South Gate, California: From a Ranch Subdivision to a Budget Under Strain, and the Accusations Still Waiting for Answers

"First, the council should confirm that an appointment is permitted; a vacancy cannot be filled by appointment if it would result in a majority of the members serving on the council having been appointed ."

"The first ordinance option removes the council’s ability to fill the vacancy by appointment and requires it to call a special election immediately. The second ordinance option still allows the council to fill the vacancy either by election or appointment, but the council must call a special election when a petition with a specified number of valid signatures is filed."

"If a vacancy occurs in an elective office provided for in this chapter, the council shall, within 60 days from the commencement of the vacancy, either fill the vacancy by appointment or call a special election to fill the vacancy."

"If the council calls a special election, the special election shall be held on the next regularly established election date not less than 114 days from the call of the special election."

"an appointment shall not be made to fill a vacancy on a city council if the appointment would result in a majority of the members serving on the council having been appointed."

"the resigning city council member may cast a vote on the appointment if the resignation will go into effect upon the appointment of a successor. A city council member shall not cast a vote for a family member or any other person with whom the city council member has a relationship that may create a potential conflict of interest."

"If a vacancy occurs in an elective office provided for in this chapter, the council shall, within 60 days from the commencement of the vacancy, either fill the vacancy by appointment or call a special election to fill the vacancy."

"If the council calls a special election, the special election shall be held on the next regularly established election date not less than 114 days from the call of the special election."

"an appointment shall not be made to fill a vacancy on a city council if the appointment would result in a majority of the members serving on the council having been appointed."

"If, by the 88th day, during normal business hours as posted, before the day fixed for a regularly scheduled municipal election... (i) no one or only one person has been nominated for any office that is elected on a citywide basis... the city elections official shall submit a certificate of these facts to the governing body of the city and inform the governing body of the city that it may... adopt "

"Notwithstanding Section 10403 , if, by the 75th day before the municipal election, no person has been appointed to office pursuant to paragraph (1) or (2), the election shall be held."

"if the governing body of a city makes an appointment pursuant to subdivision (a), the elections official shall not accept for filing any statement of write-in candidacy that is submitted after the appointment is made."

"Nothing in this section shall be construed to prevent a city from enacting an ordinance pursuant to Section 36512 of the Government Code, requiring that a special election be held, or from enacting an ordinance pursuant to Section 36512 of the Government Code, providing that a person appointed to fill a vacancy on the city council shall hold office only until the date of the special election, or b"

"If a vacancy occurs in an elective office provided for in this chapter, the council shall, within 60 days from the commencement of the vacancy, either fill the vacancy by appointment or call a special election to fill the vacancy."

"If the vacancy occurs in the first half of a term of office and at least 130 days prior to the next general municipal election, the person appointed to fill the vacancy shall hold office until the next general municipal election that is scheduled 130 or more days after the date the council is notified of the vacancy, and thereafter until the person who is elected at that election to fill the vacan"

"an appointment shall not be made to fill a vacancy on a city council if the appointment would result in a majority of the members serving on the council having been appointed."

"1927 Firestone arrives Firestone Tire and Rubber opened a major plant at Alameda and Firestone."

"The community took its name from the South Gate Gardens development on the Cudahy Ranch."

"1938, a building permit was approved to build the city's first public building, its library."

"It exemplifies the cultural, social and historical heritage of the community, as it was the first public building built by the City of South Gate."

"Incorporated on January 20, 1923, it is part of the Gateway Cities region."

"The City Council consists of five persons elected at large by the residents of South Gate."

"No Grace Period: There is no grace period for submitting this report."

"The local filing officer is responsible for keeping a copy and electronically uploading the PFDS to the State Ethics Commission website within 30 days of the due date."

"This affidavit exempts the need to file Campaign Contribution Disclosure Reports (CCDR)."

"The City did not administer CDBG funds in accordance with HUD requirements."

"19-885-000 | City of South Gate"

"In the past two years, the City has experienced a record number of failures, disrupting service to residents, schools, and businesses and impacting daily life and economic activity."

"the City has identified 19,288 linear feet of water mains most at risk of failure, primarily in densely populated neighborhoods."

"only about 1,500 feet can be addressed every other year without significantly increasing rates."

"A comprehensive five-year plan has been developed to rehabilitate these critical sections at an estimated cost of $13,172,820."

"The ward is named after the suburb of Southgate, London ."

"The ward is named after the suburb of New Southgate"

"New Southgate is an electoral ward in the London Borough of Enfield"

"Southgate is an electoral ward in the London Borough of Enfield ."

"The ward was first used in the 2002 elections and elects three councillors to Enfield London Borough Council ."

"The ward was first used in the 2022 elections and elects two councillors to Enfield London Borough Council"

"The vote taken was decisively against Mr. Southgate being allowed to remain."

"and lobbied for the interest of the Williams syndicate"

"Communist candidates, running on a united front workers’ ticket, polled 204, 175 and 137 votes for city councilmen."

"received by any candidate was 1,891."

"The City Clerk, Yodit Glaze, is being accused of e"

"In Vernon, City Managers, Bruce V. Malkenhorst and Bruce V. Malkenhorst Jr. operated within an insular leadership group that circumvented checks and"

"The retirement system whacked Malkenhorst’s pension to about $115,000, triggering a protracted legal battle."

"Bell council seeks resignations of 3 city officials"

"U.S. Rep. Adam Schiff , (D- Pasadena ), appealed to federal prosecutors to scrutinize the widespread political corruption in Los Angeles County."

"The Bell scandal involved the misappropriation of public funds in Bell, California , United States, over a period of several years in the late 2000s."

"Bell city scandal: L.A. County D.A. expands probe into Bell city government"

"California AG sues over California town's municipal salaries"

"Subsequent investigations found atypically high property tax rates, allegations of voter fraud in municipal elections and other irregularities"

"Bell mayor in corruption case"

"Shirley Jahad (April 16, 2014). "Former Bell city leader Robert Rizzo sentenced to 12 years" . Southern California Public Radio ."

"The commission approved the Sept. 1 meeting minutes and voted to recommend the CEQA exemption and adoption of Resolution 2026-11 recommending amendments to Chapter 11.43 (ADUs) to City Council."

"a. Teresa Reyes Ramirez v. City of South Gate"

"b. Celia Brown v. City of South Gate"

"c. Raul Lara / Maria Velasquez v. City of South Gate"

"The regular meetings of the City Council are held on the second and fourth Tuesday of each month, closed session business will usually commence at 5:30 p.m., when scheduled, and general business session will commence at 6:30 p.m."

"Meeting agendas and staff reports are available at least 72-hours prior to the scheduled regular City Council meeting and a minimum of 24-hours prior to a Special City Council meeting."

"producidos en South Gate California"

"Todas las piezas así fabricadas se enviarían a las instalaciones de Weatherby en South Gate, donde se llevaría a cabo el pulido final, el pavonado y el montaje."

"This measure was put on the ballot through a vote of the governing body of South Gate."

"The Southgate City Council adopted a pared FY2026–27 budget after roughly $9.3 million in reductions and directed more modeling on a proposed utility users tax for the Nov. 3 ballot."

"Measure SG is a proposed Utility Users Tax (UUT) measure that will appear on the November 3, 2026 ballot."

"Shall an ordinance preventing cuts to City of South Gate services including maintaining streets and sidewalks; maintaining school crossing guards, parks/ recreation programs, police 911 and support services, and other General Fund uses by establishing an 8% utility user tax, exempting low income seniors, annually providing approximately $10,400,000 until ended by voters"

"Selecting a Utility Users Tax rate of 8% or 9%, in place of the 7% rate reflected in the documents presented on April 14, 2026;"

"Staff presented 7%, 8% and 9% scenarios and a one‑year water‑bill discount to offset first‑year household impacts."

"The measure would set the Utility Users Tax rate at 8%."

"Staff recommends the City Council direct that the measure be set at 8% or 9%."

"The council approved the spending plan and master fee schedule after staff outlined nearly $9.3 million in reductions over two years intended to balance the general fund starting July 1."

"Revenue may be used for any City purpose through the annual budget process in public meetings"

"Southgate adopted a pared FY2026–27 operating budget and capital improvement program Wednesday after a year‑long process that identified an ongoing structural gap."

"by the required two-thirds vote of the full Council under California Government Code section 53724(b);"

"Services that were cut or reduced could be considered for restoration by the City Council"

"the City is in a Financial State of Emergency"

"Read the City Attorney's impartial analysis and the arguments for and against the UUT Measure in your sample ballot."

"Albert T. Robles (“Robles”) appeals his convictions for honest services mail and wire fraud (18 U.S.C. §§ 1341, 1343, 1346), money laundering (18 U.S.C. § 1957), and bribery (18 U.S.C. § 666)."

"In our opinion, the accompanying financial statements present fairly, in all material respects, the"

"Our opinion is not modified with respect to this matter."

"We conducted our audit in accordance with auditing standards generally accepted in the United States"

"Reasonable assurance is a high level of assurance but is not absolute"