Community members gathered at Santa Maria City Hall on Thursday night for a special City Council meeting after a regularly scheduled meeting was canceled earlier in the week, prompting questions about the decision and concerns over public safety.
During public comment, residents asked city leaders to explain why Tuesdays meeting was canceled and whether concerns about recent U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) activity played a role.
We want to know the real reason why Tuesdays City Council meeting was canceled, when there were people standing around waiting to come. Why was it canceled? said Cliff Solomon of Indivisible Santa Maria.
Santa Maria resident Sofia Estrada also questioned the city’s explanation for the cancellation.
Safety reasons. Safety reason for whom? Are the ICE agents allowed in here? Estrada said.
In an email to KSBY News, Assistant City Manager Chuen Wu said social media comments related to recent ICE activity had personally targeted City Council members.
The city initially cited a lack of quorum as the reason for canceling Tuesdays meeting. However, a news release issued Thursday also cited public safety concerns.
Council members Maribel Aguilera and Gloria Soto said they learned about the cancellation shortly before the meeting was scheduled to begin.
Soto said she was notified at 4:45 p.m. and was told the meeting was canceled because the council did not have a quorum.
This is the first time in nearly eight years that Ive been on City Council where a meeting gets canceled within an hour of being scheduled due to lack of quorum, Soto said.
KSBY also reached out to other City Council members for comment but had not received responses at the time of publication.
Some residents said they wanted more transparency from city leaders about the cancellation and the issues affecting the community.
I think they need to stop hiding. Like, for example, the other day, you know, what was the reason for postponing it? We still came out, said Monse Garcia, a member of CAUSE. I wish they talked about the topic more because they just sit there.
Wu said the city’s security procedures will remain the same for future City Council meetings.