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Record of Proceedings

San Diego City Council Special Meeting – September 23, 2026

City Council — Wednesday, September 23, 2026
BodySan Diego, California
SessionCity Council
DateWednesday, September 23, 2026
StatusFILED
Video Record
0:00 / 1:54:06

Original source
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0:44

All right, folks, we're gonna get started.

0:47

Good afternoon.

0:48

I will now reconvene the special city council meeting of Tuesday, September 22nd, 2026.

0:54

Clerk, please call the roll.

0:56

Thank you, Council President.

0:57

Councilmember Campbell.

0:58

Here.

0:59

Councilmember Whitburn.

1:00

Here.

1:01

Councilmember Foster.

1:03

Councilmember Von Wolpert.

1:05

Council President Pro Tem Lee.

1:07

Here.

1:08

Councilmember Campillo.

1:09

Here.

1:10

Councilmember Moreno.

1:12

Present.

1:12

Councilmember Elo Rivera.

1:14

And Council President Lakava.

1:16

Present.

1:17

Also attending the meeting, our assistant city attorney, Leslie Fitzgerald, independent budget analyst, Charles Monica, Council of Affairs Advisor in the Mayor's Office, Coda Seizer, and myself, your city clerk, Deanna Fuentes.

1:27

Thank you, Council President.

1:28

All right.

1:28

Thank you, City Clerk.

1:29

And for um uh quorum is now present, and for the benefit of those that were not here this morning, uh, this is a special city council meeting because we're kind of doing a hybrid between what we normally do on the Monday versus what we do on a Tuesday.

1:43

So this morning we were in closed session, and that means we're going to be bringing approval of the consent items uh for this afternoon to start off this afternoon session.

1:54

We will have two discussion items after that, and then we will go to non-agenda public comment.

2:01

So with that, City Clerk, uh, let's proceed with the approval of the consent items.

2:06

Thank you, Council President.

2:07

Please note each speaker will have one item per one minute per item per person if you would like to speak on three or more items.

2:15

You will have a maximum of three minutes.

2:17

The consent agenda includes items 600, 601, and 602.

2:22

We did not receive any e-comments on these items.

2:25

I will note for the record that the potential appointments on the agenda today are item 601 is a potential appointment of Hadley Ajana to the Board of Library Commissioners, and item 602 is the potential appointment of Michael Falcon to the Community Forest Advisory Board.

2:44

Thank you, Council President.

2:46

All right.

2:47

With that, please proceed.

2:50

Oh, excuse me.

2:51

Are there any requests to pull any of the items by council members?

2:54

Not seeing any such request.

2:56

Clerk, please proceed with public comment.

2:59

Thank you.

2:59

If I can have Maximilian Schmidt, please come up to the microphone.

3:04

You will be speaking on items 600, 601, and 602.

3:08

So you will have three minutes to go over those items.

3:12

Please proceed.

3:13

After that, we'll be allegedly Audra.

3:18

Hi.

3:18

Um, I'm opposed to item 600, the um salary view of positions with salaries established by council.

3:26

And um, I will fight for a um lie detector test that everyone on city council must take to um be uh part of um this government.

3:38

And I've done due diligence on lie detector tests, and there are margin of errors where we can find out if someone's lying or not.

3:45

And basically, there are three questions.

3:47

Have you done an occult practice in a Masonic lodge?

3:50

Do you prioritize occult practices over the consider over the constitutional rights of your constituents?

3:56

And do you think the military should intervene in California to restore the second amendment?

4:01

And the reason I say this is because I have reason to believe that um liberal occultists know esoteric information about the pride flag um could end afterlife and people outside the occult on.

4:17

I was trying to give you a little bit of leeway, Max.

4:20

Can you speak on the three items that you highlighted that you wanted to talk to as opposed to requirements?

4:26

Item 601.

4:27

I also oppose item 601, the Board of Library Commissioners.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Public Comment████████████████████████████████████36%
Homelessness████████████12%
LGBTQ Rights█████████9%
Cannabis Regulation█████████9%
Public Health█████5%
Libraries████4%
Housing████4%
Immigration████4%
Procedural███3%
Summary of Proceedings

San Diego City Council Special Meeting – September 23, 2026

This special City Council meeting, originally convened on September 22, 2026, and reconvened on September 23, 2026 (per the provided date), addressed consent calendar items, two discussion items, and non‑agenda public comment. The council approved consent items and a policy update on ceremonial flags, and received an informational presentation on federal housing grant performance.

Consent Calendar

  • Items 600‑602 were approved unanimously (8‑0, with Council Member Von Wilpert absent). Item 600 updated Council Policy 300‑04 on salary reviews for council‑set positions; Item 601 appointed Hadley Ajana to the Board of Library Commissioners; Item 602 appointed Michael Falcon to the Community Forest Advisory Board.
  • Public comment on these items included opposition from Maximilian Schmidt (alleging occult practices and constitutional violations), Allegedly Audra (arguing against group salary raises and library content), and others. Some speakers supported merit‑based pay increases and improved library oversight. Council Member Campillo moved approval, seconded by Campbell.

Public Comments & Testimony

  • On consent items: Multiple speakers raised concerns about library hours, book content, forest management, and salary policies. Blair Beekman suggested prioritizing health benefits over pay raises. Catherine Rhodes asked the council to also oversee middle‑manager salaries. Bob Kazuki requested revision of council policies and reactivation of the Torrey Pines City Park Advisory Board.
  • On Item 603 (CAPER): Speakers addressed homelessness, housing affordability, and HUD program effectiveness. Monica, a social work candidate, noted the city reached only 22% of its shelter goal (1,600 of 7,600 target). Others called for stronger tenant protections, smoke‑free housing policies, and more funding for shelters. Allegedly Audra criticized the city's handling of homelessness.
  • On Item 604 (flag policy): Speakers were divided. Joyce Sanyata supported the flexibility; Allegedly Audra and Maximilian Schmidt opposed the Pride flag, referencing “minor‑attracted persons” and alleged occult connections. Others objected to the agenda wording, claiming it concealed the flag issue.
  • Non‑agenda public comment: Topics included immigration reform, the police shooting of 16‑year‑old Kanoa Wilson (settlement $30 million, no criminal charges), a student‑led food pantry project (Meals and Miracles), health risks of marijuana and disposable vapes, city lease audits, and technology accountability.

Discussion Items

  • Item 603 – Fiscal Year 2026 Consolidated Annual Performance and Evaluation Report (CAPER): Presented by Melissa V. Alpando and Nadine Hassoon of the Economic Development Department. The report detailed $48.8 million invested across CDBG, HOME, and ESG programs. Key outcomes: 34,637 individuals served, 386 households, 363 businesses, and improvements to one nonprofit and six public facilities. Progress toward five‑year goals was reviewed. No action was taken; the draft CAPER will be finalized and submitted to HUD by September 28, 2026.
  • Item 604 – Updates to Council Policy 000‑10 (Meeting Rooms, Display Area, and Facility Use Policy): Presented by Manny Reyes. The amendment allows the Pride flag and Juneteenth flag to be displayed during city council meetings when a related proclamation is presented, even if the meeting occurs before the designated commemorative month. The change addresses scheduling conflicts experienced in 2026. The council voted 8‑0 to adopt the resolution.

Key Outcomes

  • Consent calendar (Items 600‑602): Approved unanimously (8‑0).
  • Item 603 (CAPER): Informational only; no vote required.
  • Item 604 (Council Policy 10 amendment): Approved unanimously (8‑0).
  • Non‑agenda public comment: Concluded without council action.
  • Adjournment: The meeting adjourned to the next regularly scheduled meeting on Monday, September 28, 2026 at 10 a.m.

Note: The transcript states the meeting was reconvened on Tuesday, September 22, 2026, but the provided date for this summary is 2026‑09‑23. This discrepancy is noted for accuracy.

Meeting Transcript

All right, folks, we're gonna get started. Good afternoon. I will now reconvene the special city council meeting of Tuesday, September 22nd, 2026. Clerk, please call the roll. Thank you, Council President. Councilmember Campbell. Here. Councilmember Whitburn. Here. Councilmember Foster. Councilmember Von Wolpert. Council President Pro Tem Lee. Here. Councilmember Campillo. Here. Councilmember Moreno. Present. Councilmember Elo Rivera. And Council President Lakava. Present. Also attending the meeting, our assistant city attorney, Leslie Fitzgerald, independent budget analyst, Charles Monica, Council of Affairs Advisor in the Mayor's Office, Coda Seizer, and myself, your city clerk, Deanna Fuentes. Thank you, Council President. All right. Thank you, City Clerk. And for um uh quorum is now present, and for the benefit of those that were not here this morning, uh, this is a special city council meeting because we're kind of doing a hybrid between what we normally do on the Monday versus what we do on a Tuesday. So this morning we were in closed session, and that means we're going to be bringing approval of the consent items uh for this afternoon to start off this afternoon session. We will have two discussion items after that, and then we will go to non-agenda public comment. So with that, City Clerk, uh, let's proceed with the approval of the consent items. Thank you, Council President. Please note each speaker will have one item per one minute per item per person if you would like to speak on three or more items. You will have a maximum of three minutes. The consent agenda includes items 600, 601, and 602. We did not receive any e-comments on these items. I will note for the record that the potential appointments on the agenda today are item 601 is a potential appointment of Hadley Ajana to the Board of Library Commissioners, and item 602 is the potential appointment of Michael Falcon to the Community Forest Advisory Board. Thank you, Council President. All right. With that, please proceed. Oh, excuse me. Are there any requests to pull any of the items by council members? Not seeing any such request. Clerk, please proceed with public comment. Thank you. If I can have Maximilian Schmidt, please come up to the microphone. You will be speaking on items 600, 601, and 602. So you will have three minutes to go over those items. Please proceed. After that, we'll be allegedly Audra. Hi. Um, I'm opposed to item 600, the um salary view of positions with salaries established by council. And um, I will fight for a um lie detector test that everyone on city council must take to um be uh part of um this government.

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