April 21, 2025
Ms. DeWitt sent the statement, which she will read at tonight’s City Council meeting, to LCCN today.
Good evening, Mayor, Councilmembers, staff, and Huntington Park community. I’m Vera DeWitt speaking here as a concerned individual and not as an elected official from any government agency.
Does “The Rule of Law” mean anything to you folks? What is happening here in Huntington Park? You look like the Federal government. And it scares me. After Councilwoman Castillo announced she was filing a formal complaint against you, “boys” of continued harassment and bullying, you took the law into your own hands. You wanted to get rid of her so badly, so quickly that you overlooked the quo warranto process that you should have used. This is the only legitimate process to use in removing an incumbent elected official from office. What smells so badly is your disrespect of the process and that stink is leaving a rotten smell for Huntington Park. No way can a 3-vote majority of an elected body remove an elected colleague from office. Can you imagine the massive chaos that would happen if every time a majority voting block is not happy you can kick the duly elected official “off the island”? Whether she lives in Huntington Park or not is NOT the issue. The issue is about the process and the legality and constitutionality of a power grab to remove a duly elected councilwoman.
Now, for your indifference to the rule of law, you will be costing the City of Huntington Park thousands upon thousands of taxpayer dollars for lawyers. While these funds are so badly needed for community services and infrastructure, instead now the money is being wasted away for your attorney fees to fight this illegal process. I wonder if you would be putting up such a fight to get rid of your colleague if you were using your own personal money? Or if Castillo was a man? Every female resident of this City should be offended and angry by the prejudice shown by you “boys” against Castillo. So far, the legal fees being spent is only to defend the process you ignored. The question of her residency hasn’t been heard or decided on so far. Let me tell you the reality – only the lawyers are winning.
I don’t want to hear you crying the blues that it will cost upwards of 1 million dollars for a special election. There are other alternatives. You folks wanted to get rid of her so badly you didn’t care how much taxpayer’s dollars will be spent. If you used the Quo Warranto process you would have saved a lot of money. So, Guys, YOU caused this problem.
Let me point out another questionable action by you guys. It sure doesn’t look good when you secretly retained Special Counsel Andrew Sarega to conduct an investigation as part of a plan to remove the councilwoman and then turn around and reward Sarega for his “good job” and name him as your new City Attorney. This also stinks like collusion or an apparent quid pro quo.
Castillo was not given due process. Just like what is happening to the immigrant, union brother, Garcia who was whisked away without due process by the federal government and shipped off to El Salvador to spend the rest of his life in a prison just because Trump wanted too. He was never given a chance to present his side of the story just like Councilwoman Castillo right here in Huntington Park. Just because Trump has the majority of Republicans supporting him does not make it right, and just like you three councilmen have the majority does not make it right either. Everyone is entitled to certain inalienable rights like due process. He was wrongfully deported and Councilwoman Castillo was wrongfully removed without due process.
Even though it looks crazy that you hire special counsel to remove someone, he does your bidding and then you make him city attorney, as much as that stinks, along with the stinking pool fiasco currently under DA investigation, I would never suggest you should go straight to jail, even you in all and your corrupt ways still deserve due process too – that is the American way, or so it was before Trump and you 3 councilmembers got elected.
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