Harry Longenbacher: I live in Fullerton. I want to discuss the use of surveillance cameras in our city, particularly regarding the ongoing National Week of Action for license plate reading cameras. There are many events nationwide, including 16 in Orange County. It’s important to have public discussions about these cameras in Fullerton; this issue transcends party lines.

These cameras record every vehicle that passes by them. In the last 30 days, there have been 800,000 unique license plate reads. They capture details like make, model, color, and bumper stickers.

I appreciate that the Fullerton Police Department (FPD) has a webpage about these cameras, which states they share access to our Flock data with 20 other organizations. My concern is whether other organizations can subpoena or request this information. The access policy requires a valid reason; however, should this be a law instead of just a policy? Should accessing this data require a warrant or just any reason?

There are laws governing license plate reading cameras, including one that requires public comment at scheduled meetings. However, the FPD website does not explain how these laws are being followed or how residents can find out who has requested surveillance data on their vehicles. Originally, Fullerton used license plate readers to enforce paid parking, but their use has expanded significantly. I believe it’s time to bring this issue back to the public for discussion. 

Karen Lloreda, District 2: Mr. Jung, I’m back. You’ve appointed someone to a committee, and before they are sworn in, they file fraudulent papers to run for City Council in the third district. Your self-interest clearly takes priority over the city and its residents. You have repeatedly shown that you are unfit as a public servant, and you continue to violate rules and transparency even under threat of recall. It’s about winning at all costs, isn’t it?

I’m not sure if the recall will succeed, but I know Fullerton would be better off without you. As for you, Councilwoman Valencia, you seem to lack understanding of your role. You won by only 53 votes, primarily due to significant funds spent to misrepresent your opponent, who was actually qualified. This recall aims to correct a serious error.

James Cho, president of the Korean American Federation of Orange County: I oppose the recall of Mayor Fred Jung. He has served our community with dedication and integrity, prioritizing public safety and unity. We don’t need unnecessary division or a recall. Instead, we should focus on leadership and cooperation. I urge our Korean American community and all Fullerton residents to vote ‘no‘ on the recall and stand together for responsible leadership in our city.

Steve Kwan, former president of the Korean American Federation of Orange County: I opposed the recall of Mayor Fred Jung.

Shangri Ro: I’m a resident of Fullerton. I respect the public legal right to pursue recall. But recall should be reserved for serious misconduct, not ordinary disagreement over policy or council board. Allegations against Mayor Fred Jung should be supported by verifiable evidence, and he must have a fair opportunity to respond. Fullerton already faced serious budget and infrastructure challenges. A costly and unnecessary recall should not replace the regular election process without compelling evidence of wrongdoing. I asked residents to examine the complete record here, both sides, and not sign a petition based only on political accusations. This is about fairness.

Joseph Lee, Korean American Chamber of Commerce president: Mayor Jung goes directly into our community. Listen to our residents and works for their safety and quality of life. He has strongly supported our police officers. Police and safety services that protect our families every day. We elected the president because we believe in his leadership and dedicated service to our community. Please do not turn this into a political game. Let us stand behind Mayor Fred Jung. Allow him to continue serving the people of Fullerton. Mayor Jung, we stand with you. We support you. And we strongly encourage you to keep moving forward for our community.

Gina Kim: I’m a Chamber of Commerce member, Korean American and Orange County resident. Good evening, Mayor Jung, council members and fellow residents of Fullerton. I’m here tonight because I believe Fullerton deserves stability, responsible leadership and government that is focused on the future, not political games. And I want to be very clear: I support keeping Mayor Fred Jung in office. This is not because I believe any elected officer is perfect. It is because Fred Jung is elected by the people of Fullerton, and he should be given the opportunity to complete the term that the voters entrusted to him. If we disagree with the decision, we should speak up.

If we believe something was handled incorrectly, we should ask questions. If there are financial problems, we should demand transparency and accountability. There is democracy, but a recall should not become a political weapon simply because we disagree with an elected officer. We have an election for a reason. We choose our leaders, we hold them accountable, and then we allow them to govern. If we disagree with their record, we have another opportunity at the ballot box. That is the democratic process. Fullerton does not need more division. Our residents need safe neighborhoods, responsible financial management, strong local businesses, quality public services and city government that can actually get things done.

We need our elected officers focused on those priorities, not spending months fighting a political battle over who should remain in office. Let’s give Fullerton stability. Let’s judge our leaders by fact. By their commitment to our community, not by political alliances or personal disagreements. And if there are concerns, let’s address them openly and honestly. But let’s not allow political games to distract us from what really matters. Fullerton comes first. I believe Fred Jung should remain our mayor and continue to work as he was elected to do. We can disobey … Her microphone was shut off.

Jeannie Shin: I’m a resident of Fullerton. First, we already voted. Our committee chose Mayor Fred Jung through a fair and democratic election. Respecting the will of the people is essential to maintaining trust in our local government. Second, recalls waste our tax dollars. Third, oppose these political games. Our city needs progress and stability. Not political division; we must focus on practical solutions that benefit our residents rather than endless political conflict.

Jongshab Lee: I am also a long-term Fullerton resident. I’m here to support Mayor Jung and oppose the recall. I don’texpect to agree with every decision, but Mayor Jung brings experience, knowledge and the commitment to the community. Fullerton needs steady leadership focused on physical responsibility, public safety and a strong local economy. Not unnecessary political disruption. I believe accountability matters, but I also believe voters should have the opportunity to make that decision through the regular election process. And that’s why I support Mayor Jung.

Eunice Kwan: I serve as a vice president of KCCOC, the Korean American Chamber of Commerce of Orange County. I’mhere tonight as a Korean American and as a business and community leader in Orange County. I believe our elected officials should always be accountable to the community. People have every right to ask questions, express concerns, and expect good leadership. At the same time, I believe it is important to look at the bigger picture. Rather than judge a leader based on a few disagreements or difficult decisions, from my experience, Mayor Jung has made an effort to listen, engage with different communities and stay involved in Fullerton. We may not agree on everything, and that is probably OK, but this is a part of public service and part of a healthy community. For me, this is about giving our elected leaders a fair opportunity to lead in allowing the voters to make their voices heard through the democratic process. I’m here tonight to support Mayor Fred Jung and to encourage our community to look at the bigger picture before supporting a recall.

Man Noon: I am an elder at Grace Ministries Korean Church. I heard that our church community has been linked to the recall against Mayor Jung. We are a religious organization in Fullerton. I want to clarify that neither our church nor Mayor Jung engaged in any inappropriate conduct. All our instruction in the corporation has remained within legal boundry. I respectfully request that the recall be withdrawn.

Ilsang Chang: I’m representing the Korean American Vietnam Veterans Association in the Southwest region. I object to Mr. Jung’s recall. That’s it.

Keiko Suda: I live here in Fullerton. On Saturday night, my husband and I were at one of our favorite restaurants, and aswe were waiting for our table, we sat at the bar and started chatting with the bartender. As it turns out, his brother is a police officer, not in Fullerton, and he started educating my husband and me about the topic of Flock cameras, which we didn’t know that much about. I did not know, for example, how different Flock cameras are than regular police or traffic cameras or even Ring cameras that we’re all used to. I didn’t know about the advanced AI powering these cameras. I didn’tknow that the cameras are actually owned by private tech companies, not our local police. I did not know that our data is stored and shared with all kinds of other agencies.

I didn’t know that they’re collecting data about literally everyone, even me. Without my consent? Without a warrant to track me with. Without even the slightest suspicion that I’ve committed a crime. I’m just driving down Chapman, taking my kids to school. I also did not know that we have 19 Flock cameras right here in Fullerton and went down a rabbit hole, so you can tell. I also learned that California passed a law in 2015, SB 34, which, to quote directly from the text of the bill, requires a public agency that operates or intends to operate an ALPR system to provide an opportunity for public comment at a regularly scheduled public meeting of the governing body of the public agency before implementing the program. Now I couldn’t find any evidence that this had happened in Fullerton, so I would like to ask this governing body to. A technology that is growing so powerful. And being expanded at a pace that is so rapid that the public can hardly keep up with even knowing that it exists, let alone understanding its full scope and functionality and consenting to and establishing oversight of this kind of AI-powered, broad-based tracking system. I urge you to agendize this topic for future public discussion.

Catherine: Oh, you’re gonna hear so much from me tonight. OK. I understand that several of your (referring to Mayor Fred Jung) constituents are here before you pleading the case why we shouldn’t recall you. I’m gonna stand here and tell you why we should, ’cause you don’t listen to the other 4 districts. I lived in District 5 when Amad was elected. We were lucky to have him. I was here the night he was supposed to be elected mayor and watched you skip over him. Not just you, Whitaker and Dunlap. Which is why I also think you need to be on this recall, because you too have been at this for years. I so wish that you would make better decisions and not participate in this. You shouldn’t even be on this list; it should be these two. I agree with your previous constituent that there should be transparency, which you have not.

You moved the Observer when you didn’t like their criticism of you. You’ve skipped over Ahmad from being mayor, which means District 5 never got the representation they deserved. You literally- I want to say it was like the first or second meeting- you said no to the dispensaries, which I’m gonna say it again for those who are not doing, you know, math. You’ve heard of girl math. Here’s some stoner math. When 5 dispensaries can bring you in $13 million, and we’re looking at 10, I feel like that’s a $3,000,000 surplus. We’re talking about raising the rent on the Old Spaghetti Factory. Why? Because Tony (referring to Bushala) gets a better deal because of market share, because of this, because of that, because something’s different from 1992 versus 1983. No. Let the dispensaries bring in the money that this city needs. We have over 30 liquor stores. We have over 30 smoke shops. I’m not saying which ones, but the officers know which ones have a backroom. You’re taking money out of our city and then sitting here and telling us why we need to cut jobs. OK, here’ssome more math. Maybe you guys like your paychecks. You guys make $450 every time you come to a City Council meeting. You get paid whether you’re here or not. So we pay $900 a month to each of you. So you can not listen to us, which is what you’ve done, because you elected yourself our mayor four times, which we did not want. You are talking about rules. There’s a rotation. Clearly you’ve never smoked before. You smoke, you pass it, and it’s called common courtesy. OK. That’s what happens. I understand this wasn’t taught to you, so let the neighborhood stoner teach you. Pass. OK? This is what happens. It’s called common courtesy. So again, you’re gonna hear from me a lot tonight. You’rewelcome. You should have had a meeting last Tuesday.

Fullerton Resident: One day after organizers filed a notice of intention to recall Mayor Jung, a man saying he works for Jung began visiting recall proponents at their home and asking them to reconsider their support. The visits occurred before the notice of intention, which contains the proponents’ names, signatures and residential addresses, had been published. Doorbell camera footage from one encounter shows the visitor, who identifies himself as Ted, holding what appears to be a copy of the notice while speaking with a proponent at their front door. Residents who were approached say the visits made them uncomfortable, and the visitor continued attempting to persuade them after they had made clear they did not intend to withdraw their support. One of the conversations took place in Korean.

The resident involved provided the following English translation: “I had a visit to my front door with consistent knocking and ringing the bell. A person representing himself as working for Mayor Fred Jung. It was regarding the intent to recall sheet that I had previously signed. It was really uncomfortable knowing that they were visiting people on that sheet. A random person going door to door, targeting, persuading and intimidating our freedom of choice for the recall. He wanted to know why I should change my mind on the recall, and he insisted Koreans should help another Korean. I totally disagreed, but I continued to listen. Even though he approached me very kindly and professionally, I felt intimidated. I am speaking up for all other citizens of Fullerton. We should have our freedom to choose and speak freely. I do not wish to be intimidated by a political figure, and no one should ever experience such an act.“

A second resident relayed, “The random person that came to my house should not have had my address or tried to recall my vote. After repeating myself many times that I didn’t want to talk, he continued and was persistent.“

Recall organizers have confirmed visits to five proponent households. All have Korean surnames. Organizers also contacted 6 proponents with non-Korean surnames who live in the same neighborhood. All 6 had not received a similar visit. California recall procedures require the notice contain each proponent’s name, signature and complete resident address. A copy must be personally served or sent by certified mail to the elected official facing recall. While the original is filed with the elections official, in a municipal recall, the city clerk serves as the elections official. City Clerk Williams made clear that the document could be inspected, but the clerk’s office would not provide a copy or permit photographs to be taken. The outstanding questions are not whether the visits happen. The microphone was shut off.

A Professor of Sociology at the University of Southern California, USC: I am an expert on immigration, race and policy, and I just want to be really clear about something extremely disturbing that we learned about today. 5 recall proponents with Korean surnames in District One were approached at their homes by Ted Kim, a man who says that he is Fred Jung’spersonal chief of staff. For senior advisors, senior assistant. And those six proponents with non-Korean surnames who lived in the same neighborhood were not approached. And now we have one of these interactions on video.

You can see it on Fullerton Transparency where Ted Kim says we protect the Korean community for the people who help the Korean a lot. This tells us something about how Fred Jung exercises power and responds when that power is challenged. A recall is a formal democratic process. There are established rules and established channels for disagreement. Recall proponents make their case, and the elected official and his supporters make theirs. Residents sign or don’t sign a petition, and ultimately voters decide. What happened here is something very different.

Instead of responding to political opposition through those public democratic channels, individual residents were singled out because of their race and their ethnicity. They were approached privately at their homes by someone who said they were Fred Jung’s assistant. The message wasn’tsimply here’s why I think Fred Jung deserves your support. It was an appeal to personal and ethnic loyalty. Fred has held the Korean community, so the Korean community should protect you. As a sociologist, that distinction matters. To me, this is the difference between institutional power and personalized power. Democratic leadership depends on institutions, transparency, public debate and accountability. Personal power depends on loyalty and relationships when that power is threatened. This is what concerns me most. Fred has been framing this recall in the Korean language media as racially motivated. That argument does not hold up.

We’re also recalling Jamie Valencia. She is not Korean. And Korean Americans themselves who signed the intent to recall were subsequently pressured. The people in Fullerton have been very clear about what these recalls are about. This is not about a few disagreements. So the question here is big. What does it say about French? German? What does it say about how he believes his political leadership is? Is it earning the confidence of residents through your record, Fred, and then defending that record publicly when you’re challenged? Or is it building networks of personal loyalty, especially outside the city, and calling on those networks to protect you when your power is threatened? Korean Americans are not a political possession, nor is any other community in Fullerton, and you should make your case through that democratic process and let the voters decide, not through private pressure.

Jason Phillips: I am a resident here and also an organizer with OCCCO, Orange County Congregation Community Organization. And for the last few weeks we’ve been running a little experiment, and our ultimate goal is bridging. We had a lot of speakers talk about the division, and so we want to create a larger we in Fullerton. And so what we did waswe had South Fullerton canvassers go up for three weeks, about 12 different days, and knock on doors and just listen to folks. Ask people What do you love about your neighborhood? What do they love about their city? What helps them feel connected? What hopes do they have for the future, and what issues do they have? And I guess you can guess what every Fullerton has a problem with is our roads and North Fullerton coyotes.

We heard a lot of things, but there were a bunch of incredible transformative conversations. We’re not looking to persuade people or sell them anything. The ultimate goal is just, again, that transformational conversation that can help us find common ground. Well, the next part of that is we also had a webinar. You can find it on YouTube under OCCCO and see what the results were from that. But we’re gonna head down, have North Fullerton folks canvass in S Fullerton. And we’re gonna do that for six different nights starting next Wednesday. And the hope is that continued bridging, and the gift and all of that, are that South Fullerton canvassers are going to be hosts, guides, translators for folks so that we can go and listen to hear what they love about their community.

What issues do they have? What hopes for the future do they have? How do they see Fullerton? And an interesting piece that we found. Our South Fullerton canvassers felt the divide of North and South Fullerton deeply. They felt it; they could articulate it. North Fullerton folks, not so much. And so it’ll be interesting to hear from more South Fullerton folks: do they feel that same divide? And if so, then our question is: Why? What can we do to create a bigger we in Fullerton? And so I want to invite all the council, if you want to and you have time, to volunteer with us. Listen. You don’t have to say you’re a council member.

This isn’t about, again, trying to persuade anyone, but it’s about listening, and I know. Go down. Council Member Dunlap, you said you don’t view yourself as just representing the district, but all of Fullerton. And I think this gives an incredible opportunity for a community that often goes unseen and unheard. Gives you the opportunity to just listen and to hear from a few folks. If you want more information, contact me at jason@OCCCO.org , and I’ll email the dates and locations.

Fullerton Resident: In June 2023, a contract with Glass Box Digital (see below) was approved on the consent calendar without mention of Flock Safety. This contract involved integrating crime data systems, including Flock cameras. The council unanimously approved this without public discussion or questions. Additionally, a separate $25,000 contract for Flock was signed by Police Chief Dunn (he was Director of IT at the time), not approved by the council, and auto-renews every two years. This process allowed the implementation of Flock cameras without proper oversight or public input, raising concerns about surveillance and data privacy.

Elijah Manassero: I wanted to respond to a couple of comments that were made. First, division and instability are not caused by this recall. It is caused by Fred. This would not be possible without the actions that Fred has taken. People do not sign a recall petition because they are just mildly upset. It is because there is a record that people have an issue with. First of all, Fred does not support public safety. Just because he does, in his words, doesn’t mean he does in his actions. He was the deciding vote on the budget that we’re discussing today to have six police officer positions defunded. That was unnecessary.

It was not something that we needed to do, but your streets are going to be more dangerous because of Fred’sdecision on how to budget this city. All the police still have to do the same amount of policing, but he wanted to make the department not have the resources to do their job. And that was a three-to-two vote. Next, Fred, he banned newspapers from city property. I think everyone in this room doesn’t support that. It’s unnecessary. Why do that? Because there were papers that were being critical of him and because a political donor asked him to, basically.

Next, there was a pedestrianized space that a lot of people loved. There were families who could, children who could play outside of some, so me and enjoy a pedestrianized space on. And Fred, before the election, said that he would support a full road closure, and he lied because the item came back after the election and he voted against it. So, the reason was that Tony Bushala did not want it. He has a property on that strip.

Fred does not care about anyone unless they can help him. That is what his record has shown time and time again. And if you. I appreciate the Korean American Chamber of Commerce coming tonight and the Korean Federation and Grace Ministries, but I would encourage you to judge Fred by his actions, and I think these- I didn’t hear a lot of actions that we were really talking about. It was just the way he presents himself. And Fred’s actions are largely the reason why we have a $13 million deficit and the worst roads in the county. So yeah, I think Fred needs to be recalled, or else this city will continue to suffer financially, and the division will only continue. This is the only way forward.

ZJ: I want to thank the Korean community for coming out and speaking; that’s your First Amendment right. I also recognize that you spoke English, which is not your primary language, and that should be rewarded and congratulated. Thank you all for coming up and supporting and speaking your mind.

Brother Jung, I’m concerned that you have this guy Ted knocking on doors. Can you tell us who Ted is? Who works for you? How much is he paid? What is his title, and why is he needed to knock on doors? We do answer those questions for the Korean Americans who are here, who have a certain belief about how you govern in this city.

Second thing to the public. You talk about democracy; you don’t want the recall. OK, that’s your opinion. However, the city has a rotation for mayor and your representative and district. Fred Jung has shoved that under the rug. And he’s been the mayor for four out of five years. What has he done for your community? What has he done for the Fullerton fire and police? What has he done for the roads in this city? What’s he done about the $13 million that’s gone missing? All this is because, well, I’m not because, but when you’re the mayor for four out of five years, it just kind of lands on you. Had you allowed one year of mayorship and let it pass around, it’s a possibility some of these problems wouldn’t have happened. And it’s also possible they may have, and then that share of cause or blame or shortcoming would be shared amongst the elected officials on the City Council.

As much as I appreciate those supporting you, I think that the overall voters of this city and the county kind of spoke when you finished fourth in a four-person race for the Orange County Supervisor position. And I think the 4th district. And I still hope you’re asked for a recall because I can’t believe a man as smart as you are with your USC degree and all the money you had. I can’t figure out, with my degree and my advanced degree, how you finish fourth in a four-person race.

Curtis Gamble, activist for the homeless, the veterans, the Cal State Fullerton students, the OCTA bus drivers, the seniors and the low-income community: These are just some recommendations, you know, that I want to kind of share with you guys. First of all, the number one, the Fullerton Municipal Code book for the city ordinance, we have that updated, and it tells you basically how the city will be run and all these codes, state laws, federal laws and city ordinances. And many of the ordinances were agreed upon by the public. So this book is very important. We ordered 10 books at a cost of about $200, I think it was $280 apiece, and they went to each department, 10 different departments. And so now we have all the updated information; we can do a really, really good job. We don’t have to guess at it.

The other thing I want to share with you is number 2, Octa slash OC bus drivers. The bus drivers and the churches. The local churches should be allowed to make shelter referrals, because our Police Department and the Hope Center basically work on this particular thing from, let’s say, Monday through Friday, 8:00 to 5:00. Well, our emergency shelters are 24-hour shelters, and we need 24-hour service. So if you can include the church in this process and also the Octa bus drivers, that would give us basicallyalmost 24-hour service seven days a week, 365 days a year. So I would appreciate that.

The other thing that I want to share with you is that we had a fire on Wednesday, August the 12th. It was a major three-alarm fire. Our fire department did really well and put the fire out, and the fire just happened to be located right next door to a shoe factory building, and this building was located right next to the Navigation Center, the emergency shelter. Because of the large amount of smoke that was coming out of the building, they had to remove the residents, the 150 residents that stayed in the emergency shelter, who were safely moved to the Community Center, where they stayed the night. So I just like to thank the Fullerton Community Center for their help with that. And it’s good that we can work together. Thank you very much for your time.

Zoom caller, Dominic Moonhart: I am a former resident of District 3. So first, I just wanted to state for the record and respond to a public comment about what Joe Castaneda said. Asking us to be nice and all. Then he comes up with a ******* remark at the next public comment, stating, well, yeah, now I know why people aren’t smart and lose the branch because everyone’s half asleep. What a *******, and Fred’s doing it again. I’m going to go ahead and address them. Fred Jung. He’s sending Ted. And who the hell is Ted? Because I looked him up right now, and he looks like he’s a real estate guy. So why is he going up to people’s houses and begging and intimidating people to rescind their recall petition? I mean, Fred’s done it with me with the restraining order. He’s threatened a restraining order after incidents involving Lauren Turner and Ashland. And that’s another thing. Police chief, when is that police report gonna come out? But they’ve requested it several times and have been denied several times because the police report is already being done. When’s that **** gonna come out? Seriously. I have not liked Kathleen where I can hold. Not only that.

Obviously, Jamie is being dumb and not knowing what the hell she’s doing. Again, Madam Valencia, pedagogue. When you know, I don’teven know why you’re here at this point. At this point, it’s like, do I need to be concerned for your health? Do I need to send a welfare check? Because at this point you’re not comprehending what you’re doing in the City Council meeting. So again, recall Valencia. Recall Fred. It’s only going to get worse from here. I’d rather they resign and not have to pay this money for the recall. And I am on Kitty Jaramillo’s side on that one. But it’s not looking like it’s gonna happen. So Fred, I’m waiting for that restraining order. So whenever you’re ready to send it, go ahead. I am still waiting for it, and it’salready been almost a year. So send it over, buddy. I can’t wait to see that happen. So, Connor Trout for supervisor, Katrina Foley for supervisor, Chelsea Will not offer City Council, recall Jamie Valencia, recall Fred Jung, Shana Charles for mayor for City Council and mayor.

A list of all agencies and organizations that share data with the Fullerton Police Department via Flock (aka Flock Safety) from December 2023 Public Request