Los Gatos Mayor Issues Warning To Residents To Stop Harassment At Council Meetings

LOS GATOS (KPIX) -- Chaos at town council meetings has prompted the mayor of Los Gatos to issue a warning to residents that they would be cited if they made any disparaging and slanderous comments about non-public officials.

The warning comes after four consecutive in-person council meetings were marked with interruptions, outbursts, booing and a defiance in wearing masks. The meetings had been the council's return to the chambers after being virtual since the start of the pandemic.

It all came to a head October 5, when two residents made offensive remarks toward Mayor Marico Sayoc's teenage son. The mayor called a recess and when she and the council members returned the public was only allowed to join virtually.

They're now meeting online.

It's unknown exactly why the small group of residents have been outspoken against the mayor. They've accused Sayoc of having ties to hate groups and failing to be inclusive.

"I do consider LGBTQ a terrorist organization," one woman said during the August 17 meeting. "I'm not referring to gay people and all that, I'm not ever talking about the people, I'm talking about the organization."

The woman told council members that the group Counseling & Support Youth Services and "the schools" told her daughter she "could be a boy." Mayor Sayoc is the executive director for CASSY.

"Madame Sayoc, you are not God," another resident said during the October 5 meeting.

The same woman called her a "terrorist" on August 17 during public comment.

It was during the last in-person meeting that Los Gatos resident Cyndi Sheehan accused Sayoc of leading a smear campaign against her, and then made offensive remarks about the mayor's son.

KPIX reached out to Sheehan for comment, but she refused to comment and hung up.

"We know your ultimate goal is to silence the opposition," Sheehan told the mayor during a meeting last month.

City council members told KPIX the mayor was the only official allowed to comment, however, Mayor Sayoc did not respond to our request for an interview.

"Please be advised that if you fail to heed this you will be muted and potentially cited," Sayoc said during last week's virtual meeting, after warning residents they were only allowed to comment about city issues and not about non-public officials.