Santa Fe Springs Council Removes Mayor Zamora in 4-1 Vote

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Annette Rodriguez named mayor; Juanita Martin selected mayor pro tem

September 30, 2026

By Brian Hews

SANTA FE SPRINGS — In a stunning rebuke of one of its own members, the Santa Fe Springs City Council voted 4-1 Tuesday night to remove Joe Angel Zamora as mayor, Los Cerritos Community News has learned.

Following Zamora’s removal, the council named Annette Rodriguez mayor and Juanita Martin mayor pro tem.

The action came during a Sept. 29 special meeting of the City Council. As of Wednesday morning, the city had posted the agenda for the special meeting but had not yet posted minutes detailing the council’s action.

Sources familiar with the situation told Los Cerritos Community News that tensions between Zamora and the rest of the council had been building, with councilmembers increasingly concerned that Zamora was attempting to exert greater control over the council and change the way city business was being handled.

Sources also told LCCN that Zamora had recently circulated at least two written pieces sharply criticizing members of the city’s staff. According to the sources, those communications contributed to deteriorating relations between Zamora, his council colleagues and City Hall staff.

LCCN has not independently obtained the communications and is seeking copies as well as additional documentation surrounding Tuesday night’s action.

Under Santa Fe Springs’ form of government, voters elect five councilmembers at large, and the council selects one of its members to serve as mayor and another as mayor pro tem. The mayor presides over council meetings but remains one of five elected councilmembers.

The 4-1 vote removes Zamora from the mayor’s position; it does not remove him from his elected seat on the City Council.

The shakeup comes at a particularly turbulent time at City Hall. Santa Fe Springs is in the process of creating its own municipal police department and ending its longstanding policing arrangement with the Whittier Police Department. Earlier this year, Zamora publicly championed the appointment of the city’s first police chief, calling creation of the department a historic moment for Santa Fe Springs.

The city is also embroiled in a dispute with Metropolitan Little League after revoking the organization’s access to city baseball fields. The league has disputed the city’s allegations and its president, Odalys Valladares, who is running for City Council, has alleged political retaliation. City officials have denied that politics played a role in the decision.

Zamora Has Faced Controversy Before

Tuesday’s removal is not the first time Zamora has faced serious controversy while serving on the Santa Fe Springs City Council.

In a September 2020 exclusive, Los Cerritos Community News reported the findings of a 90-page independent investigation conducted by the Cerritos-based law firm Atkinson, Andelson, Loya, Ruud & Romo into allegations involving Zamora and Santa Fe Springs Fire Department Engineer Pat Carrillo and Carrillo’s minor son.

The investigation stemmed from incidents at the Blazing Tees Charity Golf Tournament in Whittier. Investigators interviewed Carrillo, Zamora and 15 other people.

The investigator concluded that it was “more likely than not” that Zamora made a series of inappropriate and unprofessional comments during the event. Zamora denied the allegations and characterized the matter as a “witch hunt.”

The investigation also examined testimony concerning comments Zamora allegedly made involving then-City Manager Ray Cruz and then-Councilwoman Juanita Trujillo.

Ultimately, the investigator concluded that Zamora violated the city’s Code of Conduct for Elected and Appointed Officials as well as its Harassment, Discrimination and Retaliation policy. Because Zamora was an elected official, the report noted that decisions concerning what action to take rested with the City Council.

Six years later, four of Zamora’s council colleagues have now taken the extraordinary step of removing him from the mayor’s position.

Los Cerritos Community News is seeking the official roll-call vote, copies of the communications concerning city staff and additional information about the events leading to Tuesday night’s special meeting.

This story will be updated as additional information becomes available.