Residents press council for answers on convention center, make misconduct allegations

Several residents used the public-comment period at the Sept. 2 Pasadena City Council meeting to raise sharp criticisms of the city's convention center project and to allege misconduct in local police investigations and personnel decisions.

Citizen Steven Alvarez said he opposed use of tax dollars for the convention center and accused council members and officials of "backdoor dealings" connected to reinstatement of a police supervisor. Alvarez told the council: "You voted to raise our taxes...When we find out backdoor dealings'...my children are doing without." He asked whether a meeting occurred between city officials and police-union representatives before the mayoral election and requested further transparency. Alvarez spoke again during a public hearing portion of the meeting and said he would "look into the backdoor deals" and urged use of Freedom of Information Act requests to follow campaign funding.

Citizen Eric Sanchez addressed the council with a series of allegations about law-enforcement handling of two deaths and asserted people had made "false allegations" about him. Sanchez asked the council to provide an explanation about a photograph displayed at City Hall and said, consistently, that he believed investigative details had not been disclosed publicly. His remarks included claims that certain officers had been connected to misconduct; Sanchez presented those as allegations and asked for investigation.

Council members acknowledged the concerns during the budget discussion and several said they required additional documentation about the convention center before a final vote. The mayor and other members reiterated that further workshops and information would be provided. No formal council action on police employment or on reopening criminal investigations was taken during the meeting.

This article reports allegations made during public comment; these claims have not been substantiated in the meeting record and were presented by the speakers as their assertions.

Speaker-attributed statements are taken from the public-comment portion of the Sept. 2 council meeting.