The walls are closing in on El Monte Mayor Jessica Ancona, whose political career is now engulfed in a full-blown scandal that includes lawsuit payouts, gang intimidation allegations, and a stinging public censure.
At Wednesday night’s explosive city council meeting, residents delivered a brutal reckoning. One after another, they lined up to torch Ancona’s conduct – calling her what many now believe she’s proven herself to be:
“A bully.”
And they’re not wrong. A recently settled lawsuit accused Ancona of abusing her power to retaliate against a private citizen, resident Gabby Leos, who dared to criticize the mayor publicly. According to the suit, Ancona didn’t just try to get Leos fired from her job, she allegedly used a known gang member to send a message: keep quiet.
In November, 2023, residents showed their support for Leos at a City Council meeting. “The people of El Monte demand an investigation into this abuse of power by the head of this city,” Leos said at the meeting. “If you won’t an initiate an investigation into this wrongdoing, then we’ll gladly accept your resignation. Every member of the City Council is a public servant, you are not royalty.”
El Monte resident Genesis Lopez showed up to the meeting after watching a video where Gabby Leos, while recording Mayor Ancona at a public event, is suddenly approached by a large man, allegedly a known gang member, who appears to confront her on the mayor’s behalf.
“It’s just embarrassing,” Lopez said. “We trusted you to lead our community and to do better.”
In the video, Ancona is seen giving a subtle nod toward Leos — a silent cue — before the man turns, points directly at Leos, and marches over to confront her, demanding to know why she’s filming.
While there were no explicit threats made, Leos says the encounter was laced with intimidation — and court filings suggest she now fears for her safety. According to the lawsuit, Leos began recording the incident only after someone from Ancona’s entourage started filming her first.
The clash between Leos and Ancona dates back to October 2022, when Leos was handing out flyers on a public sidewalk near Lambert Park. That’s when Ancona allegedly pulled up, rolled down her window, and snapped, “You can’t be campaigning here.”
The problem? Leos wasn’t campaigning. She was volunteering for a community-based organization – a fact she tried to explain to the mayor. Ancona allegedly fired back with a snide, “I wouldn’t put it past you,” before driving off.
That night, Leos emailed the entire City Council, detailing the incident. The message was heated, she called Ancona a “chola” along with a few choice expletives. But instead of chalking it up to political friction, Ancona allegedly weaponized the email, forwarding it to Leos’ employer, triggering a six-month ethics investigation that ultimately cleared Leos of any wrongdoing.
Still, the damage was done. According to the suit, the ordeal left Leos with post-traumatic stress, the result of what she describes as a sustained campaign of political retaliation by a mayor who treats criticism like a crime.
THE PRICE OF POLITICAL VINDICTIVENESS: $175,000
Instead of fighting the claims in court, the city paid out $175,000 in taxpayer money and issued a public apology to Leos, an admission that something stinks inside El Monte City Hall.
This wasn’t a rogue moment. It’s part of a pattern. Ancona has been repeatedly accused of retaliating against city staff and residents, creating a climate of fear and retribution rather than leadership and integrity.
“The mayor tried to get a lady fired for speaking her mind. That is not right,” one resident told the council.
Apparently, First Amendment rights don’t apply if you criticize Mayor Ancona.
GANG MEMBER AS A POLITICAL WEAPON?
The most disturbing allegation? That Ancona enlisted a member of the El Monte Flores gang to intimidate Leos, a claim she denies, but which now looms over her tenure like like a dark cloud. Whether or not the gang connection holds up in court, the city’s settlement speaks volumes.
And this wasn’t the first gang-related accusation against Ancona. In a separate lawsuit, former city manager Alma Martinez alleged that Ancona used the same known gang member to monitor and intimidate her after cooperating with an investigation that embarrassed the mayor. Again, the pattern is hard to ignore.
CENSURE AND PUBLIC BACKLASH
The council didn’t let her off easy. In the June 25th 6-1 vote, Ancona was formally censured, a public and symbolic slap-down for misconduct unbecoming of a public official.
“No resident should endure retaliation… our community deserves better,” said Councilmember Cindy Galvan.
The censure may not remove her from office, but it cements her legacy in disgrace.
Meanwhile, the El Monte Police Officers Association, already skeptical of Ancona’s anti-police posture, released a scathing statement condemning the retaliation scandal, adding fuel to an already volatile fire.
FLASHBACK: MAYOR PROTESTING HER OWN POLICE
And let’s not forget: in 2020, during the height of the George Floyd protests, Ancona stood in front of her own police department with her daughter, holding a Black Lives Matter sign, protesting the very officers she now expects to shield her from political fallout.
Just two years later, in June 2022, El Monte suffered the devastating loss of Corporal Michael Paredes and Officer Joseph Santana, ambushed and gunned down while responding to a domestic violence call. Their killer, Justin Flores, was a known gang member and convicted felon, who should never have been on the streets.
The murder was a direct result of soft-on-crime policies and a system that failed to keep dangerous gang offenders behind bars.
Now, residents are asking a chilling question:
Why is the mayor of a city that buried two heroes who dies at the hands of a known gang member, allegedly using known gang members as political enforcers?
Last week, Mayor Ancona went live on social media proudly leading yet another protest in front of her own police station. She showed up with pizza for the agitators while officers were forced to stand post, watching their own mayor stoke the flames.
Ancona announced her “special guest” named “Scar” in a bulletproof vest, who sources say is an alleged gang member playing bodyguard to the mayor like some low-budget warlord. That’s right – the mayor of a city still mourning two officers executed by a gang member is not only accused of using one to intimidate her constituents and city staff is also parading around with one as her personal security on camera.
SPIN & DAMAGE CONTROL
In a feeble attempt at damage control, Ancona offered this at the meeting:
“I take full responsibility for my actions… It was a misstep… I recognize how my actions may have been perceived…”
Perceived? The city just shelled out $175K for that “perception.”
Ancona claimed the censure vote was “politically motivated.” But when your political strategy allegedly includes using street gangs as intimidation tools, maybe it’s time to stop crying victim.
Jessica Ancona isn’t just a mayor in crisis, she’s a walking liability. From gang ties to retaliation payouts to a city council censure, this is no longer a leadership issue. It’s a public safety concern.
Follow Us