By Brett Callwood
At the City Council meeting on the evening of Tuesday, June 24, the councilmembers emerged from Closed Session following a vote to wave attorney client privilege and read out allegations against Councilmember Wanda Love.
City Attorney Carmen Vasquez stated that Love was recused from Item 2A in Closed Session, regarding an investigation by outside investigator Jeffrey Love of JL Love, LLC. Vasquez read a summary of those findings:
“With respect to the allegations that Councilmember Wanda Love made false or misleading statements about the Department of Recreation and Human Services and its director, discussed concerns about City Manager Clint Osorio with subordinate employee, and discussed or disclosed with city employees her concerns regarding a previous investigation into complaints about her made by other city employees, on May 27 2025, the investigator submitted his final report regarding the allegations levied against Councilmember Love. The investigator concluded that a preponderance of the evidence supported the allegations that Councilmember Love made false, misleading and damaging comments about the Department of Recreation and Human Services, discussed concerns about the City Manager with another employee, and expressed frustration about the complaints filed against her.”
“As to the first allegation, the investigator sustained allegations that Councilmember Love made false and misleading statements about the Department of Recreation and Human Services. The investigator concluded that Councilmember Love had dual roles with overlapping authorities as both a councilmember and director of the Chamber of Commerce. In those capacities, according to the investigation, Councilmember Love often sought preferential treatment with chamber-related requests, including expedited approvals or fee wavers for the Chamber without a hearing to establish City protocol. The investigator gave examples of Council Member Love making misleading or damaging comments about the Department of Recreation and Human Services including the following incidents:”
“In March 2023, Councilmember Love stated her expectation that City staff would prioritize Chamber-related asks as a City event. When the Department of Recreation and Human Services director informed Councilmember Love that she needed to adhere to established City protocol, Councilmember Love attempted to bypass the Department of Recreation and Human Services director’s authority, by reaching out directly to other City officials and departments.”
“In May 2023, when Councilmember Love was informed that she was expected to follow established City policy by submitting formal proposals for the Chamber’s participation in a Cinco de Mayo event, Councilmember Love expressed frustration to the Department of Recreation and Human Services director, and accused the director of the Department of Recreation and Human Services of being uncooperative.”
Perhaps most concerning is the allegation that Love discussed with staff that she had discovered the identities of the city employees that had filed complaints against her.
In the aftermath, Love posted on social media that Mayor Tasha Cerda had called her “The Devil” when the cameras were off. Speaking to the News, Love maintained that the Mayor did indeed call her the Devil.
The GVN reached out to Mayor Cerda about that, and she told us that, after the meeting, Councilmember Paulette Francis was speaking to Cerda about the code of conduct, and then speaking over her to Councilmember Love. Love had said to Francis, “God’s got me,” and Cerda responded that, “You should stop bringing God into this because what you’re doing is evil. You’re evil.” She did not, she says, call Love the Devil. It was at that point, however, that the City Attorney told them to stop discussing the matter.
The Mayor also pointed out that the four councilmembers had no idea what was going to come up in Closed Session until they got there, although the fact that Love was recused gave them some idea. Cerda said that Love’s closing statement of not knowing anything about some of the allegations is false, because she was interviewed by the investigator.
Cerda added that Love hasn’t tried to attend the harassment training that she was told to do when she was censured a couple of months ago. Love confirmed that, stating that she has no intention of attending the training because she disputes the allegations.
The investigator sustained all of the allegations, and Love faces censure in August. The full meeting can be viewed at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xIhUby8vDgc.
Item 12A called for “Adopting the City of Gardena’s Fiscal Year 2025-2026 Proposed Amended Budget,” and the item was passed unanimously
The original budget had a General Fund revenue total of $89,009,149. That has been amended to $87,404,784. That’s a difference of $1,604,365. This is largely due to a decrease in sales tax because of tariffs. Expenditures were originally set at $88,889,579 and have been amended to $87,331,738.
12B called for, “Establishing the Appropriations Limit for Fiscal Year 2025-2026 (GANN Limit).” That too passed unanimously,.
12C called for, “Acknowledging the Receipt and Filing of the Annual Statement of Investment Policy for the Fiscal Year 2025-2026.” That passed, as did 12D: “Authorize the City Manager to Purchase and Bind Insurance Coverage in the amount of $119,570 for Fiscal Year 2024-2025, and $2,858,830 for Fiscal Year 2025-2026 for a total of $2,978,400.
Finally, 17A called for, “Amending the Naming of City-Owned Facilities Policy.” The staff note read, “This updated policy will serve as a guideline for both staff and the public, helping ensure consistency and equity in decision-making. The updated policy was presented to the Parks and Recreation Commission on March 10, 2025 for review and recommended approval.” That too passed unanimously.
