L. HallItem 4

Next speaker. Next speaker on the conference call, caller whose phone number ends in 595 please dial star 6 or press microphone

to do your comments yes good evening I'm Sue from ward 4 and I'd like to address both the council and the community tonight I don't understand why the council seems to be putting the cart before the horse lately I suggest the search for a new chief of police be suspended until the new permanent city City Manager is found. The new City Manager should be able to choose his or her own Chief, since the hiring of a Chief falls under the jurisdiction of the City Manager. In my opinion, a new Chief should not be chosen by the current Interim City Manager

because he will not be here long term. I suggest that anyone applying for City Manager should make this a condition of employment with the City to choose the Chief with whom he or she will be working with. This I feel is just common sense and courtesy. I want to commend the Colt team and our patrol officers for their outstanding efforts in South Coast Metro this past month. The addition of a second Colt team has been a tremendous help in cleaning up SCM. Thank you Colt officers and thank you Commander Gil Hernandez for all your hard work, your patience and guidance with us in

SCM. Many see what you have all done to help us and how difficult a job you all have. However, However, to the public, the buck stops with Sacramento and Washington, D.C. and with the voting public. Understand that what and who you are voting for because it has a profound effect on the walls here in our city. Police can only try to keep a lid on crime under our current laws. I suggest the public consider attending the SAPD's Academy called Behind the Badge. You can find it on the Internet. at the SAPD Community Academy is overseen by Commander Joseph Marty of Community Engagement,

and you will find out why the police do what they do under our current laws and what we sometimes just don't understand. So get informed, and thank you for listening, and have a good evening. Good night.

Jennifer L. HallItem 4

Mayor, that concludes the speakers on consent calendar and non-agenda items at this time.

Valerie AmezcuaItem 4

Thank you very much. At this time, we're going to go to the consent calendar items items five through 17 are before us. Councilmembers, please announce any items that you will be abstaining from due to conflict and if there are any requests to pull an item from the consent calendar for further discussion. Councilman Hernandez, any items?

Johnathan Ryan HernandezItem 4

No. I'll make a motion to move the consent calendar.

Valerie AmezcuaItem 4

Second. Councilman, anybody want to pull items?

David PenalozaItem 4

Yeah, Mayor. I'd like to pull item number 15, please.

Valerie AmezcuaItem 4

Item 15. Thank you. Mayor Pro Tem?

Thai Viet PhanItem 4

I'd like to announce my recusal from item 11 as Smart Cover Systems is a client of my employer Rattan and Tucker. So if it is pulled, I will leave the room for discussion. Thank you.

Valerie AmezcuaItem 4

Thank you. There are no others.

Valerie AmezcuaItem 4

Okay. Madam City Clerk.

Jennifer L. HallItem 4

A motion by Councilmember Hernandez, seconded by Councilmember by council member becerra to approve consent calendar items 5 through 17 with the exception of item 15 pulled for separate consideration and discussion

Valerie AmezcuaItem 5

prepared to vote

Valerie AmezcuaItem 5

madame you made a note that mayor pro times abstained from item 11.

Jennifer L. HallItem 5

yes thank you council member vasquez oh thank you The vote is 7 ayes, no nays. Motion carries with a noted recusal by Mayor Pro Tem Phan on item number 11.

Valerie AmezcuaItem 6

Thank you. Is the appointed member present to administer the oath? Ernie Aguilar? Is he present? If you can come on up so we can administer the oath please.

Valerie AmezcuaItem 6

And welcome to the Rental Housing Board. Come on around this way.

Do solemnly swear that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States and the Constitution of the State of California against all enemies foreign and domestic that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the Constitution of the United States and the Constitution of the State of California that I take this obligation freely without any mental reservation or purpose of ovation that I will well and faithfully discharge

charge the duties upon which I'm about to answer thank you

Valerie AmezcuaItem 6

great thank you at this time we're gonna go to item number 18 there is no housing

Jennifer L. HallItem 6

agenda mayor councilmember Penaleza pulled item 15 oh I apologize go ahead

David PenalozaItem 6

thank you mayor item number 15 is a men is to amend the agreement with service first to increase the contract amount by 300 000 annually for fountain maintenance and repair services uh mayor and colleagues and members of the public the reason why i pulled this and i'm sure staff already knows is because um i just have a little bit of questions regards to the cost of the fountains and and the maintenance that we're doing especially when about a month ago i had a meeting sat down with public works on what the future of the civic CIVIC CENTER WOULD LOOK LIKE. THE FUTURE OF THE CIVIC CENTER IS THE DEMOLITION OF THE STATE

David PenalozaItem 6

BUILDING AND COMPLETELY RECONSTRUCTION OF THE ENTIRE COUNTY FACILITIES THAT SHARE THE CIVIC CENTER WITH THE CITY. SO FOR US TO NOW SIT HERE AND START INVESTING OVER A MILLION DOLLARS INTO THE REPAIR AND MAINTENANCE OF THE FOUNTAINS THAT SIT NORTH OF THE STATE BUILDING AND SOUTH OF THE LAW CENTER, I APPRECIATE THE EMAIL THAT WAS SENT EARLIER TODAY ABOUT THE ADDITIONAL INFORMATION OF THE FOUNTAINS, THE the identification of the fountains that we're using this money for. But city manager, I'll defer to you, and I see the public works director in front of us. So whoever would like to answer, does it make sense to invest this much money

David PenalozaItem 6

into the maintenance of water fountains that probably won't be there five years from now?

Thank you, Mayor, Mayor Portem, Council Members, Nabil Sabah. The purpose of this ask is really to give us some contract capacity to be able to respond to those incidents where we need to do some repairs to existing fountains. And I echo your concern about investing in the existing fountains that are in the Civic Center. We don't spend that much funding in repairing those. we do make sure that they are functional and we have to make repairs just to keep

them going if we don't then we'll have to dewater them and that that actually invites a much bigger issues to us rain if we decommission these facilities it will be a bigger issue for us in terms of maintenance just to add to that is is some of the funding that we're asking for is to really fix and repair the fountain at the Sasser Park. Sasser Park has been out of commission with its fountain for quite a while right now, and due to homeless issues and sabotage and vandalism,

we're trying to put that fountain back in service, and part of that funding will be used to fix that structure and bring back the fountain back into operation. It's something that we'd like to bring because OCTA is now, as you know, is working really in the bus or the OCT streetcar bus stop or stop across from the Nova Academy. So hopefully when they're done, we'll be able to fix that or bring back that fountain.

David PenalozaItem 6

Thank you, Director Saba. about now I appreciate the investment to the fountain at Sasser Park because that is a area that is visible to the public and isn't in the plans actually isn't the plans to to redevelop the Civic Center and the the 3rd Street Promenade fountain and and the one between those fountains I understand and agree they should be up kept but the other ones I just don't see us it's it brings me back to the the us well not us nobody on this council was here when the blue light poles were installed on fourth street and then knowing that we were going to rip them up for the streetcar i mean

David PenalozaItem 6

that was those are decisions that the city keeps on making so now we're we're asking for this amendment and i understand the other fountains great third street promenade sasser park that's fantastic but there are fountains here in the civic center that we're looking i would have we we consider demolishing the fountains?

We are looking at actually dealing with the entire state building first. So, maybe getting proposals on the demolition of the structure itself, and that may include some of these fountains. However, the fountain and the Plaza of the Sun, that will stay for a while before we redo the entire Civic Center area.

David PenalozaItem 6

And I appreciate that, Director Stavron. i won't speak any much longer on this but it brings me back to questions of you know when when i ask city staff why are the medians along edinger not rebuilt those medians are going to be there forever we don't have plans to rip them up 10 years from now bristol street bristol street is going to be there forever but every time i ask about investing in these areas i'm told that the funding isn't there so now city staff could come with a straight face and ask us can we have 300 hundred thousand extra dollars to invest into water fountains that we're probably

David PenalozaItem 6

going to rip up in less than five years i just don't see that as being responsible so i would not kill this entirely but i would make a motion to continue this item to come up with a plan on what what the future of these fountains look like because if they're going to be gone in less than five years there's no point in investing over a million dollars into fixing them sasser park i agree great but the others i just don't see that as being

Valerie AmezcuaItem 6

fiscally responsible so thank you mayor there are no other comments there are I'm sorry did you hit the button yes go ahead thank you so we I think we've all

Jessie LopezItem 6

probably met with the department about the vision for the Civic Center can you tell me will it happen in five years I don't think that that will happen in five years because it's a vision right there's it's a working plan the council hasn't approved anything yet um no money has been allocated for uh the revamping of the civic center is my understanding that's correct okay thank you um so we don't know if the plans that we're all discussing behind you know with staff outside of the public purview will actually come to fruition because we don't know if we will have the money to do it, is my understanding.

We will be issuing an RFP to solicit ideas and way to finance the entire Civic Center development. That is in the process. We met with the majority of our council members to get ideas and their vision of what the Civic Center should look like to develop an RFP. Then we will send out the RFP to see what we can get in terms of funding and division that complies with what you guys are thinking of envisioning what the Civic Center will look like in the future correct and

Jessie LopezItem 6

I also know that you know and that the city manager office is aware of the many emails we've received throughout you know last year about the issues across with Nova Academy and one of the asks that Nova Academy said that we worked on with them when I was on with CTA along with the supervisor was removing the fences those were two big issues that they wanted to come down and part of those community conversations part of the feedback that families passed on to the administration of Nova was to make sure that the city had a plan to reinvest in Sasser Park and part of that was reinvesting in the water fountain

Jessie LopezItem 6

and so I'm not supportive of killing or anything of the like of what staff is recommending to the council because whether or not you know we secure funding for a revitalization of a Civic Center these are you know these are these are things that we need to fix that we know are not working properly and some of these have not been functioning for a really long time and And so if we can take care of them now, I would prefer that we do that. It will be at the pleasure of this council.

Jessie LopezItem 6

However, I think that is something that is important to me because many families have come to us and have said, when is this part of the city going to get better? So thank you.

Valerie AmezcuaItem 6

Council Member Penalosa.

David PenalozaItem 6

Thank you, Mayor. I think that's why it's important that we all pay attention up here. Sasser Park, I agree, should be fixed because it's visible to the public. Dursley Promenade, great because it's visible to the public and we use it. But however, the ones here at the Civic Center are the ones that I have concern with. I know that Senator Umberg gave us upwards of $7 million for the demolition of the state building or the purchase of the state building. Do we have an anticipated date of when that state building will be demolished?

I know our staff, city staff, Public Works and CDA are working on developing an RFP to to develop a plan to demolish that building. So we need to really study the process first. So we need to hire a consultant to advise us on how the development process, or sorry, the demolition of the building will take place.

David PenalozaItem 6

David Plylar, Okay. And the idea here is, we have these anticipated demolition plans and vision for these areas that probably will or will not be be here you know five or ten years from now but it brings me back to the question of Bristol Street will be there 50 years from now will be there a hundred years from now but when we come to why isn't Bristol Street complete why aren't the medians on integer complete is because there's no funding for that so I just don't see it but mayor those are the comments that I have thank you

Johnathan Ryan HernandezItem 6

councilman Hernandez Thank You madam mayor first and foremost director Saba Thank you for the presentation and the good work that Public Works Department does in in the city of Santa Ana I I have very similar concerns sir my question I'd like to ask you are could you fill me in as to which fountains outside of Sasser Park and the third Street Promenade? Are you looking to revamp? It's mostly the Sasser Park one. Okay, so bulk of the funding is going to be to support the the redesign of Sasser Park?

No, to bring back the fountain because the chlorination system, the disinfection system, all the controllers have been ripped off and a lot of copper, we lost a lot of copper there. And so we need to bring all that back and including the treatment system to put that fountain back in service.

Johnathan Ryan HernandezItem 6

Thank you, sir. And I want to thank Council Member Lopez for bringing up the comments related to Nova Academy. my office very thankful to have worked with her when she was on the Okta board as well as our supervisor Sarmiento this takes place in my district of Ward 5 and so in many meetings that we had with Nova Academy we heard their concerns loud and clear to clear the fencing that we had to clear the staging of equipment as it gets in the way of students access to the building we also heard their concerns about wanting and having a strong desire to see the city invest

Johnathan Ryan HernandezItem 6

more dollars in revamping Sasser Park so I think this accomplishes that I want to support the vision of our city you know aligning with educators I think that this is something that is going to help a lot of the the students and the staff with morale having a better you know visible park in front of a school I think is gonna make it more friendly for our students and I think ultimately this is a good investment thank you sir

Phil BacerraItem 6

councilman becerra thank you madam mayor i want to thank councilmember peloza for pulling this item because i think it is important to make sure that what we are contracting out to do coincides with our long-term plans but in looking at the staff report and director saba correct me if i go wrong here but it's for fountain maintenance and repair services correct so in other words there's no drawings in the staff report of a new fountain because it's maintenance and repair right so in other words i don't need to see a new design for any of the fountains in the civic center

Phil BacerraItem 15

or at sasser park or at the second street promenade because these aren't new fountains this is literally maintaining what we have right nothing new just maintaining what we have correct

Correct? Pretty much, but also a lot of times equipment fail and controllers fail, disinfection system fails, and so we want to be ready to replace and repair these things in addition to the normal maintenance of cleaning the fountain. So this is what this is for. So, but Director Saba, and I know

Phil BacerraItem 15

you would appreciate what you just described, but to everybody in the room that walks past the fountain at Sasser Park, they wouldn't see what you just talked about, correct? Yeah, most of it

IT WILL BE HIDDEN AND SOMEWHERE.

Phil BacerraItem 15

RIGHT. BUT IT'S MAINTENANCE. IN OTHER WORDS, YOU'RE NOT GOING TO ADD TO THE FOUNTAINS. THEY'RE NOT GOING TO GET BIGGER, SMALLER. YOU ARE MAINTAINING AND REPAIRING WHAT WE HAVE TODAY, CORRECT?

YOU ARE CORRECT.

Phil BacerraItem 15

AND THEN THE LAST QUESTION IS, SO ALSO IT SAYS THAT THIS IS TO ADD 300,000 FOR A CONTRACT THROUGH DECEMBER 31, 2025. SO THIS ISN'T A LONG-TERM MAINTENANCE CONTRACT. THIS IS JUST TO GET US THROUGH TO THE END OF CALENDAR YEAR 2025, CORRECT?

yes because of the need of repairing sasa park okay so so i i'm going to go ahead and make a

Phil BacerraItem 15

sub motion that we go ahead and approve the staff recommended action thank you a second thank you

Jessie LopezItem 15

councilmember lopez thank you i i agree with councilmember pasara thank you for making that sub motion um and in response to councilmember pañalosa you know people up here always ask for respect but they can never give it and so one of the big events that the city hosted next to plaza plaza de sol which is in this area west carnaval moralense was really well attended and the organizers many of them are santa ana base have plans to host it against in the area and so why i you know why i spoke up the first time is because i'm aware of the many events that

Jessie LopezItem 15

might happen this year and it would be nice to have some of our amenities clean and functioning And so I thank staff for the recommendation.

Valerie AmezcuaItem 15

Mayor Pro Tem Fan.

Thai Viet PhanItem 15

Thank you. Hi, Nabil. Hi. This might be a question for Director Sternberg, but I don't see him. Will you please remind me, was Dia de los Ninos in the, it was in this, it was around the fountain, right? The Plaza of the Sun, right by the fountain, right? Oh, this way. Poor direction for me. So, look, I completely understand the concern about investing more money into infrastructure that we hope to one day remove.

Thai Viet PhanItem 15

However, I didn't even know it was called Sasser Park, let's be honest. It's that creepy park downtown. That's literally what I knew it as. Right? Everybody's nodding because it's true. And part of that... Creepy park? Yeah. And part of it is because there's always homeless people loitering there. there's needles, there's a lot of trash, and the fountain doesn't always work or it smells funny sometimes when you walk by. And so to me, if we're looking to revitalize our downtown, help those downtown businesses, and continue to make sure our city looks and feels beautiful so that people can walk around and feel

Thai Viet PhanItem 15

safe, I think we have to invest in ensuring that this fountain looks good. And I hope that along with this maintenance, we ensure that our police officers and Colt team and CityNet are doing outreach to anyone who might be loitering in that area. I also very much support, you know, maintenance of our Civic Center fountains. Just like we said, last year we had thousands, I would say, families, kids right here enjoying our Civic Center. obviously for lighting lighting the tree was right here yeah so for me it's just

Thai Viet PhanItem 15

we are gonna continue to have those and once we do have a real timeline for when we will be doing demolition and things like that I think that's when we would I would really want to question having bringing this type of amendment back so with that I would support the sub motion thank you thank you very much I'm

David PenalozaItem 15

councilman panelosa thank you mayor um so i guess i should have started with the motion to keep the promenade fountain and the sasser park fountain and the other fountains but aside from the the gas lighting that i'm seeing up here um i would the question i have is relation related to the email that simon mendoza sent today um for the plaza of the fountain number one plaza the fountain number two plaza the fountain number three those were the three specifically that that I had concerns with, which is north of the state building, east of the law library, and south of the law library. If we were to remove those from the scope of work

David PenalozaItem 15

for this contractor, would that increase the funding for Sasser Park, or just avoid this amendment altogether?

Mr. Yep. I just want to explain that these three fountains don't require significant amount of repair and replacement. they do require normal maintenance, like how would you maintain a swimming pool. What we're asking for is for some funding to be able to do additional repairs, especially for the fountains that are not working right now, which is Sasser Park. So removing the three from this contract may not affect the value or the funding that we would be spending that much, because it is under the normal maintenance for which was not what

that's not what we're asking for we're asking for little money to be able to fix what gets broken and get sasser park fountains back in service so the last

David PenalozaItem 15

question I have is when did the fountains at sasser park break or stop working it was it did it coincide with the beginning of the construction of the

streetcar you know I can't answer that because it was it's been a long time actually because when I became the director of the Public Works Agency that park was already fenced and not until we got direction from Council to bring it back and we did it's it's not fenced right now I know OCTA is working on the pavers in front of the of the Nova Academy and in the same time we're trying to fix the fountain this way once the pavers are finished we would be happy and glad that with the water it starts flowing into the fountains and hopefully that you know it's a

broken window syndrome if we keep it disrepair then it's going to invite uh you know issues

Valerie AmezcuaItem 15

right thank you thank you that's it okay i'm sorry councilman vasquez um actually the director

Benjamin VazquezItem 15

to be able to answer my question it would cost more to destroy those fountains now than wait later is that correct sorry it would cost more to destroy the fountains by the law library well you

know the fountains are holes in the ground and if we dewater them then rainwater will get in there we have to kind of keep them dewatered at all times if we abandon them or we decommission them them and then dirt and debris will end up in these fountains until such time we do the demolishment of the entire Civic Center and get that going. So it is counterproductive for us to really walk away from these fountains right now. Thank you.

Valerie AmezcuaItem 15

I don't see any more speakers. And Nabil, thank you so much. And I'm looking forward to hearing what is the plan for this area because I know that that we've purchased some buildings and you know now we're talking about the fountains and yes i've read all my emails but i i don't know if the council be here um we've seen any plans i think it's great that this issue has been brought up today so love to see the plans at some point um so the community can also see them as well so madam clerk yes mayor thank you

Jennifer L. HallItem 15

we have a substitute motion by council member becerra seconded by council member lopez

Jennifer L. HallItem 15

The vote is 6 ayes, 1 nay. Nay by Councilmember Penaleza. Motion carries.

Valerie AmezcuaItem 15

That's the end of the Consent Calendar at this time. So number 18 is related to the consideration of the Cease-Fire Resolution as proposed through Councilmember requested items. the council member Vasquez the city manager may we have a report please if

there is one Thank You madam mayor this was a council or requested item so I'd refer back to the council member that brought it forward

Valerie AmezcuaItem 18

council member Vasquez go ahead council member Vasquez so when we're gonna do public comments I just remind everybody to please be courteous of people that that are speaking so we can get through this. Thank you.

Valerie AmezcuaItem 18

Council Member Vazquez, please.

Do you want to read the first resolution?

Valerie AmezcuaItem 18

This is whatever, this is your item, sir.

Benjamin VazquezItem 18

Okay, so I come today humbly asking you to take up a vote yes for the ceasefire resolution. This was written with the purpose to stop killing in Gaza, to cease fire. Current events in history are omitted to ensure we don't add to the environment of Islamophobia and anti-Semitism or racism or any form of hate. This is to bring people together and to come to a solution with talking and having a conversation

Benjamin VazquezItem 18

for peace. I'm going to read the actual resolution for you all. A resolution of the City Council of Santa Ana, California affirming support for the worldwide call for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza. Whereas the City of San Ana believes that all people regardless of race, color, national origin, sex, and religion should be able to live in dignity, freedom, and equality without

Benjamin VazquezItem 18

fear of destruction. Whereas the city of Santa Ana condemns the recent rise of Islamophobia, anti-Semitism, anti-Palestinian, racist, homophobic, and xenophobic attacks in our city and across the nation. Whereas the city of San Ana recognizes that a ceasefire, humanitarian aid, and good faith diplomacy must occur in order to save lives. Where the City of Santa Ana stands for justice for all oppressed peoples now, therefore be it resolved, determined, and ordered by the Council of the City of Santa Ana,

Benjamin VazquezItem 18

California as follows. Resolved, the City of Santa Ana will identify and support local programs that to combat Islamophobia, anti-Semitism, racism, homophobia, and xenophobia, and resolve the City of Santa Ana joint's other cities in calling our Congress members to demand a permanent ceasefire, the release of all hostages and prisoners, the unrestricted entry of humanitarian assistance into Gaza, the restoration of food, water, electricity, and medical supplies to Gaza and a respect for international law.

Valerie AmezcuaItem 18

Again, please as public comments people come up please extend some respect because we need to get through all the speakers. This is the time of the meeting for the city council to receive comments from the public on item number 18. madam city clerk please call the public comment procedures i mean please explain them and call the first speakers and two

Jennifer L. HallItem 18

minute per speaker thank you thank you for those members of the public on zoom or teleconference to speak on this item you must dial star 9 or raise your hand from zoom now in order to be called once public comments commence we will not accept late hand raises so they need to be in the queue now pursuant to resolution number 2023-047 speakers are requested to address the city council directly and to refrain from profane language racial epitaphs and libelous or slanderous statements that disturb the decorum of the meeting pursuant to the brown act the city council may not

Jennifer L. HallItem 18

enter into discussion at this time as stated by the mayor speakers will have two minutes for their comments prior to calling speakers i'll report the following summary of emails as of 2 p.m today related to item 18 the city did receive 114 e comments they were distributed to the City Council and made publicly available online we'll call the cards from the members of the public in the chamber first please state your name and the ward or neighborhood that you reside in for the record again I'll be calling three names at a time the first name could come to the podium and the other

Jennifer L. HallItem 18

ones line up behind them first three speakers Robin Jason Garsh field and and Monica L.

Good evening. I'm here to ask you to vote no on this resolution. There is no language that can be added or changed to make this acceptable to all of the people who are deeply concerned and personally affected by this international issue. That's precisely why the council shouldn't be wading into it. Even if you've adopted resolutions about foreign policy in the past, you don't have to do it now, especially when it's over an issue

that is so divisive to the people in this community. Moreover, in cities all around the country where where these resolutions pass, small businesses become targeted with mobs of people demanding store owners breach their contracts with suppliers by pulling products off shelves or violate Civil Rights Act by refusing services to people of certain nationality. These resolutions harm local businesses and make local families feel unsafe. Like other progressives, I am I am deeply concerned about widening achievement and economic gaps.

I work every day to protect marginalized communities, and I cherish the unique identities that move our communities forward. I am also committed to democratic processes and responsible government. There is nothing progressive about harassing elected women and people of color at their homes, in public, online, simply because they have voted in a way you don't agree with.

There is nothing progressive about taking your anger out or lying and distorting about their actions and their decisions, and there is nothing progressive about letting the loudest Robin, your time is up. Please let the room speak. Your time is up, ma'am.

Jennifer L. HallItem 18

Jason Garshfield, followed by Monica L. and Eric Ledwig.

Valerie AmezcuaItem 18

Sir, can you hold on one second? I apologize. Again, I'll remind you to please let people speak, because then if not, we're going to take a break and then we're going to have to come back. We don't need to do that, please. So let people speak, let them finish, and then we get through this. Thank you.

Thank you. This Council is for the people of Santa Ana. It should not involve itself in international matters. But even if you do involve yourselves in international matters, you still should not pass a ceasefire resolution because Israel's invasion of Gaza is morally correct. None of us in this room would hew to absolute pacifism. Some wars are just. And Israel's war is as just as any war has ever been. to call for a ceasefire now would be tantamount to calling for one in 1944 when the Allies advanced on Germany. The October 7 attacks, which enjoy broad

support from the Palestinian people, were a genocidal assault. If Hamas stopped at 1,200 dead Jews, it was not from lack of trying. Meanwhile, Israel goes to great lengths to preserve the lives of the same Palestinians who laughed and cheered as Israelis were butchered. Like many people throughout history, the The Palestinians blamed the Jews for their own failures. October 7th was nothing more than the most recent in a long line of pogroms. After suffering in silence for 2,000 years, the Jewish people are finally fighting back against our oppressors.

And to deny us the right of self-defense would be to say that the Jews should no longer exist. No one else is fighting for Israel, so Israel must fight for itself. Never again is now. now and despite what some have said the butchers of jews and their apologists have never been on the right side of history and make no mistake there would be no calls for peace from the proceeds fire crowd if israel was losing peace is not their ultimate goal and i believe their conduct tonight and at previous meetings will demonstrate that

Good evening everyone. My name is Monica and tonight I come to you with a heart heavy with worry but also with a flame of hope flickering inside. You see I'm just like many of you, a mom, a daughter, a friend, a member of this beautiful Santa Ana community but lately something has changed. Lately I find myself questioning whether I can walk these streets with the same sense of pride and security I once had. I'm a proud Jew. That is something I've never been afraid to show. But lately I wonder if wearing my necklace, a symbol of my faith, puts me in danger. Should I have to hide who I am to feel safe? It's a

question that makes me very nervous. But tonight it's not just I'm not just here to share my fears. I'm here because I believe in the power of our community to to stand together against fear and hatred. The resolution before us threatens to divide us, to divide our community. Before I refused to let fear win, but I refused to let fear win. Instead, I urge you to join me in standing against violence and oppression. I urge you to think deeply about the consequences of this resolution. It's not just about a ceasefire, it's about the safety of our homes, our businesses, and our very way of life.

If we give in to this resolution, what's next? Boycotts? Harassment? We can't allow fear to dictate our actions. Let's condemn Hamas for their actions and demand a safe return of all hostages. Let's imagine for a moment if it were your loved ones held captive for over 150 days. Wouldn't you do everything in your power to bring them home? We must also acknowledge the suffering of the innocent children in Gaza, but let me be very clear. Hamas's actions and only Hamas has put them in harm's way. It's a tragedy that cannot be overlooked. Together we can be a beacon of hope in a world too often clouded by darkness.

Together we can show that love will always triumph over hate. Am Yisrael Chai.

Jennifer L. HallItem 18

Next three speakers, Eric Ludwig followed by EJ and Molly. Good evening

Good evening, honorable members of the Santa Ana City Council. My name is Dr. Eric Ludwig, and I'm president and CEO of the Jewish Federation of Orange County. I'm addressing you on behalf of Santa Ana's Jewish community to voice profound concerns and to acknowledge the actions of those who strive for peace. In recent months, we've observed with heavy hearts the use of these chambers for rhetoric that not only divides us but echoes anti-Semitic sentiments. This alarming trend exacerbated by discussions misaligned with the council's purpose

has necessitated increased security in our schools and places of worship and emboldened bullying acts against our children. We commend Mayor Meskwa and and Congressman Correa for their unwavering efforts to combat this rise in hate. Working tirelessly alongside our community to restore peace and understanding. Their dedication stands in stark contrast to the symbolic gestures by other members of this Council that have inadvertently, or perhaps purposefully, fostered division and endangered our community.

community. We urge members of this council to join a growing number of cities across Orange County in rejecting a resolution that does not serve Santa Ana's interests. Instead, let's work together to build an inclusive environment where every resident, regardless regardless of background or belief, feels valued and protected. Thank you for your time and for your commitment to a Santa Ana defined by respect, peace, and unity.

Jennifer L. HallItem 18

Your time is up.

I'm Yisrael Chai.

Jennifer L. HallItem 18

Next speakers are EJ, Molly, and Rabbi Gersh Zilberman.

Thank you, members of the council. I want to thank you last time for your vote. That's the way it should go tonight, not approving a resolution, item number 18. Hey, the requested item report that you put together, the resolution, it's one-sided. It's calling for a ceasefire in Gaza. What about a ceasefire of Hamas declaring that Hamas declare a ceasefire on Israel? How How many decades have they been firing rockets at us? Seriously, how many decades? How many people were intended to be killed by those rockets over the last two decades? Do you know? No, you don't.

Luckily, Israel has a way to protect their civilians and their citizens.

How many kids were killed? You put a number in the report of half the people in Gaza are children that have been killed. What percentage of kids on October 7th of the people killed were kids? Do you know that? No, you don't. You didn't do research. At least Long Beach did some research. They had a nice down-the-middle, down-the-fairway resolution. But yours is one-sided. Come up with something better. It's a piece of garbage. It doesn't even belong in the recycling bin. Seriously. seriously. The reality, as we've learned today in the last couple days, is that Hamas is

not willing to accept a ceasefire. That's in the news. They don't want it. Egypt is not willing to let civilians through. Is that a way to save lives? Yes, it is. They're not a partner here, are they? But it's all Israel's fault. I get it. Israel has a right to defend itself and remove the cancer that is Hamas. So with that, Councilmember Vazquez, I need you to ask you one simple question does Israel have a right to exist thank you

good evening talking about history mr. Vasquez and to my Palestinian friends who want ceasefire wake up look what happened to your families in Gaza this This is nothing in comparison to what your Arab cousin did to you. They all closed their borders for no Palestinian to come to them. All the Arab countries feel bad, so bad for you. Where are they? Where their support? Where are their millions to support you? Where are their jihad? Nothing. They left you alone.

King of Syria saying, poor Palestinian, poor the people of Gaza. He himself killed more Palestinians than Jews through the whole history. Europe welcomed many immigrants from all over the world, but not Palestinians. You know why? Because your leaders, Hamas.

In the 70th, King Hussein of Jordan slaughtered over 70,000 people in one day.

You went to Lebanon from there. From Lebanon, which you completely destroyed, a beautiful Christian country. Then you went to Tunisia, to Kuwait, and now to Gaza. Gaza. Your leaders are the responsible for what you're going through. They're shopping in Qatar, hiding in tunnels, but they use your children, your families as a human shield. They don't take you into their tunnels to protect you. Be wise. No one can destroy the chosen people. Your time is up. For 4,000 years.

Molly, your time is up.

Thai Viet PhanItem 18

will continue to live the next speakers mayor i'm city clerk i'm so sorry mayor may i make a quick comment mayor pro time sure go ahead thank you um please i would like to ask all of you to refrain from clapping booing mimicking mocking or responding to the people making public comments i want to hear from all of you i want to give all of you respect and it's really hard to do that and And even if you support someone, please refrain from clapping because we want to get through all of the public speakers. Please. Thank you. Thank you, Mayor Pro Tem. Let's continue.

Jennifer L. HallItem 18

The next three speakers, Rabbi Gersh Zilberman, followed by Jeffrey Katz and Sue Guilford.

Council members, I'm Rabbi Gersh Zilberman. I'm a proud resident of Ward 3 here in Santa Ana, where it's March 5th. But for me and Jews around the world, today is actually October 158.

That's because today marks 151 days since the largest and most horrific massacre of Jews since the Holocaust. 151 days of terrifying captivity for those ripped from their homes on a joyous holy day. Men, women and children, even babies. Israel's response to these atrocities perpetrated on on October 7 is aimed at freeing the remaining 134 hostages and making sure that the genocidal

Hamas terrorist organization, cynically hiding behind and under its own civilians, can never again perpetrate the savagery we saw that day in which they have vowed to repeat time and again if ever given the chance. Councilmembers, there was a ceasefire on October 6th, and I pray that soon there will be a ceasefire again, and this time a permanent one. But a ceasefire won't be achieved through municipal council resolutions that only serve to divide local communities. A ceasefire requires an agreement between the parties, and there would be a ceasefire

today if Hamas simply released the hostages and laid down their weapons. anyone who wants to see Israelis and Palestinians living side by side in peace and security needs to understand that any path to peace begins with the end of Hamas thank you

Jeffrey cast for Ward three I'm here to unequivocally state my support for a ceasefire. Why I'm here in city council to say that when just two weeks ago we had a two-year-old shot from gang fighting, I don't know, but that's where we are. So why is it a Jew supports a ceasefire? Soon Jews will be celebrating Passover. There will be a custom there where we dip our pinkies into wine and remove the wine. And for centuries we've taught our children the reason why we do this is because wine represents joy and in the course of each plague that occurred in egypt

our oppressors suffered a fate at the hand of god and therefore because it was on our account that they lost their lives we must remove wine from the cup to reflect that our own joy must be diminished it's point one point two why do i support ceasefire a quote from golda meyer the fourth the fourth prime minister of Israel. And she said, we can forgive the Arabs for killing our children, but we can never forgive them for forcing us to kill their children. Of course, as a Jew, I support a ceasefire. No more war, no more bloodshed, no bloodshed of Jews,

and no bloodshed of innocent Palestinians. If you're going to have a resolution, Council Member Vasquez, He says, please have the courage and the intellectual honesty to make it a real resolution. And here's what I would suggest. One, you must demand that the hostages be released first. Two, the ceasefire must be bilateral. Three, stop equating the lives of infant hostages with prisoners who have committed acts of terrorism. And four, most importantly, I want you to know, we must demand that Hamas be surrendered.

Jennifer L. HallItem 18

Your time is up.

Mayor, I'd like to just request your authority to submit to the clerk for distribution an order of the Islamic Fatwa Council issuing a fatwa against Hamas, identifying them for the oppression that they have committed to the Palestinians.

Valerie AmezcuaItem 18

Thank you, Mr. County. You can leave it with the city clerk and she'll get it to all of us. Thank you for asking that. Thank you.

Jennifer L. HallItem 18

Next three speakers, Sue Guilford, followed by Mandy Shamus and Curtis Desolets.

Good evening, City Council Members and Mayor. My name is Sue Guilford. I live in Orange, but I'm also a member of Temple Beth Shalom, located in Santa Ana. Our temple and school requires armed security because of threats to our safety. Not long ago, we had to call the Santa Ana police because of a potential threat. I'm really concerned, and I hope all voters are concerned, that the City Council is spending so much time and effort on the conflict between Israel and Hamas, which has nothing to do with this city. You need to be spending your time on local issues, in particular the looming

financial disaster that threatens all city services. Equally disturbing is that by entertaining discussions about the Israeli Hamas conflict, you are inviting supporters of ceasefire resolutions who bully, harass, and make personal threats of various individuals within our community. Please vote no on on agenda number 18, thank you.

Good evening, Madam Mayor, members of the city council. I speak to you as a member of the Temple Beth Shalom community.

My name is Bandy Shamus, I am Jewish. I am also the daughter of a Holocaust survivor. Since October 7th, I have been watching events that before that date seemed unimaginable to me, happening in my beloved country. I never thought that I would be fearful going into my synagogue and that we'd need metal gates and armed guards and I still feel unsafe. Or that I'd worry about my daughter wearing her camp t-shirt with Hebrew writing in public. My mother told my daughter, don't wear that shirt, and I laughed. That was last year. This year I would agree with my mother.

I urge you to focus on local issues that are within the purview of this city council, and not to pass a deeply flawed resolution that will only increase hate and division. Let's work together to build bridges and spread tolerance instead of hate. Thank you.

Jennifer L. HallItem 18

Curtis Desolates followed by Stephanie Belasco and Leonard Silberman.

Thank you Mayor and thank you Council for letting me speak. Just looking at this resolution, I agree with a lot of the people who have already spoken. This is a national, international issue. It's a divisive issue. It really doesn't belong anywhere on a Santa Ana City Council forum. and you guys have so much other stuff to deal with and it takes away from the beauty of say that the santa ana high school wrestling team going to state finals i mean very important stuff and this is just a time-consuming mess brought brought about by people that just want to agitate so

the way i look at it it's an agitation and the the resolution itself is very simple it's very flowery I mean, it looks beautiful, but it has, it's missing one word. It's Hamas.

Basically, Israel's beef is not with the city of Gaza, or the area of Gaza. It's not with the Palestinians. It's with Hamas. So this needs to be rewritten. If you're going to bring it to this forum, it probably doesn't need to be here anyhow. So anyways, I would strongly suggest a no on 18. Thank you.

My name is Stephanie Belasco. I'm a Jewish citizen of this community. I respectfully address our council tonight, Mayor, as a concerned citizen.

I want you to understand I have been standing by observing this council Council and others in California struggle with a similar initiative that is before you tonight. Because of the divisiveness that resolutions like this cause, I've witnessed students and parents have shared with me from our Temple members that in their high school kids are being addressed with Nazi symbols and hate speech from their peers.

This is public knowledge because of meetings like this at the local level. It's spearing up all kinds of agitation. We know that anti-Israel rhetoric is doing actual real-life harm to the Jewish community in Orange County. When When people toss around words like Jewish supremacy, Israeli colonialism, apartheid, and genocide, they take it out on the Jews of our community through bullying, hate, violence, discrimination, and vandalism.

Regardless of your position on the resolution before you tonight, if you care about not perpetuating the dialogue that divides us in the community of Santa Ana about with our Jewish citizens that go to our local schools, libraries, stores, restaurants. Your time is up. voted there thank you for eliminating this resolution next three speakers

Jennifer L. HallItem 18

leonard silberman joey b donna wolf

good evening my name is leonard silberman i've been a voting member of this orange county now for about 53 years a member of the state bar for about 53 years and i was sworn into the judge about 20 years ago. Looking at, I've gone to three different council meetings now on the same resolution. Looking at the speakers on the Arab American side and the Jewish American side, I've been extremely impressed by the professionalism and the lack of hate language from all of them. And so I also appreciate the mayor and the council for listening, not interrupting and allowing them to say what they want to say, even though I see some grimaces

occasionally. On the particular issue that we've got before us, it seems to me it's more of a federal issue than a state issue. I see on both sides the issues here. Americans could simply, I think, be summed up by saying stop the killing. Three words. On the Jewish side, they're saying, well, if Hamas stops the killing and releases the hostages, the war will be over. What I don't see from from any of the councils so far, and I'm really looking across the nation, is anything productive that the cities can do. Can they help with airlifting supplies, medical supplies? Can they help some of the people coming out of Gaza?

Can they try to figure out a way to get a lot of people out of the Gaza? It sounds like they're trapped in a box and they can't get out, and I think that's just awful. I don't think anybody here supports the war. I think from both sides, I think there's strong statements saying how we can get out of the war, But I'd like to see somehow the cities take a positive action in trying to help. Thank you very much.

Jennifer L. HallItem 18

Joie B, Donna Wolfe, Galena B.

Thanks. Oops, excuse me. Are you okay? Yeah. Better, sorry. Thanks. Esteemed Mayor, Council Members, thank you for your civic work. You know, I came as an immigrant to this country 37 years ago with pretty much nothing. Built it up. I actually opened a business in Santa Ana out of choice because I wanted to give diversity and people a chance. And I've got to tell you, over the years, I worked with Luria Sanchez on one of her councils as an advisor. And one of the big things we did in Santa Ana was to try and build business,

business to try and make this a better community for everything that it was. And if I go back and I looked 30 years ago to what it is today, Santa Ana has grown, it has developed, it has sparkled, and it is something decent today. If this resolution passes, take a step back and just think to what it's going to do to businesses that want to invest here. No business wants politics. They don't. Nobody wants diversity coming at them in a way that it's going to be

complicit. The reality is, if you want Santa Ana to be the sparkle that it is, what you need to do is vote no on this resolution, keep politics out of what it is, invest in your city, do the great things that you guys are doing, build Santa Ana to be what it was, because it wasn't 30 years ago,

I can tell you that. It was difficult to work here. It wasn't business-minded. And the number of businesses that have left California will continue to grow, and some of them will leave Santa Ana. So I implore you to do what you need to do. If you want to be active individually, do it. That's a good thing. But as a city council, make the right decision. Thank you.

Jennifer L. HallItem 18

Donna Wolf, Galina B., Norman Rosen.

Hello. My name is Galina. Because city councils are trying to address the crisis in the Middle East that has resonated in many communities around the world, it's making a profound impact on local communities, especially schools and university campuses. I am a parent of kids attending Santa Ana school who are being targeted by pro-Palestinian, ignorant, ill-informed kids. This is what these resolutions are doing, dividing communities and putting targets on our kids' backs. However, you insist on discussing ceasefire, the deal that Hamas keeps rejecting.

Secretary of State Anthony Blinken said, we have an opportunity for an immediate ceasefire that can bring hostages home. It can dramatically increase the amount of humanitarian assistance. It's on Hamas to make decisions about whether it's prepared to engage in that ceasefire. White House National Security Communications Advisor John Kirby said that Israel has put a forward-leaning deal on the table. They have made an offer here, and the responsibility is now on Hamas to accept it. Senator Alex Padilla said there is a deal on the table to release all hostages

along with an immediate six-week ceasefire and an influx of humanitarian aid. Israel has agreed Hamas needs to do the same, given the dire humanitarian conditions in Gaza. Representative Ruben Gallardo said any ceasefire in Gaza must come with the release of hostages. I've long said that. Right now it's a matter of if Hamas will accept the conditions of a deal and commit to releasing hostages. The New York Times. Hamas rejects ceasefire proposal, dashing Biden's hopes of near-term deal. Passing this resolution will ensure that Hamas will escape justice and jeopardize future generations of Palestinians.

This resolution will ensure that peace will not prevail and Hamas will continue to hold the future of Palestinian and Israeli children hostage. I urge you to reject even a discussion of such resolution now and in the future if you care about the future and the peace of the community.

Jennifer L. HallItem 18

thank you norman rosen followed by mike rubin and gali

mayor on westland city council members my name is dr norman rosen santa ana has been my mailing address for the last 40 years and for the last 46 years i have studied practiced and taught medicine locally i'm also a member of temple best shalom the oldest jewish congregation in santa ana and and in Orange County. It used to be safe to gather and pray. It isn't anymore. Now we have gates, and we have fences, and armed guards. Why? Because anti-Semitism and hatred is rampant in our city. This resolution looks superficially good, but it's highly biased against Israel and fatally flawed.

Demand a permanent ceasefire? Well, Hamas broke the peace by starting the war, murdering and butchering 1,200 defenseless civilian men, women, and children. A permanent ceasefire? This is demanding that Israel can no longer and never again defend itself when Hamas has declared time and time again that it will keep attacking and killing. Hamas is not interested in a ceasefire. It's already declined truce overtures and has declined ceasefires. It has declared that it will kill again and again at every opportunity. Hamas does not care about the Palestinian people. Otherwise, why would they use them as human shields?

Israel wants peace because the well-being and security of its citizens, this is the goal and responsibility of every government. The release of all hostages and prisoners, well, that's quite an ask. That's quite a bargain. The hostages are innocent Israeli citizens. and prisoners are murderous terrorists. Unrestricted humanitarian assistance. Humanitarian aid is a great idea, but unrestricted? Aid needs to be carefully monitored and not managed by Hamas to assure it is free of armaments, graft, and corruption. Israel is at war with Hamas, a war that Hamas has started.

Jennifer L. HallItem 18

Your time is up. Mike Rubin, followed by Gali and Michael L.

Honorable Council, Honorable Mayor, Council, my name is Mike Rubin. I'm Jewish. I'm a member of Temple Beth Shalom. Temple Beth Shalom has been in Santa Ana since the 1940s. It is the oldest synagogue in Orange County. A great history in Orange County, a great history of the Jewish Jewish community in Santa Ana. I urge you to vote against this resolution. The proposed resolution is flawed in many ways. For example, it calls for the release of all prisoners.

Many of the prisoners are terrorists. Some who committed the very loathsome acts of gang rape, sexual torture on October 7th. Do you want to release them? them. And then after that, after murdering the molested victims, many were molested again.

Santa Ana cannot call for release of terrorists from prison and maintain the moral high ground. Hamas ended the ceasefire that has been in place since October 7 and prides itself on being a genocidal organization that prioritized the killing of Jews. As exemplified by October 7, calling for a new ceasefire before conditions are in place to prevent the next Hamas massacre of peaceful concert goers and other innocents calls upon Israel to abandon the fundamental role of any government, the protection of its people.

That's what government is fundamentally for. The rest is frosting. I'm very concerned that instead of serving constructive and peaceful purposes, the very bringing of this resolution has served forces of divisiveness and alienation. Anti-semitism in our country is rampant. Thank you very much.

Jennifer L. HallItem 18

Next speaker, Ghali, followed by Michael L. and Stephanie Avital.

Good evening. On January 26, the International Court of Justice in The Hague ruled that Israel has the right to defend itself and can continue the operation in Gaza until the full destruction of Hamas terrorist organization. This determination was based on many evidences presented by the legal teams from Israel and South Africa. Who are you, Council Member Velazquez, to say anything differently?

Have you examined any evidences that led you to believe differently than 15 judges from many countries who ruled against the ceasefire in Gaza? What are your qualifications to rule it? And on behalf of the city of Santa Ana, I'm a voting resident, and I do not authorize you to adopt a ceasefire in Gaza resolution on my behalf. Furthermore, on October 7, Hamas terrorists initiated a murderous attack on Israel, killing 1,200 innocent people and taking 240 hostages back to Gaza.

I believe that this war is none of your business. However, if you insist on discussing it here, then the only resolution that you should consider would be for Hamas to immediately release the hostages and fully surrender. That would solve the ceasefire issue immediately, and it will also solve the issue of Israeli hostages that have been held captive for over 150 days. Anybody who supports only the ceasefire resolution is aiding and abating Hamas. Thank you.

Jennifer L. HallItem 18

Next speaker.

Good evening, everybody. I've spent a lot of time reading this resolution. First paragraph sounds great. City of Santa Ana believes that all people regardless of race, color, national origin, sex, and religion should be able to live in dignity, freedom, and equality without fear of destruction. Who would oppose that? Those are great words, but the rest of this statement? I have so many issues with it. So let's start with the fact that it's Women's History Month and let's talk about the fact that the The United Nations today issued a report about all the sexual crimes that Hamas committed on October 7,

where women's breasts were removed, where their genitals were mutilated. Across the board, the evidence is so compelling that the United Nations, one of the most anti-Israeli organizations in the world, condemned that. But there's nothing here about those acts, is there? It's just a one-sided denunciation of Israel. And I also found it interesting, Council Member Vasquez, that when you read it out loud, it wasn't the same text as what was published in the city agenda.

You added the words to anti-Semitism, racist, homophobic, as if somebody who's opposed to a ceasefire and supports Israel's right to defend itself, somehow that makes them homophobic. You added the word anti-Palestinian, but that was also unilateral. You didn't say anti-Israeli, anti-Zionist. It's just anti-Palestinian. Meanwhile, my kids go to school here in Osha and have to see a swastika on the front steps and have to see a swastika in the boys' bathroom because that's okay as long as it's not anti-Palestinian. A unilateral ceasefire is not tenable.

You wouldn't put up with that for two seconds if somebody came across the border here and attacked your house and your children and took your one-year-old hostage without any news if they were dead or alive I don't understand your time is session thank

Jennifer L. HallItem 18

you vote no on proposition next speakers Stephanie Avital followed by rabbi Elizabeth and Mitchell Cohen can you make sure you're speaking in the

Valerie AmezcuaItem 18

microphone please thank you raise it up my name is Stephanie

Avital thank you for letting me speak tonight I thought we were done with this agenda item back in December at Santa Ana but apparently not and you guys keep hearing a lot of the same repeated stories or opinions over again that Hamas should do the ceasefire well I have a very personal reason this is our cousin or levy and he's being held hostage currently by Hamas in an unknown unknown location underground I who knows who knows the conditions his wife and

And he and his wife, Ainov, went to the festival early in the morning, and the rockets started going off, so they took shelter in a bunker. There were several of them in the bunker, and eventually there were about 30 people in the bunker waiting for the rockets to stop. When terrorists came by with grenades and started throwing grenades in the bunker, one of those grenades killed my cousin here, his wife, Ainov. and now this beautiful three-year-old boy, Al-Mog, has to ask, where's mommy and daddy? And they don't quite have an answer and have to tell him mommy's not

coming home and we don't know when daddy's coming home. So this is, I mean, one of multiple stories coming out of Israel and obviously in, you know, the Gaza area there's multiple horrific stories of death there too. It's, you know, everyone's suffering, everyone's feeling pain. So I am asking for this resolution again it's it's a it's you're doing city business or taking an international issue and making it a city business uh issue and if you really want a a logical ceasefire then it

must demand must giving back all 134 hostages including or and hamas surrendering it's crazy that no city agenda drafted demands hostages back enforces hamas to to do the ceasefire your time is up thank you for letting me speak I'm rabbi David Eliezeri the president of the rabbinical council of California thank you very much for your time and I share my concern I know that members of the City Council been harassed by certain people in the community and we share our concern with you why are we

here tonight really there's a tragedy going on in Gaza and there's a tragedy going on in Israel. And just last week on Monday, I walked into kibbutz near Oz where 170 people were murdered, raped, and kidnapped. And I walked on the grounds of the concert where people were murdered, over 300 people in Israel. I was just there a couple of days ago. But why are we here today? It's a very insidious, interesting thing. What does the Hamas charter say? It says its goals and aspirations are very different from what we write in the Declaration of Independence.

independence. Its goals are the destruction of the state of Israel and the genocide of every Jew in the world. Again, the destruction of the state of Israel and the killing and murdering of every Jew who lives in Orange County and Santa Ana. The same goals of the Nazis. Hamas attacked on October 7th to realize their goals. Right now they're losing the war. So they orchestrate a political campaign here in the United States to try to put pressure so they should have a ceasefire, so they shouldn't be eradicated this is what's this all about it's a camouflage it's about saving an organization

whose sole purpose is genocide and murder and that is absolutely evil and if this city council supports that resolution it is supporting evil there is no other words for it and we have seen that up close and you've seen that level a slower degree of that evil and the way they have harassed members of the city council. So do not support evil. Do not support an organization whose intent and goal is genocide and the eradication of the state of Israel and the killing of every Jew in

Jennifer L. HallItem 18

the world. Your time is up. Mitchell Cohen, followed by Shahira Oweinat and Tamara Ponce.

Good evening. My name is Mitchell Cohen. I'm a resident of Santa Ana and Vice President of Worship at Temple B'Shalom. I'm reading this on behalf of Rabbi Sharon Sobel of Temple B'Shalom, who is homesick. I write as Senior Rabbi of Temple B'Shalom of Orange County, the first and oldest Reformed synagogue in Santa Ana, with a long and valued 80-year history in our beautiful community. Our congregants have worked tirelessly to promote peace, diversity, and inclusion. We have a strong interfaith partnerships and relationships. We feed the hungry, clothe the naked, work to end poverty, clean the environment, and

do all we can to promote a healthy, harmonious home for everyone here in Santa Ana. I ask you to oppose this ceasefire resolution. First, city councils should be dealing with matters that pertain directly to the business of the city. They should not be dealing with matters of foreign affairs. That being said, no one wants the war between Israel and Hamas to continue. Too many innocent lives have been lost on both sides, and too much destruction and havoc has been wrecked. Our hearts ache. We all anxiously await for news of a negotiated peace that acknowledges both Israel's and Palestinians' right to exist in peace.

This resolution does not express such sentiment. One of the many flaws this resolution contains calls for an exchange of hostages for prisoners. Prisoners. Hostages are innocent civilians kidnapped and brutally attacked in an act of terror. Prisoners are those who committed crimes against innocent. Hostages are not equivalent to prisoners. This resolution in any form encourages such attacks to continue. Anti-Semitism is an all-time high. Young Jews are being threatened in high school and older Jews attending political events.

Please reject agenda item number 18 and oppose all further discussion of items that are outside the jurisdiction of the City of Santa Ana. Thank you.

Jennifer L. HallItem 18

SHERIFF'S COMMISSIONER GILMORE. Shahira Owainot, Tamara Ponce, Julia Hyman.

Good evening. Thank you, Mr. Vasquez, for your humanity. Being in these City Council meetings, I realized the genocide supporters sitting behind me need answers. answers. Zionists create their own definition to words and events, and they think if they repeat it enough, it becomes a fact. They would like to talk about the massacres on October 7th. We could talk about it, but first I'd like to ask a question. When you read a book, do you start from the first chapter or from the 20th chapter? Let's start from the beginning. I'd like to talk about Deir Yassin Massacre, April 1948, Abu Shusha Massacre,

May 1948. Tantura Massacre, May 1948. Saliva, October 1948. Lida Massacre, July 1948. Qibya, October 1953. Kfar Qasim Massacre, October 1956. Khan Yunis Massacre, 1956. Massacres in Gaza starting from 2008 2009 2012 2014 2018 2019 2021 we sit here in these very chambers Palestinians are still facing annihilation and you're outraged Israel

a colonial state terrorism oppression apartheid and displacement these are very accurate descriptions of Israel what what should the Palestinian people say you get you don't get to attack a million millions and pretend you're a victim you don't get to starve a people and claim you're looking for someone and you definitely don't get to steal our land and pretend we never existed we exist and we're not going anywhere Frederick Douglass said nobody gave me my freedom, I had to take it.

Valerie AmezcuaItem 18

So again, I'm going to remind everybody, please do not clap loudly. We need to move on. You guys have been doing great. Please continue. Otherwise, we're going to have to just take a break. Thank you.

Jennifer L. HallItem 18

Okay. Thank you.

Valerie AmezcuaItem 18

Thank you.

Jennifer L. HallItem 18

Julie Hyman, followed by Gali Hoare and Janine B.

Council members, thank you for hearing me. I know I sound like I was born here. I actually came here as a refugee and so I'm especially grateful for the opportunity to be heard. What just happened is a very good example of why a process like this before a city council is problematic. There was so much mischaracterization there. It's hard to know where to start and obviously two minutes won't do it. So instead of giving you my opinions, and of course there there are no guardrails around what one can stand up here and claim. I'm going to read to you from what John Spencer said.

He is, to my knowledge, our country's foremost expert on urban warfare. He is chair of urban warfare at West Point, and he wrote at the end of last month and reiterated in February in Newsweek, Israel has implemented more measures to prevent civilian casualties than any other nation in history. In history. And he says, I say this not to put Israel on a pedestal or to diminish the human suffering of Gazans, but rather to correct a number of misperceptions when it comes to urban warfare.

And the truth is, Israel has painstakingly followed the laws of armed conflict, despite enormous challenges, including that Hamas militants embed under civilian areas and protected sites like hospitals, mosques, schools. and he highlights that Hamas's strategy is to use the suffering of Palestinian people to rally international support to their cause. Any ceasefire resolution, no matter how well-intentioned, even if it calls for the release of the hostages, which we all support and we all support an end to the war, will be used as a talking point by Hamas to perpetuate their cause. Please do not support this. Thank you.

Jennifer L. HallItem 18

Golly?

Jennifer L. HallItem 18

Shanine?

So I'm here to ask you to vote no on the ceasefire resolution. The ceasefire resolution is predicated on a number of mistruths and misinformation about the situation going on in Gaza. And one of the things I'd like to address is this idea that there is a genocide being committed which is blatantly false. According to, by virtually all accounts, even if one takes into account Hamas's casualty figures, which were 27,700 on February 13th, as true, the ratio of civilians to combatants

killed in this war has been among the lowest in the history of modern warfare. According to UN figures, 90% of wartime casualties in 2021 were civilians. So in other words, the civilian to combatant casualty ratio was nine to one. According to official Israeli estimates, more than 10,000 Hamas combatants alone have been killed since October 7th. Now, of course, this does not include Palestinian Islamic Jihad, UNRWA officials, or any other terrorists in the area. If we factor those 10,000 combatants into

into the overall Hamas circulated casualty figure of 27,700, we are left with a civilian casualty ratio of around 1.7 to 1, not the 9.1 that every other war sees, 1.7 to 1. This is a striking achievement that will no doubt be studied by other Western militaries for years to come. That ratio is particularly notable given the complex and dense urban combat environment in Gaza and Hamas's long-standing and well-documented practice of embedding its military within civilian areas, using civilians as human shields, etc.

Please vote no on this ceasefire resolution.

Jennifer L. HallItem 18

Next three speakers, Michael Waschek, Alexandria N., and Emma.

Jennifer L. HallItem 18

Michael Waschek.

Jennifer L. HallItem 18

Alexandra N.

Hi. I'm a Jew who teaches about local history in Santa Ana, and I'm also representing Jewish Voice for Peace Orange County. For the record, I know many local Palestinian Americans. I or their families in Palestine, I want to be very, very clear that there have always been significant

demographics of Jews who did not agree with Zionism and who criticize the acts of Israel. To do so is absolutely not anti-Semitism. It has absolutely broken my heart to hear the family Nakba stories of local Palestinians and realize it's basically the same as the Holocaust survivor testimony from the massacre of my ancestral village in Europe. It is even more devastating to see the same kind of slaughter and displacement now in real time. The time has come for moral clarity. Do we unconditionally oppose the mass killing our children or not? Are there really words that make us feel like

children being starved and bombed is okay? Those of you who are in any level of a government and or political party that is sending weapons and money to a country killing large numbers of children and other civilians whether you like it or not are part of this. Children who are on the verge of starving to death desperately need you to take the strongest possible action to communicate to those in higher office. The people locally are begging you to not let one more single child die. The Talmud teaches us that whoever saves a life is considered to have saved the world. Please remember that in Israel, some of the

loudest voices for ceasefire are the Jewish families of hostages who know that the continued bombing can kill their people too. And the only previous hostage exchange happened during a ceasefire. The only side I am asking that you to take is that of humanity. Your time is up.

Jennifer L. HallItem 18

Next three speakers are Emma, followed by Fernando Devaros, and Kelly.

Jennifer L. HallItem 18

Emma?

Hello, good evening. I'm not much of a public speaker, but today I want to speak on behalf of the ones who can't leave their homes because they're grieving loved ones. Palestinians whose family trees are eradicated, slaughtered by our own taxpaying dollars. The ones who feel hopeless and silenced. I'm speaking to you as a Palestinian American mother of three and now pregnant with my fourth. Who wants my kids to feel safe in our community? I'd like to commend Santa Ana Council for listening to this community and I urge the council to support item 18 and for the members of the council who are

disengaged from the topic look amongst your community affluent Palestinians who represent this city they are receiving messages from family members overseas finding them dead what exactly would you do if this was you as you know there there have been an increased number of hate crimes targeting Palestinians for the last five months all over America. And this hate dates back to a Palestinian peace activist in our very beloved Santa Ana City. Alex Oda was killed by a terrorist act and has yet to be brought justice.

Now we find the man responsible behind all of it is back in Gaza, actively blocking humanitarian aid, starving these children to death. Starvation of children as a method of warfare. The most recent child, Rezan Al-Kafarna, circulating images of him, may he rest in peace, of his body, skin and bones, due to malnutrition. You wouldn't want that to stop? Are the crimes here and in Gaza because we are Palestinians? We Palestinians are fighting for our survival, not only here, but fighting for our families back home. You cannot, you cannot kill 30,000 of our people. You cannot think for a minute that the Palestinian community,

the Muslim community in Santa Ana will vote for you when you turn your backs on us. Please open your hearts tonight, stop the hate. Your time is up. Stop the division, thank you.

Jennifer L. HallItem 18

Fernando Devorahs, followed by Kelly and Mike Ortega.

Evening, council. So first off, again, like some of the speakers have said, I know that for many of the council especially people like council member Pena Loza and Phil Becerra who chose to leave the room and not even listen to the speakers here I know that some of y'all are tired of seeing people come and speak about this genocide I could tell you that we're definitely more tired of having to come and speak to politicians about this genocide but we're here because we recognize that as citizens of this government that is funding and aiding and enabling what Israel is doing we have a responsibility

to do whatever we can whether that's emailing representatives visiting visiting representatives, even trying to pass these fire resolutions in city councils where people may not see that as a valuable effort, but any way to elevate our voice to speak out in support of the people of Gaza, we're going to do it. And if you choose to block this resolution today, just know we're going to come back because this genocide is not ending. Councilmember Taifan, on the December 19th meeting, when the measure to pass this resolution failed on the December 5th meeting, your comment was, this item has passed. And that was 77 days ago.

And this genocide is still happening. And we've seen countless more atrocities since then. I don't know if any of you heard about the flower massacre that happened just last Thursday. As the previous speaker said, one of the biggest risks to people in Gaza right now is not bombs anymore, although that is still a very real threat. It's starvation. It's starvation. UN reports are saying that if nothing is done, thousands and thousands of innocent people will die of starvation. As a father, as an educator, as a decent human being, knowing that there are people dying dying because they have no food in their stomachs.

It's fucking atrocious and I can't stay quiet about it. Now, as the previous speaker also mentioned, the person who was largely suspected by the FBI of assassinating Alex Odeh, the man whose statue is in front of our city's library, is leading some of the protests to block food to enter Gaza. There's a temptation to say that we are not connected here. We are connected here. What we do here matters over there. And so we need you to use your voice. And again, Councilmember Taifan, since you're here and Benyalosa and Phil Busser chose to step out, I ask you, you've taken a stand for justice before. Your time is up.

Please consider today. Thank you.

Jennifer L. HallItem 18

Kelly, followed by Mike Ortega and Leslie Nguyen.

Yes, hi. My name is Kelly. I'm a little bit bummed to see some of the empty chairs here, but I am here today as a 38 year old mother of two. I am a white American and I am here to speak to the heart. I feel like there's so much intellect, there's so much fact, there's so much information, there's so much history. It's deep, it's in the bones, but I'm here to speak of the heart. I've never been one to be very intellectual, but I feel deeply and I think that we are all being held hostage by the situation and I think that this is affecting our entire

humanity it's affecting our soil our land the trees the indigenous land the indigenous people and that absolutely crosses over here I'm talking here this is my two minutes I've been here since four respectively I'm devastated and I'm broken and I'm not Palestinian but I ask you to reach underneath the noise and feel your heart look at your children's faces if you want to read history read about the indigenous people that were here on this land and had a genocide I

teach ancestral skills to children and I am a trauma healer and I'm telling you this will not go away. It will stay. It will stay in the bones of these people. So I'm calling for a ceasefire now and that you respect that so that we are not all hostages to heartlessness anymore and that we can return to our humanity for real and see one another and be there for one another. this is not a war it is a genocide this is not a war it is a genocide I want to quote something you said when you made a mistake during the wrestlers about why I should listen to my heart it always works better that time is up please

Jennifer L. HallItem 18

listen to your heart Mike next speaker Mike Ortega followed by Leslie Nguyen

and Michael Diaz hello my name is Mike Ortega I'm a homeowner father of two two beautiful children and husband to a very patient wife. I'm here tonight standing in solidarity with my brothers and sisters demanding a ceasefire now for the atrocities happening in Gaza. I myself am the descendant of Puerto Ricans, and I have experience with what it is to be a colonized person. But that cannot compare to the genocide that we're witnessing unfold right now on the world stage. Is this a foreign policy issue, one that doesn't affect our city, doesn't affect our communities here locally?

Alex Odeh, a human rights activist, was murdered here in the city of Santa Ana. The problems overseas affect us here.

I'm offended by some of the language where the atrocities and war crimes we can all see on our phones as being covered up and being used as justification to enable imperialism, colonialism overseas. I'm further offended that our congressional representative of this district voted to continue to fund and feed the machine that is executing this genocide today. That's Representative Lou Correa. We We demand that he also stands in solidarity with the ceasefire.

As a human being, as an Orange County resident, as a voter, I ask that this council vote in favor of this resolution. Long live a free Palestine.

Jennifer L. HallItem 18

Leslie Nguyen, followed by Michael Diaz and Julie H.

Good evening, council members and mayor, resident of Ward 4. and the last time I was here was on January 16th. So since then, here are some things that I have seen that will forever be branded into my memories. A grandmother holding her grandson's hand and a white flag in her other hand, shot and killed. A doctor having to amputate his daughter's leg without anesthesia for fear of being targeted if he left. A teenager's eyes with no more white left. That means all the blood vessels popped because the shelter that she was in was crushed by an Israeli tank. That act also killed several of her family members.

I have heard the pleas of six-year-old Hin Rajab, begging for someone to come and get her while she is trapped in the car, surrounded by her murdered family members and Israeli tanks. Her body was later found weeks later, and the ambulance that was sent to find her also destroyed. I have seen newborn babies black and decomposing in their beds. The severely mangled body of a girl hanging from a wall, thrown there because of a blast so strong. I could go on and on and on. But what I want to know is, are you guys seeing what I'm seeing?

Because this is insane. Or have you turned a blind eye to this? and Mayor Emezcua you may have left but you brought up that this was Women's History Month. A CNN report investigated that Israel is banning humanitarian aid of maternity kits, sanitary pads and there are women in Gaza now giving birth without anesthesia, c-sections without anesthetics. Please remember that. Cease fire now. Thank you.

Jennifer L. HallItem 18

Michael Diaz, followed by Julie H. and Abdul Youssef.

Hi, hello. Hello Council Members. My name is Michael Diaz. I'm here to talk to you guys today and plead with you to please pass this resolution on the agenda today. I've been coming here for the past five months. Prior to that, I'd never been to a council meeting before. Honestly, I didn't really keep up with like World Affairs and News as much as I should have before that either. And I'm telling you, it's straight up astounding to me, as I've spent the last five months genuinely learning everything I can and I went into it from like my own sake because I didn't want to look like an uneducated idiot trying to argue with

some people about some stuff and like straight up like I'm hearing people on the pro Zionist pro-israel side that's against this agenda item and I've I've tried having conversations with them like straight up like and asking questions about the things that I've learned and stuff and every time I take take one of their points, one of their argument points to a point and literally prove it wrong with facts and information, like straight up, they jump to another point. And it's, I've had this happen in front of a council meeting before with a person who's been kicked out of this meeting.

And it's, it's like mind boggling. Like the people are asking you, begging with you to just believe us when we say, when we ask for saying yes to a ceasefire is calling for peace. And this the people on the opposite side of that are somehow trying to flip that and construe and garner some sort of sympathy by like saying that it's not. And it's really just astounding that that can be taken as like a credible argument. Like a ceasefire, no matter what you want to come as far as the decisions to make on the global level of the military and stuff, first comes a

ceasefire and every discussion comes after that so I'm sorry your time just

Jennifer L. HallItem 18

please make it make sense thank you next speaker Julie H followed by Abdul Youssef and Aya Khanna thank you Jules so just today the New York Times

reported Hamas rejects ceasefire proposal you've already heard what what Senator Alex Padilla said about that. In addition, Secretary of State Anthony Blinken said, we have an opportunity for an immediate ceasefire that can bring hostages home, that can dramatically increase the amount of humanitarian assistance it is on Hamas to make decisions about whether it is prepared to engage in that ceasefire. Also, White House National Security Communications Advisor Kirby said, Israel has put a forward-leaning deal on the table. They've made an offer here and the onus is on Hamas to accept it. So if you make a

statement about the Israel Hamas war, it's not to change U.S. policy, it's a local issue here. But you can see it is clear how you will contribute by doing so to tearing apart our community here. Is that what you want? To incite, to pit hit residents against each other, that doesn't make anyone feel safer. It will unnecessarily make us feel unsafe. And is this the environment you want to create for business, for people, companies looking to invest here? When faced with choices, they're not going to look in the

direction of a city council preoccupied with foreign policy and making up people feeling safe. This is not what the vast majority of residents want here in Santa Ana. They want your attention on local city business.

We already have elected representatives for foreign policy, but we only have you for local issues. Please, Council Member Vasquez ought to count all the Jews if he's going to have a statement about how many Palestinians there are but even better stick to your expertise the unique local challenges and needs of our city here in Santa Ana your time is

Jennifer L. HallItem 18

up Abdul Youssef followed by Aya Khanna and nor Eldon hi my name is Abdul Youssef

I'm a resident of Santa Ana been there for 25 years ward one with type n I can can stand here and tell you about Yezen, the little boy who died recently, starved to death in Gaza because he couldn't get the proper food and the nutrition that he needed. And he looked like a skeleton when he passed away because of that. I can tell you about the mother carrying her dead twin babies who waited 11 years to have those babies. And when she had them, she was only able to enjoy them for a few months because Israel bombed and killed those babies. But you've heard

more than enough of these stories. You've been hearing about these stories for the last five months. And if you're not convinced by now, I don't know what it's going to take to convince you. You might disagree with me when I say it's a city issue, but I think we can all agree that it's a human issue. The pastor earlier who said a prayer, she said something beautiful, something powerful. She said, may life be transformed in not just this city, but in the world. So what she's alluding to is as human beings who live in Santa Ana, yes, we care about Santa Ana, but we care about our

humanity and our world and that's the right mentality how can we dismiss the genocide in Gaza as not city business where's our humanity there are you these are human beings we're talking about how can you see 40,000 human beings killed in the last five months and say oh it's not city business so let's not let's not care about it's not worry about that let somebody else deal with that every single taxpaying resident of Santa Ana is sending money to Israel every single one of us in this room right now who pays taxes is sending money to Israel and funding the military

genocide that they are committing in Gaza. So it does affect us here actually. What we should be saying instead of it's not city business is it not in my name. That's what we should be saying if we're truly human beings who care about humanity. I want to thank Jonathan, Benjamin, and Jesse who've made their stance clear in opposing genocide and I want to ask Ty and Phil you know if he was here and David if he was here as well I want to ask you to please do the same support the genocide close of the quote from Aaron Bushnell many of us ask ourselves what would I do your time is that when my country is committing

genocide the answer is you're doing it right now

Jennifer L. HallItem 18

next speaker Aya followed by Naur and Yasser Youssef

hello mayor and council thank you so much for entertaining me for two minutes I wanted to start off by I'm talking about my visit to your fundraiser mayor I'm not really sure why I was kicked out other than the fact that maybe you might have recognized me from my last speech here Which was proceeds fire, but it was really offensive to have been called a liar by your campaign manager Claudia after totally telling her that I was considering donating to your campaign and then being removed by police officers and uninvited But I'm here today to draw your attention to a resolution that this city passed October 2020

2020. Adopt a resolution denouncing the attacks on the Republic of Artsakh by Azerbaijan. Do you know who's supplying Azerbaijan with weapons?

It's Israel. Do you know who's also supplying, who's also contributing to the genocide in Sudan and Congo? I'm not going to answer that question. But I want to point to the fact that you are all hypocrites because you sit here and listen and talk about this not being a local issue when we're all paying for the bombs that are dropping on people i'm not palestinian but imagine having having your taxes go and dropped on your family like imagine that feeling of you having to go to the irs and give them your money so they can go and turn that into a bomb that splices five

five separate ways to be dropped on your own family. How do you feel about a statue in our city of a man who was assassinated by a domestic terrorist in our city and that man is still alive in Israel starving people? I'm not sure how you feel about that. I really don't because you have a statue of him but you gaslight the entire community about Palestinian suffering. And this resolution for Armenia was like, I don't know, dense. like so much history predating 1980. We're not even asking you to talk about history. We're asking you for a simple ceasefire, bare minimum, free pasta from the river Tissi.

Jennifer L. HallItem 18

The next three speakers are Nor Eldon, Yasser Youssef, and Christian Hernandez.

Valerie AmezcuaItem 18

Madam city clerk, can you repeat that please? And again, I ask you to please respect the speakers and refrain from clapping, please. Thank you. Hold on one second. Go ahead.

Jennifer L. HallItem 18

Noor Eldin, Yasser Youssef, Christian Hernandez.

Valerie AmezcuaItem 18

Thank you, Madam Secretary.

It's been over 150 days. There are still over 100 hostages taken by Hamas on October 7th stuck in Gaza. The Times of Israel reports that 32 hostages have already died, with the possible deaths of an additional 20 being investigated. The IDF claims it has been doing everything in their power to get the hostages back, But will those hostages be alive when they're found? A report by the John Hopkins Center for Humanitarian Health and the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine projects the death toll to exceed 85,000 if the attacks continue until August.

Factoring in the humanitarian crisis and indiscriminate bombing, which Netanyahu has stated will continue until total victory. As bad as you think Hamas is, how can you expect to bring them home if they died of hunger. If they died of a disease, the collapsed health system couldn't cure or you know if three of them were shot by the IDF. If the hostages are held by Hamas, do you think bombing Hamas will protect the hostages? If you can eradicate Hamas by carpet bombing Gaza, why didn't it work in Lebanon or Afghanistan? More than more than 3,000 kids have been slaughtered. More journalists, medical

personnel and UN staff have been killed than any other conflict. To be against a ceasefire, you have to be opposed to the UN, Amnesty International, Save the Children, Oxfam, World War Child Alliance, and 153 member states. But despite this, this very country continues to unconditionally support and fund this, abusing its veto power to prevent peace. This resolution is a step in the right direction to show our complicit federal government that it is not on the right side of history. If you truly want the hostages to be freed, a ceasefire is the only way that it can happen. I absolutely support this resolution. Thank you.

Jennifer L. HallItem 18

Yasser Youssef, followed by Christian Hernandez and Sharif E. Good evening. I'm

a 25 year resident of Santa Ana. First off, I want to say I can't believe that Alex Odeh was murdered right here and his killer is roaming around freely in Israel blocking aid from getting into Gaza. That's crazy. Now I have some city business that I'd like to discuss. If we want to make a change on a federal level we have to start right here in this room. I would like our tax dollars to be used right here to uplift our Santa Ana community. Residents of Santa Ana that pay taxes including myself and all of you here work way too hard to contribute a portion of our tax dollars in foreign aid to Israel. This includes

military aid, which means the longer that this genocide continues is more and more of our hard-earned Santa Ana tax dollars being used to violate international law over and over. Do you prefer that we use our own tax dollars to improve our Santa Ana community, which we all know is in need, or would you rather it be sent to arm Israel and kill innocent men, women, children, and elderly? Over 30,000 incidents have been murdered with our tax dollars and counting. We are not just a number. These are our family members. We're impacted right here. The definition of a ceasefire,

a temporary suspension of fighting, typically one during which peace talks take place. You're telling me that you're not comfortable calling for that? To not call for a ceasefire at this point is shameful. Tai Vu, you represent my ward. Please make the right decision. Your parents fled war and came to this country because they wanted you to have a bright future living in peace. Please honor them by showing some humanity. Also, let the record reflect that Benjamin's resolution encourages a return of all hostages that Israel has not yet bombed. And you guys want

to turn that down? Do the Zionists really care about the hostages or is this something else going on here? Imagine if the hostages knew you were turning down a resolution that wants them freed. A permanent ceasefire is necessary. You each get to make your own decision and it will

Jennifer L. HallItem 18

go down in history forever. Peace. Thank you. Christian Hernandez followed by Sharif E. and Omar Omar Ash.

Thank you. Good evening. My name is Christian Hernandez. I'm a citizen of Santa Ana residing in Ward 5. I came here in support to vote yes on a resolution for an urgent permanent ceasefire in Gaza. This is kind of the part where I wanted to like unload and just really like hold some city council members accountable, but I'm not going to do that because I'm kind of inspired by an earlier speech to just speak from the heart as a Mexican Salvadoran who is a Mexican unconditionally in support with the Palestinian people and the heart tells me to listen to what

those suffering unimaginably are saying and pleading for and that's just only for a ceasefire. The Islamophobia we've been subjected to is a stain to Alex Odez's legacy who was martyred here in Orange County. For as long as Alex Odez's assailant Andy Green is still framed to roam in Israel for his murder, we will continue demonstrating and holding Israel accountable for all the lives it's taken and advocate for all the silenced and oppressed, as well as demand a statement to demand our government to extradite Andy Green. The same assailant, by the way,

that is leading the protests to block aid from coming into Gaza at the Rafah border. My heart breaks seeing the carnage my tax dollars fund every morning on my phone as I wake up in a city that's lost its interest in upholding its own legacy. It's been unimaginably heart-roaching seeing fellow Orange County citizens vilified only asking for an end to senseless bloodshed. Everyone has their interpretation of how demonstrations may come off as but nobody's perfect and we only ask for the end of seeing children slaughtered. And listen, I have my doubts that some of you were able to reflect or change your mind to call for a

ceasefire. So if the continuation of ignoring the heartbreak of our community is still the approach, then I hope the blood and tears are worth the political stability you're looking for. Free Palestine. Good night.

Good evening, city council members and staff. I want to start by thanking Council Member Vasquez for bringing this item to the agenda. Now, I'm not Palestinian, but I'm human. And I can see there has been a bunch of lies today that has been mentioned that can easily be fact-checked by news or by listening to honest Jews or even Holocaust survivors like Dr. Ilan Papi or Dr. Norman Finkelstein or organizations like Jews for Peace or independent organizations like Doctors Without Borders. City Council members, by adapting a resolution calling for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza,

and the entrance of humanitarian aid, you're not overstepping your bounds. The impact of violence and war crimes during the last 150 days in Gaza touches the people everywhere, including those within our community. The resolution recognizes our community's pain and grief, which we would expect from the officials that were elected. Ceasefire will also allow for negotiations to bring all hostages on both ends.

It is depressing that most of the atrocities that we see nowadays or in the last few weeks are not reported from journalists or reporters, as many of them have been killed, but they're rather from what's being posted on social media by psychopath, maniac Israeli soldiers. What I'm also asking is a call to stop sending billions of dollars to Israel and instead direct this money to fund education, health care, affordable houses here in the U.S. While we may not have the power to end the multi-decade old occupation, we do have the power to send a message to our politicians, to show solidarity with the victims, and to

demand an end to violence. So I urge the City Council members to set aside political differences and personal agendas, and to stay on the right side of history, and make Santa Ana join more than 70 cities in the U.S. who adapted the resolution for a ceasefire in Gaza. Thank you.

Jennifer L. HallItem 18

Next speaker, Omar Ash, followed by Daniel Riley and Juliana Mushiev.

When they are told, do not spread corruption in the land, they reply, we are only peacemakers. What's happening in Palestine is not a war. It's dehumanization. It's a genocide. It's ethnic cleansing of a specific people to take their land. We not only need to work on this ceasefire resolution here, but a universal ceasefire resolution to abort this illegitimate Zionist terrorist regime. Today we are at a crossroads in history, facing a choice that will define the future of our world. In the heart of the Middle East, the land of Palestine has become

a symbol of struggle, a land where the hopes and dreams of its people have been overshadowed by the clouds of conflict and despair. Yet amidst this turmoil, there lies an opportunity for peace, a chance to rewrite the narrative from one day of division to one of unity. For too long, the people of Palestine and their neighbors have lived under a shadow of conflict from the terrorist Israeli regime. The cost of this discord is measured not just in the resources spent and the lives lost, the communities shattered, and the generations of children who grow up knowing only fear and hatred. This cycle of violence serves no one's interest.

It only perpetuates suffering and delays the promise of a peaceful and prosperous future for all. It is with heavy heart that we recall the recent escalations that have claimed the lives of too many innocent people in Gaza. Each life lost is a tragedy, a reminder of the urgent need for peace. We must not become numb to this suffering. We must not accept this state of affairs as inevitable. The path to peace is challenging, fought with obstacles and setbacks, but it is a path we must pursue with unwavering commitment and courage. coverage. Today I call for an immediate ceasefire in Palestine. This is not merely a call, but to

end all hostilities. From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free. The next three speakers

Jennifer L. HallItem 18

are Daniel Riley, followed by Juliana Mushayev and Omar. Good evening, city council members. On

October 7th, Hamas perpetrated the worst, most evil attack we've seen in modern times against against the innocent state of Israel that had done nothing wrong to any Palestinian for the 75 years before that. As a response to this, the great innocent victim state of Israel had the right, nay, the duty to defend themselves. And so as a citizen, I am very concerned with this horrible resolution. All of us here on this side of the room are so worried of this resolution because we believe that Israel has not done enough yet. That's why we're all here. Here, all of us who've seen the carnage that has happened over the past five months, we

urge you not to vote for this resolution. We understand this is all symbolic. We understand the federal government will not take marching orders from the Santa Ana City Council. But this is an issue of principle. There cannot be a ceasefire. Thirty-five thousand Palestinians killed is not enough, ladies and gentlemen. The six-year-old Hind Rajab that was mentioned earlier, who had her entire family killed, murdered in the car around her, and called for the authorities, someone please come help me, I'm afraid. And then she bled to death over the next six, over the next three days. Obviously she's a Hamas militant terrorist.

Obviously we all agree to this, right? She deserved to die, just like the Israeli prime minister said, or the defense minister said, she was a human animal. All of them are human animals. Who cares how many of them have been killed? We are here, we are against putting an end to this bloodshed. Please keep the blood flowing. Please keep Palestinians dying. And the fellow Arabs who did not take the Palestinians into their country, how dare you not let us continue our ethnic cleansing? Please take them into your country. 14,000 kids murdered in Gaza, all with our tax dollars.

And we'd see all of that and say, give me some more, baby, give me some more. So if you agree with what I said, please vote against this resolution. And if you disagree, then thank you so much. You're a decent human being, not a genocide-supporting pig.

Valerie AmezcuaItem 18

Madam City Clerk, how many more are there? Because I may call a break.

Jennifer L. HallItem 18

There's approximately 20 more cards and 10 on Zoom.

Valerie AmezcuaItem 18

Right. So if we can't keep it down, I'm going to take a break. And the moment Mayor Pro Tem and I step off here, or the rest of the council, we're going to take a break. chief will make a decision if we return or the our city attorney because i'm not going to sit here and i don't think it's fair to anybody so can we just respect one another please again i understand we all have difference of opinions but we need to respect one another we've been here now for almost i think an hour and a half so i was going to do two hours two minutes so madam city clerk when we get to that please let me know thank you madam mayor just as

Johnathan Ryan HernandezItem 18

a point of order um just wanted to raise this question since there's been over an hour and a half of public comments um there are some parents and some minors in the room here today it is a school day um i would like to ask my colleagues if they would like to go ahead and take action

Valerie AmezcuaItem 18

on this item now so that we can get people home councilman hernandez i support that so why don't we let the last two speakers go that's it's up and then you want to make a motion is that everybody

Thai Viet PhanItem 18

everybody okay with that? Mayor, I'm not supportive of that. You want to hear everybody? I do believe that, you know, this item has been brought back. People have stayed and waited. I think we need to hear them. If you want to bring it down to one minute, I'd be supportive of that. But please be respectful. That cheering, I get it. You want to cheer for your team, but it makes it really difficult for us to get through these speakers. So if I can ask for that. So let's go to one minute then. Is everybody okay with that? Is there anybody opposed?

Valerie AmezcuaItem 18

because if not then we're going to just keep it at two minutes two hours after two hours

madam city clerk will cut it off councilman hernandez i don't all right and there are

Valerie AmezcuaItem 18

children here maybe the the ones with the children people that are here with children move their card up let the city clerk know i know it's two hours two minutes madam city clerk we

Sonia R. CarvalhoItem 18

had said that earlier so mayor can we just be clear for the public when does the two hour mark um when do we hit the two hour mark madam city clerk will let us know it's been an hour and a

Jennifer L. HallItem 18

half i believe at this point yes that's approximately right an hour and a half so if we look at another 30 minutes we'd be looking at 9 55. that's what we'll cut off

Valerie AmezcuaItem 18

madam city attorney thank you 9 55 will be the cutoff time thank you so the next

Jennifer L. HallItem 18

speakers juliana mushev followed by omar and seidel walensens

Hi, I'm Dan. I live in Ward 4 and I'm with the PSL. I wanted to thank Councilmember Vasquez for putting this item on the agenda. I wanted to share some statistics as well. Since October, more than 30,000 Palestinians have been killed, 72,000, many of whom are children and will will be permanently disabled were injured.

More than half of the homes in Gaza destroyed, 392 educational facilities, as well as hospitals, groundwater wells, places of worship. As government officials, I'm sure you can understand better than most what recovery on this level of destruction would entail. The time it takes to build a hospital, schools, or even roads, the level of resources or coordination nation to just get back a fraction of what was destroyed and the people in Gaza will need to accomplish this with the population many of which are dead dying or permanently disabled because of the bombing campaign what was already

what has already been done can take several decades to recover from yet unlike Israel who has received 124 billion dollars in aid from the US since World War II, more than any country in the world from the U.S. What is being asked is a simple gesture and would cost the city practically nothing and would be important to so many people, calling for a permanent ceasefire in Gaza. Because for the reasons I've mentioned, six weeks of a ceasefire is frankly a joke and we need a permanent ceasefire. Thank you.

Good evening. My name is Juliana. I'm a member of the Party for Socialism and Liberation. I am a resident of Santa Ana in Ward 4. I'm also a Jewish person standing here in support of a ceasefire resolution. Much of my family immigrated from the Soviet Union to Israel in the 1990s, and many of my family members are Zionists. So I know firsthand that Zionism is a racist and dehumanizing ideology. I'm too embarrassed to repeat some of the things that they've said to me behind closed doors. But we don't really need to imagine it because Israeli leaders themselves are not shy about calling Palestinians human animals

and literally admitting that they're rolling out another Nakba. On February 25th, active duty soldier Aaron Bushnell burned himself alive in front of the Israeli embassy in Washington, D.C. His last words were, I will no longer be complicit in genocide. I'm about to engage in an extreme act of protest. But compared to what people have been experiencing in Palestine at the hands of their colonizers, it is not extreme at all. This is what our ruling class has decided will be normal. Judging by the decisions of some of the members of the city council, he was right.

For the past five months, you have decided that sitting idly by while half of the civilian population in Gaza is being bombed while the other half starves to death is normal. But the residents of this city will not allow this to be normal. We will not continue to vote for people who are okay looking at children who are starving because how will you treat the children in this jurisdiction? How will you, how does that speak to your values when you can see humans being bombed and just carry on? We don't want leaders like that. So we will be back here demanding a ceasefire if this resolution doesn't pass and we will keep fighting until

Palestine is free.

Jennifer L. HallItem 18

Mayor and City Council, I know we said the 955 but I just wanted confirmation on the timing of the comments as well.

Valerie AmezcuaItem 18

I'm sorry, we said two minutes, unless there was a motion by Mayor Pro Tem for one minute?

Thai Viet PhanItem 18

Yeah, I was asking for one minute so that more people would have the opportunity to speak before the two hour deadline.

Valerie AmezcuaItem 18

Is everybody okay with one minute, or do you want to continue with two?

Benjamin VazquezItem 18

I second Council Member Phan.

Valerie AmezcuaItem 18

Okay.

Benjamin VazquezItem 18

Because we get more people to talk. Less time, but more people are able to speak.

Valerie AmezcuaItem 18

One minute, and everybody else okay with that? Okay, one minute, Madam City Clerk. Thank you for clarifying.

That was the last one.

Jennifer L. HallItem 18

one minute thank you it's been determined one minute so the next speaker come on you said i get

two minutes i was the last one okay just because it's me all right anywho most of our lives come down to choices decisions we may or may not make that shape our futures in the late 1960s my dad was drafted to serve in vietnam he was born and raised in america and has always loved this country but he did not want to participate in a war he did not believe in he ended up choosing to become a draft dodger. He was in the street getting shot by tear gas. At the sum of his peers joined to serve, shamed him for not being patriotic. All these years later we learned

that this war America participated in was unjust and pointless. Years from now the same thing will happen with Gaza. For one reason or another there are still people in this country on many different city council boards blocking a ceasefire resolution. Whether your reasoning is personal or if you feel like this is the right thing to further your political career, I ask you is it worth it? Is it worth it knowing that many years from now we will We'll all have our last moments on this earth, and God will ask what we did when this happened. Will you stand before God and also tell him, hey, it wasn't city business?

Even that used to be true. It's not anymore. There's a man by the name of Alex Oda whose statue is right outside. He was killed in 1985 by a car bombing. He's the man that fled to Israel, and he's living in Israel right now. This same man is currently blocking humanitarian aid from getting to children that are starving, and they're starving to death. Honor the Santa Ana man who literally gave his life for this day. Honor him. and you can also honor you can also honor the mother that was here I'm gonna finish my last I'm gonna finish my statement your time I'm gonna finish my

statement bring the next speaker up please Seidel Wallensohn's thank you

Jennifer L. HallItem 18

followed by Nas S and Kadisha A excuse me there's a senior citizen coming

Valerie AmezcuaItem 18

behind you sir if you could please move thank you

Valerie AmezcuaItem 18

I'm sorry, we can't hear you.

S. Adele Wallin- I'm here to urge you to vote no on the proposed resolution.

Valerie AmezcuaItem 18

S. Excuse me one second. Madam Clerk, start her time over again. I had muted your microphone. I apologize. So you can start over, ma'am. S. Lower it. Okay.

I'll say it again. Honorable Mayor and members of the Council, my name is Sadelle. I'm here to urge you to vote no on the proposed resolution. I am an American Jewish veteran. I am standing before you to let you know I no longer feel safe in my own country as a Jew. I have questions for you. If the United States was attacked, what would we do as a nation? I think you all know the answer to that. Protect and defend until the job is done.

Thanks for listening.

Jennifer L. HallItem 18

Next speakers, Nas S. followed by Kadisha A. and Mervet Judah.

Valerie AmezcuaItem 18

Let's not do that in here, please. Let's not do that. Otherwise, the police will escort you out.

Valerie AmezcuaItem 18

I understand that. Please stop. We're almost done, you guys. We're almost done. We are almost done. Please. Go ahead, please.

Good evening, counsel. I am a Palestinian Christian. 13 of my family members were murdered in the Greek Orthodox Church bombing. Another two members, a mother and daughter, were snipered by the Israeli militant force in the Holy Family Church. Thirteen more family members still sheltering there. Bombing churches is a war crime. Bombing hospitals is a war crime. This is a local issue because since the genocide started, it has wreaked havoc on us mentally and emotionally. For the last 150 days, watching my people get slaughtered has been a dystopian experience and left me struggling to find an ounce of normalcy.

As an RN, I have seen some gruesome images, but nothing like what is coming out of Gaza, the most well-documented genocide in the history seen in live. To those opposed to a ceasefire, help me understand why you want the continued slaughtering of innocent people. 30,000 murdered, 80% of which are women and children. As a Palestinian, we have already been made to feel our lives are less valued. I'm left to believe you view mine as less. The rhetoric that Israel has the right to defend itself has lost its value when all we are seeing is Zionists getting joy out

of seeing the slaughter of Palestinians, that they have created chats to share joys in these matters the curse well I'm here to say Palestinians have a right to exist Palestinians have a right to live eat next speaker

Jennifer L. HallItem 18

Kadisha a followed by Mervet Judah and Roz

go ahead please

Kadisha I'm a Palestinian Mexican American and I urged the council to to support item number 18. When I first gave public comment in front of this dais a few months ago, there were about 14,000 Palestinians murdered by Israel. Today, there are over 30,000 murdered, with thousands on the brink of dying from starvation and malnutrition. I honestly don't have any more words to try and convince you to see my people. Every day we learn of the latest massacre. You've heard others before me speak of the young boy's body who resembled that of a skeleton and died of famine.

We've had enough. Enough with the fallacies. Children should not have to look to the sky and wonder if it's food or a bomb. We demand a ceasefire resolution be passed in this chamber today. Thank you.

Jennifer L. HallItem 18

Mervet Judah, followed by Roz and Jesus Vasquez.

First, I want to thank you for the opportunity of presenting this resolution. That is much needed. What's happening in Palestine and Israel is really impacting everyone here locally, in our workplaces, schools, everywhere we're at. There is a lot of divisiveness, but it's not happening in the city chambers. It's outside. And we need, when there's a genocide and ethnic cleansing happening, it's everyone's responsibility to speak up. And when you're a leader, you must speak up. Those who speak up today will not regret it tomorrow. You will be seen as cowards or supporters of genocide.

I'm not in any way taking away the loss of life on the other side. However, when you have over 35,000 people that are murdered, over 2 million that are displaced, over 70,000 that are injured, over 25,000 children that are orphans, why don't they matter? Why don't Palestinians' lives matter? Why is a ceasefire anti-Semitic? Why? Why? We cease fires for both sides. Please vote yes. Please end the madness. Please speak up for humanity. Thank you.

Jennifer L. HallItem 18

Roz, followed by Jesus Vasquez, followed by Aya Sada.

Thank you, Mayor and Council Members, for allowing me to speak today. I just want to make sure that I put it on the record that woman hit me with her cane on my head. They keep talking about they feel unsafe. Let me tell you who's unsafe. We're unsafe. safe. Okay, this woman named Monica right here, when we were talking about the atrocities that we have, our kids dying, she was laughing. This woman, Monica, plays pickleball with me. I go up to her and wave, hi, I'll play with you. We are not the villains. They play victim all the time. But let

me tell you something about what Gabor Mato said. Gabor Mato, by the way, is a Holocaust survivor. He said, take the worst thing you can say about Hamas, multiply it by a thousand times, and it still will not meet the Israeli repression and killing and disposition of Palestinian people. That's a Holocaust survivor, ma'am. I remember the day I went to his funeral. This man, the one we have a statue of, a Palestinian Christian, was murdered by a guy who ran to Israel for cover. Today, he deprives people of food. By the way, I'm not happy that I only got one minute.

Valerie AmezcuaItem 18

Oh, thank you, ma'am.

Jennifer L. HallItem 18

your time is up i'm glad they got two minutes thank you thank you valerie thank you jesus vasquez followed by ayah sada and barakoff uh hello council members jesus vasquez a long time

resident san anna a pretty blue collar pretty representative of what goes on in the city um i just want to say that i've been looking at this for a long time and there's one underlying premise it's a war and it just brings about this level of cognitive dissonance that like How can you be in war with people you are occupying and you're putting under siege? So, like, I just want to say that, that it boggles my mind, and I struggle with this every single day. And I have my own problems. I go to work. I live here. I deal with people in my everyday life, and I talk with them.

And they can understand that there's something wrong with this. There's something just wholeheartedly wrong with this. and they brought up, you know, what would America do? And I'll tell you what America did. Three wars, $3 trillion, 500,000 lives lost, 7,000 Americans, 30,000 to suicide. Don't forget that.

Valerie AmezcuaItem 18

Your time's up, sir. Thank you.

Jennifer L. HallItem 18

Aya Sada, followed by Barak Akaf and Estefania Cruz.

Jennifer L. HallItem 18

Aya? Barak?

Today we stand witness to devastating genocide in Gaza. It's imperative that we raise our voices and demand an immediate ceasefire. Ladies and gentlemen, I ask you all to listen to what I have to say with an open mind and a clean heart. I please, I beg you, please open up your mind and open up your heart. Every moment of delay results in more lives lost, more families torn apart, and more communities shattered. For those who are arguing this is not a city issue, you might be right, but it's not a federal issue either. This is not about choosing sides or bolstering egos. This is a humanitarian

issue. This is about making the right humanitarian decision. This is about putting yourself in the shoes of mothers and fathers, watching your own kids slowly die in front of your own two eyes because you are unable to provide food for your child think about it when you hold your child for the very first time when they're born you start imagining all these memories you will be able to witness in their life their first step is up going to school you don't ever

Valerie AmezcuaItem 18

want to think about your child your time is up sir your time is up thank you

Jennifer L. HallItem 18

next speaker Estefania Cruz followed by Lou and Katie Newman

Good evening members of the council. My name is Estefania Cruz and I am the resident of council member Peñalosa Ward 6 and it's a shame that he is not here. As a compassionate and caring community we cannot stand idly while we witness such atrocities and continue these things to be unchecked. Additionally I would like to address a comment made by our first speaker. While it is true that our city cannot control what the government does with our federal tax dollars the city has the choice and the responsibility to divest our local taxpayer dollars with the

illegal state of israel as such i urge the city council to review our local investment policy and take concrete steps to divest from companies supporting the illegal state of israel we cannot continue to profit from the pain and suffering of others we as we consider the city's annual budget for fiscal year 2024-2025, let us remember the human cost of our decisions. Now is the time to show leadership, compassion, and solidarity with the Palestinian people. Please let us stand on the right side of history. Free Palestine.

Jennifer L. HallItem 18

Lou, followed by Katie Newman and Mohamed Karim.

Hi. I'm Lou Luhammad with Yala Indivisible. and I'm no longer coming here to try to convince you of my humanity and the humanity of my community. I know it seems boring to some of you. Just try it for one day and see how other people feel. My friend the other day tried to write a press release on Gaza using chat GBD, and he kept having problems because the chat GBD would change the language. So then it came to him to replace Palestine with Ukraine.

And the CHAP GPT wrote it very, very nicely, exactly like it is.

May I suggest, not sarcastically, to actually think of the situation in those terms. Remove Palestinians from the discussion. think of it of any other people and see if your reaction would be the same thank

Jennifer L. HallItem 18

you Katie Newman followed by Mohammed Kareem and Madhu Velumani hi my name is

Katie Newman I am a proud resident and homeowner in Thornton Park the Thornton Park neighborhood of Ward 4 I'm sad that I don't get to address my councilmember member Phil Becerra, but I thank the rest of you for staying and listening and lending us your ears. I am here to support the resolution for a ceasefire. Thank you, council member Vasquez, for bringing it.

I also wanted to take a moment to... There's been a lot of talk about decorum from Madam Mayor, but I'm seeing so much visual disruption. I don't know how I and I hear a lot about harassment But I've been seeing signs that say lies and wrong popping up and I don't understand how that's decorum And I doesn't feel respectful. I don't I don't know you guys have been harassing everybody all night So, thank you. Please support the ceasefire

Jennifer L. HallItem 18

Mohammed Kareem followed by Madhu Vallamani and Sadat Al-Huni

I'd like to begin by acknowledging that we're on occupied indigenous lands. So while we discuss how we position ourselves relative to one settler colonial project abroad, we also have to recognize that we're a settler colonial project over here. It's an obligation in the Islamic tradition that those in positions of power are obligated to work and implement what's morally right. The Prophet speaks of three people in positions of power, and the only person who is admitted who is admitted into paradise is the one who has knowledge and acts with what is right.

The Zionist-led and U.S.-backed settler colonial project and the genocide that has intensified since October 7th and the greater Zionist settler colonial project since 1948 are both abundantly clear. Santa Ana can posture itself as far removed from genocide, but it has a historical track record of failing Palestinians dating back to the death and the murder of Alex Oda. And this individual suspected of his murder is involved in protesting the admission of aid into Gaza. From one's own settler colonial context in the United States to one's support for the US empire's colonial aims in Palestinian land, nobody colonizes innocently.

This is what we describe as a settler move to innocence.

Jennifer L. HallItem 18

Madhu Velumani, followed by Sadat Telhouni and Valerie.

Hello, my name is Madhu Velumani and I stand before you today as a political organizer with the Party for Socialism and Liberation. For over five months, the situation in Gaza has caused immense suffering with countless casualties, including innocent children. The people of Palestine have suffered enough. We've asked Santa Ana City Council to hear the voices of the people, but the majority of the city council refuses to speak on this issue. As elected representatives, you must use your voices to advocate for peace. Do you understand that your silence in the face of much suffering is complicity?

This month, as we celebrate Women's History Month, we must also acknowledge the plight of women and children disproportionately affected by the Palestinian genocide. Santa Ana, a city that prides itself on inclusivity and diversity, cannot stand idly by while human rights are under attack anywhere in the world. I find it especially disgusting that you entertain imperialists all while ignoring oppressed voices. Many Zionists spoken today spinning a disgusting web of lies. They want the blood of Palestine on them. Are you going to side with them? We demand that Santa Ana City Council support a ceasefire resolution.

Thank you for your time and consideration.

Jennifer L. HallItem 18

Sadat Talhouni, followed by Valerie and Heather Lopez.

Hello, my name is Sadat Talhouni. I'm a resident of Santa Ana from Ward 4. Look at how many people have consistently been coming here in support of a permanent ceasefire. When this many people show up to engage with their elected officials, Santa Ana thrives. You as elected officials who care about Santa Ana and its residents have the opportunity to show them that Santa Ana hears them when they call for nonviolence. A call for a ceasefire has tangible benefits to Santa Ana as well. When we as residents see our tax dollars, what they're doing to children, it is difficult to operate a normal life.

Knowing that our city reflects values of nonviolence makes us want to stay, support, and spend our time and money in Santa Ana. Additionally, our stance would contribute to pressure to influence the federal government to choose nonviolence and decrease military spending that we can actually spend locally instead. Antisemitism is violence. Islamophobia is violence. Ceasefire is nonviolence. That's the language you have to speak. What kind of language do you want to speak?

Jennifer L. HallItem 18

Valerie, followed by Heather Lopez and Sharif El-Bayami.

Hi, I'm with Sal Cotter. I'm an entrepreneur. I built and sold Veterans United Home Loans out of Missouri and just came here recently and did a couple other companies, recently exited. One of which was a successful software company headquartered in the city of Orange. I'm actually an Irvine resident. I don't live in Santa Ana. I've employed hundreds of people and relocated them from across the nation to live in Santa Ana. my Jewish brothers and sisters. I've helped them find synagogues here. I've helped our Muslim brothers and sisters find their Jewish and their Muslim community

here. And in a coalition of other technology company founders, hedge funds, seed investment companies, we're currently looking for our next project. And it is the common theme in these meetings with people who build businesses, those of us who build and sell companies for hundreds of millions of dollars here locally, that we are not going to relocate anyone to a place with with a city with leadership that will not call for a ceasefire. If we can't tell people that the city they live in cares about human life, I can't honestly relocate them, nor can any of the other founders and owners of businesses in the entire state of California.

We're against this. We need a ceasefire now, or the money is going to dry up, guys.

Jennifer L. HallItem 18

Heather Lopez?

Hi, my name is Heather Lopez. I'm a nurse here in Orange County. It absolutely breaks my heart knowing that every time I go to work as a nurse to aid in the life and dignity of a person here, my tax dollars are being used to murder and destroy life in Gaza. We are watching a genocide in real time and not only are we allowing it without intervention, we're contributing to it. We're censoring it by allowing media blackout and misrepresentation. How many innocent lives must be lost to starvation, disease, and blatant murder? How can we continue to

turn a blind eye and allow these injustices to continue israel proudly boasts their white their war crimes with full support of our government under false pretense of self-defense over 30 000 palestinians have been killed with the whole world watching actively protesting against this genocide and yet no action from our officials i don't even understand how the dehumanization and slaughter of people is up for debate we need an immediate and permanent ceasefire now thank you for your time

Jennifer L. HallItem 18

next speaker valerie followed by sharif elba yumi sam n

Valerie AmezcuaItem 18

can you bring the mic down a little bit more please so we can hear you thank you

the u.s gives an estimated 3.8 billion dollars in military aid every year to israel despite unprecedented levels of violence against the palestinian people our money should not go towards killing innocent women and children? Do we really want our tax dollars to go towards war crimes against humanity? Do you realize that our money is killing people this very moment I'm speaking right now? Every second, every minute, every hour, every day this genocide goes on is countless people dead, countless family members lost, countless friends, loved ones, children, mothers gone forever, wiped off this earth for eternity, children orphaned,

children who've lost their limbs, children that have been captured and taken away, children that have been tortured. Their entire population of children has been traumatized for life and we can end it by demanding for a permanent ceasefire today. This is not political. This is how we should treat, this is how humans should treat other humans. Think about the children. Why are we sitting here debating whether or not killing children is okay rather than taking action? When you vote no to a ceasefire, when you vote yes to a ceasefire resolution you are, when you vote no to a ceasefire resolution you are voting yes to continue

brutal violence against children think about it sharif el bayoumi followed by sam and

hello as a descendant of a nakba survivor i want to start off with the idea of humanity humanity is human loyalty that isn't limited by borders oceans and yields to no leader it is simple if we bleed the same you have my voice if aaron bushnell rachel corey shireen Abu Akleh have taught us, humanity doesn't even serve the borders of life and death. Just two days ago, we saw the Israeli military shoot up Palestinians who were seeking humanitarian aid, and that action was condemned around the world. The question is, will you condemn it? And take no mistake, the Palestinian struggle is a humanitarian issue,

but throughout this genocide, we've seen our politicians' humanity limited by lobbyist money. We have seen the president of the United States lie to his own people about 40 beheaded babies, the dehumanization of Palestinians have been planned against us to allow this genocide to continue here are the facts we have an area that is 25 miles wide and 7 miles long filled with 20,000 bombs that it's been rained down upon while the Israeli military has killed more of their own hostages than what

Jennifer L. HallItem 18

they have saved for the safety of all hostages next speaker Sam N

Good to go? All right. Great to be back here again, unfortunately, under these circumstances. I only have a minute, so I'm just going to kind of talk about what a typical day is like lately. Wake up in the morning, see kids that have their legs blown off, maybe hanging from a wall, brain smashed, all these things that normal humans just should not see. The other day, I was out with my kids eating and made a mistake of pulling up Instagram, saw some things I didn't want to see, specifically three kids being robbed in a black body bag. Instantly asked for the check,

lost my appetite, paid it, went home. I feel guilty that I can feed my damn kids. That's life today. And all I ever hear is about, you know, city limitations, this and that. We're asking for ceasefire for peace. Bring the hostages home that you guys talk about, but stop Stop bombing them. Let kids eat. This is not a complex thing. Vote for a ceasefire. Be a goddamn human. Thank you.

Jennifer L. HallItem 18

Mayor, that concludes the in-person speakers.

Valerie AmezcuaItem 18

We've reached our time. We passed our time. It's past 945, so we're going to stop right here.

Valerie AmezcuaItem 18

Thank you very much. Mr. City Manager, do you have a report for this item?

Mayor Redekopan, no report, Madam Mayor.

Valerie AmezcuaItem 18

Thank you, sir. Are there any questions or comments by the council? If you'd like to speak, please hit your button so that I can pick you as we'll do three minutes, please, for each council member. Thank you. Councilman Hervasquez.

Benjamin VazquezItem 18

Yes, thank you. Thank you. This is about 30,000 dead and the continuing killing of people in Gaza and wanting that to end. It's the stopping of killing and torture of people with no food.

Benjamin VazquezItem 18

For the city of Santa Ana to take it on, it is our duty to speak up in the times of injustice. injustice. When injustice comes, it has to take courage to speak up. For any president or Congress to move, World War I, World War II, they needed the support of the public. You needed support and able to move into a war. To move into the Iraqi war, the president Congress needed support of the people, we are the people. Right? We are the people. So international law, international

Benjamin VazquezItem 18

issues is not beyond the things that we do. We want to be clear that when atrocities happened like November 9, 1938, we know that date. We know that date. Crystal knot. We know that date. On November 10th, these people would be here supporting you. We would call an end for those actions. On October 1939, when people were moved into ghettos in Poland, we would call an end for that. We would be here in justice and have the courage to do what is right. You are our brothers and sisters.

Benjamin VazquezItem 18

sisters, you are. When the final solution happened in 1941, the U.S. did not get involved. There were not enough towns speaking up against the final solution. Not until December, when Japan bombs Pearl Harbor, does the U.S. get involved. So it is very important, it's very important I teach this as a U.S. history teacher. I could teach that and I let the students students know to understand how genocide moves. It didn't start with the final solution. It started with narratives that began way before.

Benjamin VazquezItem 18

And the actions, it heightened and heightened and got worse and worse. We tell these histories in our schools. We teach these histories so we know when we see it again, so when we see this happen again we will not allow it to happen so that's why it's important for a city to move with the ceasefire this is about 30,000 dead if we cannot come to a solution and Gaza with good faith diplomacy god help us councilman Hernandez Thank You madam mayor I want

Johnathan Ryan HernandezItem 18

to thank the members of the public and i want to start by by just acknowledging you know both sides here there is suffering there is pain and each one of those lives deserve to be protected each one of those lives deserve to live with dignity and respect but i stand here today as an elected official with a very deep understanding of america's history i am the product of mexican immigrants who came from Jalisco and my father was a native to California. I want to remind my

Johnathan Ryan HernandezItem 18

my neighbors and my colleagues that every centimeter of this room is stolen native land and from 1492 to 1900 approximately over 12 million native people were victims of genocide.

Johnathan Ryan HernandezItem 18

We still see the impact of the colonization that occurred with native people and how it's unfortunately, you know, affected America's history. As we are talking about the topic of terror and genocide, we know what is happening in Palestine, in Gaza, and we know that those impacts aren't just happening there. They do trickle into the Santa Ana community. A very clear example is that at fbi.gov slash wanted slash seeking hyphen info slash Alexander,

Johnathan Ryan HernandezItem 18

Michael hyphen Odeh. FBI.gov still has a reward of up to one million dollars to be paid for the information seeking to the arrest and conviction of the person or persons responsible for the murder of Alex Odeh, a resident from our community. This is one of the only instances of a terrorist attack in the city of Santa Ana. And so I want to validate the fear that many of our neighbors are experiencing because their family members are being slaughtered.

Johnathan Ryan HernandezItem 18

I also want to validate the experiences of people in the community who are experiencing anti-Zionist, you know, people who are experiencing anti-Semitism, people who are experiencing racism, people who are experiencing xenophobia because of this topic. I want to center those experiences by highlighting the innocent lives that have been lost. Over 30,000 people, of which half of which are kids. I'm a father to a 14-year-old daughter. And not recognizing the political boundaries of what my country is doing with my tax dollars,

Johnathan Ryan HernandezItem 18

I have to recognize the dehumanization of murdering women and children and not giving them access to their health care and their hospitals it's inhumane and that is why I do believe this is an issue that is affecting Santa Ana our taxpayers are paying for this there are cities all across the United States I will list them that have passed a ceasefire resolution in California we have Quartey we have Folsom we have Fort Bragg California Davis Brentwood Richmond Oakland we have Berkeley New Haven Unified School school district, Union City, San Francisco, Hollister, Madera, Montebello, Pomona, Cudahy,

Johnathan Ryan HernandezItem 18

Long Beach, Laguna Beach. In Colorado, we got Glenwood Springs. In Connecticut, we got Bridgeport, Delaware, we got Wilmington. In Georgia, we got Atlanta. In Illinois, we got Chicago. In Iowa, we have Iowa City. We have Coralville. In Kansas, we have Lawrence, Kansas. In Maine, we have Portland, Maine. In Massachusetts, we have Medford, Somerville, Cambridge, Michigan, Michigan, Kalamazoo, Michigan, Lansing, Watershire-Tent County, Ann Arbor, Michigan, Canton Township, Wayne County, Michigan, Dearborn Heights, Dearborn, Michigan, Hammatrack, Detroit, Minnesota,

Johnathan Ryan HernandezItem 18

Red Lake Nation, Minneapolis, Hastings, Minnesota, Missouri, St. Louis, New Jersey, Union City, Prospect Park, Patterson, Halidon, New York, Albany, Newboro, North Carolina, Greensboro, Carboro, Durham, Ohio, Athens, Dachshund, Akron, Oregon, Eugene, Pennsylvania, State College, Rhode Island, Providence, Washington, Bellingham, Washington, Port Townsend, Seattle, Jefferson County, Olympia, and last but not least, Madison, Wisconsin.

Valerie AmezcuaItem 18

Councilman Hernandez, I'll come back to you in three minutes. Thank you. Councilman Vazquez, did you push the button again? Yes, I did. Go ahead.

Benjamin VazquezItem 18

I just want to call to pass a resolution of the City Council of Santa Ana, California affirming support for the worldwide call for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza as bread in the beginning of this item I'll second your motion I don't see any more

Valerie AmezcuaItem 18

comments let's prepare to vote um oh my buttons okay I didn't see your button go

Jessie LopezItem 18

ahead come summer Lopez thank you so I won't repeat my comments from the last time that we met and this item was on the agenda but those sentiments still still exists within me and I think with so many members of our community here and really everywhere. We're seeing people speak up about this or have an opinion on this, right, in every corner of this country. And I've been thinking about this issue a lot and I actually want to share a story with you all. I met my grandmother for the first time in late late 2019, December of 2019.

Jessie LopezItem 18

And I grew up not knowing my family abroad, not knowing what it was like to hear stories about my mom as a young girl or my dad. I didn't get to meet my uncles and my aunts, my nephews and my nieces. I grew up thinking that I had a very small family, but in reality, we were a product, or not a product, but we were a family that had been separated because of war. My mom migrated here because of the Civil War in El Salvador. And so 2019, meeting my family for the first time really, I think, put a lot of things into perspective for me.

Jessie LopezItem 18

And I had the privilege of being reunited with them again late last year. I spent a month with them and it was probably one of the best experiences of my life. being able to cook alongside my grandma, do everything that I didn't get to do as a child here. And I share this story with you all because I recognize that there are millions of innocent families that lose so much when they're dragged into these things that they have nothing to do with.

Jessie LopezItem 18

And my mom left, you know, her motherland because of a civil war, and she had nothing to do with that war. And when she left, our family lost knowledge of our motherland. We lost connections to our family members, and we lost stories. And most importantly, we lost time. That is something we will never be able to give back. and you know I I was listening to the public speakers and one of the speakers kind of kind of mentioned this and you know I think it just really brought home

Jessie LopezItem 18

for me the importance of this right and the importance of making sure that we do everything that we can for the people that perhaps the for the people that that need help in this moment. And so, you know, I've had to grapple with the fact that so many people are struggling with their own identity because of what is happening in this moment. And that is something that I can 100% relate to. And I know that there are thousands of families like mine in this city that feel what we are feeling in this moment. And I do not believe that once people's safety can come at the expense of others.

Jessie LopezItem 18

Our fates are tied together. And we must learn how to take care of each other if we are truly going to be in community with one another. If we truly want safety for everyone in our communities. And so I do support a ceasefire resolution.

Jessie LopezItem 18

Mayor Procham Phan.

Thai Viet PhanItem 18

Thank you, Mayor. I have a couple clarifying questions for Council Member Vasquez, if that's possible. So I've engaged with many people here in this room, others from my own life, those who've reached out to me. I've been able to speak to some, not to others. And I've communicated with you, Council Member Vazquez, as well as some folks that you've worked with. So my question is, what is the goal of this resolution? Is it to bring peace to Gaza and Israel?

It's to bring word to Congress.

Benjamin VazquezItem 18

We want to make sure that Congress know that we support a ceasefire in Santa Ana. There's a group of people. As any international or any event that happens in the country, it is a way for them to understand the way we want things to be done in Santa Ana. So there is public push on many issues across national and international, and this will help the ceasefire and the end to the killing in Gaza.

Thai Viet PhanItem 18

Thank you. My second question is that does this resolution advocate for a free Palestinian state?

Benjamin VazquezItem 18

It doesn't. It calls for there to be diplomacy, and the people in Gaza and Israel will have a talk about that themselves. themselves.

Thai Viet PhanItem 18

So we are not asking our federal representatives and the president to support a free Palestinian state?

Benjamin VazquezItem 18

We're asking for a free, it's calling for, to have a ceasefire and to have those conversations, they will have those conversations on either side of how that comes to be.

Thai Viet PhanItem 18

Okay. Okay. Does the resolution call for affirming the security and existence of the State of Israel? Repeat that again, please. Does the resolution and its intent call for the security and existence of the State of Israel?

Benjamin VazquezItem 18

The security and that, again, would be taken upon the people of Israel and the Palestinian people in confirmation and having dialogue. So that diplomacy, that will come from them. them. We're asking for a ceasefire to stop to allow the diplomacy to start.

Thai Viet PhanItem 18

Thank you. Let me add some more questions. Okay. Thank you so much for that clarification. So as I mentioned, I had talked to Council Member Vasquez and a number of others regarding this. And I asked this question because I really grapple with what the purpose and the meaning of this resolution is. And I've heard all of you, and I actually really want to thank you. I know we had a couple moments tonight, but really the decorum, I very much appreciated it overall. I appreciate my colleagues allowing the one minute so that we can hear from more folks. You know, I guess the first thing I want to

Thai Viet PhanItem 18

say is I wanted to acknowledge the history and experiences of everyone in this room, as well as those who have been speaking upon this issue. The experience of hurt, pain, trauma, the danger you feel, the fear that you feel. I can tell you that every single person I've spoken to, whether you were pro-Israel, pro-Palestine, Muslim, Arab, Jewish, none of the above, have all reiterated those very same feelings. And I hope you heard that from each other tonight. Because when I hear some of these comments, it feels like,

Thai Viet PhanItem 18

I don't really have a good way to say it, but it's comparing pain. You know, trying to compare whose pain is worse, whose trauma is worse, who's experiencing – it's like the trauma Olympics. I know that's a terrible way to put it, but that's how it feels. And I wish that we can just acknowledge that every single person's experience is valid and real and that we have to accept that and that not one experience is more important than the other I asked these questions well I guess I only have 15

Thai Viet PhanItem 18

minutes seconds left so maybe I should okay I asked these questions because you know a lot of folks say well we don't want our taxpayer dollars to go to funding the war in Gaza or to funding Israel but I guess the clarifying question is not a cent that as far as I know that goes into City Hall is being sent to Israel there are percentages that go to the state and federal government and the county and as such that money gets spent based on the decisions of the state legislature the county supervisors as well as the

Thai Viet PhanItem 18

federal representatives and so I don't really think that that is a nexus here I I think the nexus here is the fact that all of you who are residents have come out and taken the time out of your day and shared how this has affected you and the community. And so with that, you know, I think my issue is that back in November, I believe, or December, I had brought a resolution that was about peace, that was about calling for an end to the violence that was about bringing aid and that was about reaffirming the existence and

Thai Viet PhanItem 18

freedom of people in Gaza, in Palestine, and in Israel. But that did not get support from my colleagues because the demand was to say the words ceasefire. And the word ceasefire does not just mean an end to the violence. It is a political term. It is a term of art. and to me you're asking for a political statement you're asking for a political statement and so we need to let her speak please we let you speak thank you so this is truly a call for peace and is truly a call to end violence against all

Thai Viet PhanItem 18

peoples in Gaza and Israel to Palestinians Jews and Israelis then I I think it should be okay to call for that. But when I spoke to people and I said, can we call it a bilateral ceasefire? The answer was no. When I asked, can we affirm the existence and security of Israel and a free Palestinian, an independent free Palestinian state in a two-state solution, the answer was no.

Thai Viet PhanItem 18

And so for me, it is not possible to have a resolution unless it specifically calls for a bilateral ceasefire, a release of all the hostages and affirming a two-state solution with the existence of Israel and the security of Israel and a free, independent Palestinian state. That is not what this resolution said. said and when I provided those red lines they were not added and they were not included into the agenda and so with that I cannot support the resolution as

Valerie AmezcuaItem 18

written okay okay we're good now all right so you made a motion councilman Vasquez did you make a motion so you didn't make a motion from this point and did you second it that's correct there's no I don't see anybody else wanting to speak did you is that is this a new hand councilman vasquez or you're done yeah go ahead three minutes please that's and this is the last one that we're going to vote thank you um when you

Benjamin VazquezItem 18

did make the petition at the last meeting i think i voted in support of it right and the ceasefire here is calling on ceasefire for both sides it's not calling for one side to stop fighting while the other continues it is a ceasefire on both sides and to end this one here is allowing for diplomacy to come into effect for folks to take their own future into their hands and come up with solutions

Benjamin VazquezItem 18

whether it be one or two states we don't know what the outcome may be if it's a peaceful outcome and what's best for the people of that area of Palestine in israel so the the ceasefire it's for both sides it's it is it is clearly for both sides i've stated and um and uh really um beyond diplomacy is more than i would want to take up but i do want to support a ceasefire to know that we want to stop the killing in gaza

Valerie AmezcuaItem 18

Mayor Pro Tem, this is the last time, then we're going to vote, please. Thank you. I'll be short. We're already done.

Thai Viet PhanItem 18

So I understand that that is the argument that the word ceasefire infers that all combatants stop the fighting, but it does not. There are bilateral ceasefires, there are multilateral ceasefires, and there are unilateral ceasefires. If we are going to use a political term of art in war, then we should also then utilize that position to affirm the United States position for a secure and free Israel and a free Palestine. I don't think that it's right to say if we are going to affirm the end of all violence and then force others to use a political term of art

Thai Viet PhanItem 18

and then tell us that you cannot demand the release of all hostages with a bilateral ceasefire and a two-state solution. I don't think that you get to say be political but just enough and that is my

Valerie AmezcuaItem 18

position on that thank you all right thank you you need to stop you need to stop please we're gonna take a vote madam clerk go ahead because we've had it we've we've had our three minutes you've had to but you went over so this has to be done we've already we've already taken our turns here I'll accept

Benjamin VazquezItem 18

accept amendments proposed by council member Pham to bilateral ceasefire the free Israel and free Palestine and the and freeing all hostages

Thai Viet PhanItem 18

Mayor Pro Tem I'm trying to read the comments into the agenda right so these These were my red lines, and so I guess you can read on the statement.

Thai Viet PhanItem 18

In the first, whereas, I had written, whereas the current Israel-Hamas war has resulted in the rape, torture, and death of over 1,200 Israelis and the capture of over 240 hostages, including United States citizens, children, and the elderly by Hamas, and the death of over 30,000 Palestinians, including over 14,000 children by the State of Israel. In the second whereas, I added the word bilateral before the word ceasefire. And at the end, it says, in order to save the lives of innocent Palestinians and Israelis. I deleted at the third whereas.

Thai Viet PhanItem 18

In section one, I added, the city of Santa Ana hereby condemns terrorism, authoritarianism, violence, and hate in all its forms. In Section 2, I had deleted Section 2 and said, the City of Santa Ana will continue to track and report on hate crimes occurring in its jurisdiction and promote diversity, dignity, and cross-cultural collaboration. And in Section 3, the City of Santa Ana calls on Congress and the President of the United States to demand the release of all hostages held by Hamas, the release of prisoners held in Israel who have not been convicted in a court of law,

Thai Viet PhanItem 18

humanitarian assistance for civilians in Gaza, compliance with international law by warring combatants, and a permanent bilateral ceasefire that recognizes Israel's security and the right to exist in a free Palestinian state in the form of a two-state solution. And in Section 4, the resolutions are take effect immediately upon its adoption by the City Council, and the City Clerk shall attest to and certify the vote of the adoption. Those were my red lines.

Valerie AmezcuaItem 18

So you're accepting her, so you're making a motion.

Thai Viet PhanItem 18

I didn't make a motion. Those were my red lines. Thank you.

Valerie AmezcuaItem 18

Can Madam City Attorney?

Sonia R. CarvalhoItem 18

I just want to tell Council no. I'm looking at the resolution that's in the packet and I don't know what our Mayor Pro Tem is referring to. So there's nothing in my record that relates to what she's referencing. So I'm just, if the Council were to act on this, we do have to have something that the public is seeing or that I've seen so that we can move something forward. SO I WASN'T SURE, WERE YOU RED LINING WHAT IS IN OUR AGENDA PACKET AND PRESENTED BY THE COUNCIL MEMBER?

Thai Viet PhanItem 18

YES, THOSE WERE RED LINES.

Sonia R. CarvalhoItem 18

OKAY, BECAUSE THERE'S NO SECTIONS IN THE RESO. IF YOU LOOK IN THE PACKET, IT SAYS RESOLUTION PREPARED BY COUNCIL MEMBER VASQUEZ.

Thai Viet PhanItem 18

SORRY, I REFER TO SECTIONS ON MY OWN, SO.

Sonia R. CarvalhoItem 18

I UNDERSTAND. THANK YOU.

Thai Viet PhanItem 18

YES, BUT THOSE WERE RED LINES TO THE RESOLUTION THAT IS IN THE AGENDA.

Benjamin VazquezItem 18

So we're good Madam Secretary? I accept.

Thai Viet PhanItem 18

There is also red lines to the title.

Valerie AmezcuaItem 18

So let's prepare to vote. If there's no other comments please.

Thai Viet PhanItem 18

Sorry, there was a red line also to the title.

Valerie AmezcuaItem 18

I'm sorry, what was the title?

Thai Viet PhanItem 18

Oh, sorry, now I got to pull it out.

My apologies.

Thai Viet PhanItem 18

The red lines to the title, it says, a resolution of the City Council of Santa Ana, California, calling for the release of all hostages held by Hamas, humanitarian aid for civilians in Gaza, and a permanent bilateral ceasefire in Gaza that recognizes Israel's security and right to exist in a free Palestinian state. Thank you.

Valerie AmezcuaItem 18

Is that good with that, Councilman Vassil? Yes. All right, let's prepare to vote.

Jennifer L. HallItem 18

This is a motion by Councilmember Vasquez, seconded by Councilmember Hernandez, to approve the resolution with the red lines as stated by Mayor Pro Tem Phan, included to the title of the resolution, as well as the body of the resolution.

Jennifer L. HallItem 18

The vote is 4 ayes, 1 nay, nay by Mayor Emescua, and 2 noted absences by Council Members Becerra and Panaloza. Motion carries.

Valerie AmezcuaItem 18

Thank you. At this time I'm going to call on Council Members to announce their comments. Councilman Hernandez, please.

Johnathan Ryan HernandezItem 18

Thank you, Madam Chair. I just want to thank the members of the public for attending today's meeting. Please remain respectful as we exit the chamber. Santa Ana is a city where we are going to...

Valerie AmezcuaItem 18

We're going to need to be respectful, please. Please.

Johnathan Ryan HernandezItem 18

If we can please be respectful, everybody. I just want to thank members of the public and first and foremost our city staff, because without them we won't have a place for us to meet and gather and share these opinions. So I just want to thank our city staff for today's meeting. I thank every member of the public that took time from their day to share their input. put each of you are important and valued to the city I also want to just say thank you to our city staff that have been uplifting our parks I've been taking a look at El Salvador Park I see a lot of good things happening at Angels

Johnathan Ryan HernandezItem 18

Park 10th and flowers on its way and just very very excited to see the development that's happening in regards to park space thank you everybody

Benjamin VazquezItem 18

Councilman Vasquez. I want to thank the public for coming out and supporting Ceasefire.

Valerie AmezcuaItem 18

I want to affirm. Please stop. Please. Chief, can we make sure that we don't have any problems?

Johnathan Ryan HernandezItem 18

Guys, if we can please be respectful.

Valerie AmezcuaItem 18

Do I need to settle down?

Benjamin VazquezItem 18

I want to affirm that we're all brothers and sisters in this tonight.

I want to file a report right now.

Valerie AmezcuaItem 18

Yes. We are walking out.

They are calling us baby.

Valerie AmezcuaItem 18

Right. So the police department is going to walk you out, ma'am, and I'm very, very sorry. This is why we talk about being peaceful. Let's be peaceful, people. Ma'am, just have a seat. We'll walk you to your car. Please.

Thai Viet PhanItem 18

This is not, this is not decorum.

Valerie AmezcuaItem 18

This is not how we do business in Santa Ana. Santa, if you could please make sure everybody gets safely to their cars. If anybody's touching anybody, I'm sorry, they should be arrested. So let's get out peacefully. You guys got what you wanted, so go out peacefully. You say you're peaceful, you say you're peaceful, but you're not. Please stop. You're not peaceful. You say it all the time, but you are not peaceful. So please go out peacefully. Please go out peacefully.

Valerie AmezcuaItem 18

Peacefully. You say you're peaceful. I say that all the time because I want to remind you. You say you're peaceful and you're not. So go out peacefully. Stop.

Jessie LopezItem 18

Everybody needs to stop inciting that type of language. Excuse me, do not.

Valerie AmezcuaItem 18

I'm the chair of this meeting. Do not. I do not. I don't interrupt you. This is, I'm the chair. I don't interrupt you. So we already had a vote. We're in public. We're in comments. And if they can't go out safely, it is my responsibility to make sure they do. So we're done. We're good. Well, then you should say something as well. That's what I'm saying. Stop. So let's go.

I'm surprised the mayor called us not peaceful.

Valerie AmezcuaItem 18

Please stop. Okay. So we're going to go back to comments of the council members. Or Chief, if you want to, you tell me what you're going to do here so I know. Go back? Okay, perfect. Council Member Vasquez, you have two minutes and 40 seconds left, please.

Benjamin VazquezItem 18

Thank you. I also just want to make sure, I want to support a family that's close to me.

Benjamin VazquezItem 18

Radha Hamad and her family lost a 17-year-old cousin in the West Bank who was killed. And I just want to make sure that we, I want to give 10 seconds of silence, if we could be quiet for this child who was a U.S. Palestinian and went to the West Bank, and he was killed while in a car. So I'm going to take 10 seconds.

Benjamin VazquezItem 18

I would wish that we could do I'm gonna start ten seconds again and let the mayor do what she's fine she's not being disrespectful I'm just starting again again. Thank you for your time. Thank you for your energy. I am here for the whole of this body who came out tonight. I support you and humanity. This is about love and to killing. Thank you. Have a good night.

Jessie LopezItem 18

Thank you. Councilmember Lopez, please.

Jessie LopezItem 18

Yeah, just many thanks to the members of the public that have been here for hours in this chamber waiting for your turn to speak and express your thoughts. And it feels really weird to talk about what the office is doing in this moment. So yeah, I just want to end with that and please be be safe, get home safely. Thank you. Mayor Prochem. Thank you, Madam Mayor.

Thai Viet PhanItem 18

I guess the only thing I'd want to say is that this is not a cause for celebration. It's not. It's not a cause for celebration to me, but the fact that we need one at all. And it's a solemn day that this is something that this council had to take up because of harassment, Harassment because of shaming. And I want to let you all know who are still in this room, my position on this is not because of the harassment I've been receiving online. It is not because of the nasty words or the things thrown at me or calling me names. It's not.

Thai Viet PhanItem 18

And it's not because of yelling or any of the other things that have been happening to a number of us here on this dais. what helped me take this position was the thoughtful good faith dialogue I've had with Jewish community members here in the city of Santa Ana with Palestinian members of the community as well as others who have reached out to me seeking respectful dialogue and I hope that in in the future as we go forward on other issues like needle exchange, like homelessness, like housing, like public safety,

Thai Viet PhanItem 18

that folks can show up with the same fervor and support because that's what I came here to do. I came here to work on local municipal issues and I really hope that this community can come together for that. And I really hope that we don't see this type of divisiveness again in city chambers because while I have respected the quorum that a lot of folks tried to have today it was not our best moment it was not our best moment and so with that have a safe good night thank you thank you mayor Pro Tem I'd like to thank

Valerie AmezcuaItem 18

Santa Ana PD chief thank you to you and your officers for making the arrest of the gentleman for the shooting of our three-year-old child here in our city That is a priority to me as the mayor and I thank you very much for the hard work that all of the officers of Santa Ana PD did.

Valerie AmezcuaItem 18

The police department doesn't get enough thank yous for all the hard work, so thank you very much. I want to thank Commissioner Tim Johnson that called in about Measure X. It's critical and hopefully we can get some commissioners on there from Ward 2 and Ward 6. And I'm going to close passing.

Quarantine genocide.

Benjamin VazquezItem 18

Quarantine please.

Valerie AmezcuaItem 18

Quarantine genocide. So this is, we're peaceful, right? We're peaceful. Quarantine genocide.

Valerie AmezcuaItem 18

Quarantine please.

Quarantine genocide.

Valerie AmezcuaItem 18

So when my colleagues up here sit here and say, oh it's peaceful. Yes, I want you all to witness that. It's peaceful. I would like to close the meeting and the passing of Active Duty Fire Captain and Paramedic Robin Rob Kolb.

Valerie AmezcuaItem 18

It is with great sadness that we inform the Orange County Fire Authority family of the For the passing of active duty fire captain Rob Culp. Rob was 53 years old. Rob passed away last night at UCI Medical Center, surrounded by his family. Rob started his fire service career with the National City Fire Department in 1999, lateral to the City of Carlsbad Fire Department in 2003, and in March of 2007, joined the Orange

Valerie AmezcuaItem 18

County Fire Authority Fire Family as a firefighter and paramedic. He was promoted to captain in 2012. Rob was an active part of the Technical Rescue Truck Program and a member of FEMA California TF5 as a safety officer. Some of Rob's assignments with the Orange County Fire Authority consist of M5, E5, and T49. Rob's last assignment was on E27. D.C. Henry, that'd be Engine 27, correct? Thank you, sir. Rob is survived by his wife, Katie, his son, Jack, his daughter, Madison,

Valerie AmezcuaItem 18

his mother, Sharon, and his stepfather, Hans. Please keep Rob's family in your thoughts and prayers. The detail officer will be Division Chief Freeman, Orange County Fire Authority Family Liaison is Fire Captain Steve Consildi. Please direct any questions to Captain Consildi. celebration of life information will be forthcoming in the coming days morning bands are authorized we are asking fire stations and the RFOTC to fly the morning flag until sunset on the day of the funeral mr. city manager I've never made this I've never asked for this and you can tell me that there's a policy

Valerie AmezcuaItem 18

but I I also would like to request the flags be flown and his honor and that we We lower our flags in his honor. DC Henry, please extend my condolences to the entire Orange County Family Authority fire family. I would like to support that. You can support that. Thank you, Mayor Pro Tem. Again, first responders, we don't really take time to think about fire and police and the families that they leave behind when something happens to them. and so tonight was very important to hear everybody and there's many lives

Valerie AmezcuaItem 18

being lost all over the world. Dale was here and thank you Dale Helvig for the email you sent about all the wars going on around this whole world and the lives are being lost but here in Santa Ana we lose firemen and police officers and so I want to thank you all for your service and what you do for us so thank you. Mr. City Manager, so if we can do that please. I would hope that those are up here with me that would agree to fly in the flag, lowering the flag in his honor.

Yes, I support that of course.

Benjamin VazquezItem 18

Thank you. I support it as well.

Valerie AmezcuaItem 18

There you go. Good. Thank you very much. This meeting is adjourned.

recording stopped