Huntington Park City Council removes elected official from her seat

On Tuesday the Huntington Park City Council voted to remove Council Member Esmeralda Castillo as a council member because apparently she doesn’t live in Huntington Park.

“Determination has been made that the council member is ineligible to represent the city,” stated the special council after the closed session. 

As of Friday, her photo and biography still appeared on the City of Huntington Park’s website. It says the 21-year-old councilwoman was elected to the Huntington Park City Council for a four-year term in March 2024.  It continues saying she attended all local schools which allowed her to provide “experience and passion to local governance.”

On Thursday  afternoon, the City of Huntington Park released a statement on social media announcing “a vacancy in the City Council” and a special meeting to address the reason for the vacancy. However, there was no date for the special meeting.  

The release says, that according to Government Code 36512, the vacant seat must be filled within 60 days of its occurrence. In the special meeting the council will consider options and establish a formal process in accordance with State law and City policies. 

The City also announced in the release that they are committed to conduct an open, transparent and fair process encouraging community members to participate, engage and stay informed. 

Council Member Eddie Martinez told CALÓ News he didn’t want to provide any comment as a form of respect to former Councilwoman Castillo. He said the council will make the decision of whether to elect someone by appointment who can represent for about a year and then open the seat to votes in the June 2026 elections. This will save the City of Huntington Park money due to the high costs of holding special elections. 

Unaware residents 

Residents of Huntington Park showed surprise and concern after learning Castillo is no longer their councilwoman.

Irma Lopez said she didn’t personally know Castillo, but she had seen her in community events. Lopez said she feels vulnerable because as a member of the community she trusts her elected officials, mainly during this time of chaos and uncertainty because of the decisions of President Donald Trump.

“You trust [local elected officials], but with this decision now we don’t even know who can really help us,” said Lopez. 

Yesenia Lopez, another resident of Huntington Park, said the City had the responsibility to let the community know why Castillo is out of the council, and the people should vote for the next elected official. 

“They have to hold a reunion and explain to us why this decision was made,” she said.

Maria Pimentel and Roberto Herrera, Huntington Park residents for over 30 years, agreed it is concerning to know that the city council is making important decisions behind closed doors. 

Herrera said it looks like certain council members are trying to remove others to bring specific people to the council because the people weren’t involved in this process and a different approach should happen when selecting the new council member. 

“The democratic way should be to have votes and let the people decide who should govern,” said Herrera.