The January meeting of the Echo Park Elysian Neighborhood Council came to order at about 6:30 Tuesday night. Ten minutes later, there was total disorder, with gavels and drums banging, board members trading insults and threats and others pleading for the police to be called in to calm things down.
Things went down hill fast after some council members objected to a move by president Jose Sigala (who has seen plenty of nasty public meetings as an aide to City Councilman Richard Alarcon) to seat an alternate representative to the council. Augustin Cebada called Sigala a “Mr. Fat, bald-headed, Mussolini” and banged on a hand-held drum*. Sigala, pounding his gavel on the table, demanded that Cebada, a former, ally, shut up. Then there was some more heated, junior high school-like, back-and-forth:
“You, stop it!,” Sigala responded.
“Both of you stop it!” one audience member shrieked.
“Let’s go outside,” Sigala told Cebada
What happened next? Well, who cares. The show was over until next month’s meeting.
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