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November 4, 2022
By Brian Hews
ABCUSD President of the Board and Assembly candidate Soo Yoo once again blasted the Los Cerritos Community News at a board meeting, this time taking the unprecedented step of reading a Trump-style hate-filled statement against this newspaper during her president’s report.
“I want to address the false accusation that I am a racist,” Yoo angrily stated, “it’s all fabricated and false news. Hews News made false accusations and took my words out of context to frame me as a racist.”
LCCN had recently published an article – backed by screenshots of Facebook posts by Ms. Yoo – posts that she called out of context.
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67th Assembly Candidate Soo Yoo’s Racist, Homophobic Rants on Social Media
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LCCN also wrote, corroborated by residents who were present at the meetings, that Yoo said, “Blacks should get over slavery,” “Mexicans should stop spending money on Quiceaneras,” and telling 13 and 15-year-old Latin students to “solve the drug problem among Latinos.”
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ABC Board President Soo Yoo Hurls Yet Another Prejudiced Comment at Hispanics
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After riling up the partisan crowd against LCCN, the subject of her report changed and became a right-wing transphobic racist rant.
“Realize that our state is failing the next generation,” said Yoo, “pushing a far-left agenda of race, gender issues, and intervening in parent’s rights.”
Board Member Sophia Tse tried to intervene, but Yoo brushed her off with a malicious finger wave telling Tse to “stop.” Noted Yoo crony Clerk of the Board Michael Eugenio, was also heard telling Tse to be quiet.
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Yoo continued, “I cannot understand how such laws pass, it does not make sense, a majority of the people that I have talked to in the school district do not agree with the leftist agenda.”
At the end of her report, Yoo reverted to blasting LCCN, producing a copy of LCCN’s recent article and again using Trump-style red-meat tactics to attack LCCN “for publishing false information;” her statement in direct contradiction to the Facebook screenshots attached to the article.
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The partisan crowd in the room booed, yelled and clapped when she finished her report blasting LCCN; but it did not stop there.
At public comment, Cerritos resident Sam Bedachi said, “Soo Yoo was a great president,” then said, “no self-respecting dead fish would allow themselves to be wrapped in LCCN.”
“That was pretty funny,” said one LCCN reader, “I always chuckle when people, in their own words, are telling you they read the paper.”
Next was Mel Cortez, who criticized Soo Yoo for everything she had done and asked for a board censure and for her resignation. Cortez cited the three racist statements by Yoo concerning Blacks and Latinos. Cortez was booed and laughed at by the partisan crowd during and after his speech.
After Cortez, speaker after speaker praised Yoo, one lady from Fullerton saying, “I just came to speak about the situation” and “was not invited by Soo Yoo even though I know her.” Later in her speech, the woman was admonished for campaigning for Yoo and criticizing her opponent Sharon Quirk-Silva.
It is the Clerk of the Board as a parliamentarian to manage meetings; Michael Eugenio is the Clerk. But Eugenio did not tell the lady to stop campaigning for Yoo; Boardmember Ernie Nishii was forced to shut her down.
Next was Sylvester Ani. Ani, an African-American and substitute teacher at ABCUSD, was extremely angry about the misinformation spewed at the meeting, including trying to excuse Yoo for her racist comments.
“A man played a recording earlier this evening where Ms. Yoo was heard saying, ‘Black people need to get over slavery.’ I was at that meeting, I heard it. Black people are going to have a problem with that statement Are you going to tell Jewish people to get over the holocaust?”
Ani continued, “we have folks talking about your candidacy for a race unrelated to this district and board meeting. If that’s where your interests are, let somebody else sit there who is focusing on education.”
Similar to Cortez, the partisan crowd booed and laughed during and after Ani’s speech.
The last speaker, Cerritos resident Paula Mejia, criticized Soo Yoo for her Quinceanera comment and the drug comment after two Latino students read poems to the board. “How dare you say that about Mexicans and their own culture, but you know what, I got more mad after you told those two kids that they should find solutions to help their peers with the rising drug problem.” Similar to Cortez and Ani, the partisan crowd booed and laughed during and after Mejia’s speech.
Public comment was closed after Mejia’s statement.
The November 1 meeting was Ms. Yoo’s last meeting as president; at the next board meeting, a new president will be appointed, likely Cerritos resident Brad Beach, currently VP of the Board.
