Salinas City Council passes resolution denouncing upcoming DeSantis visit

With Florida Governor Ron DeSantis set to visit Salinas on Thursday, Salinas City Council passed a resolution denouncing and condemning his visit.

“This resolution is about standing up for what's right, standing up for your community and calling out racism, bigotry, homophobia, and hatred for what it is," Salinas District 6 City Council Member Anthony Rocha said.

Five out of the six city council member voted to pass the resolution. District three council member Steve McShane abstained from the vote.

The move comes as DeSantis is scheduled to hold a presidential campaign fundraiser in Salinas Thursday. Protestors could be seen outside of the city council meeting Tuesday evening.

The Monterey County Republican Party’s chairman argues, it’s the wrong move from the city.

“I think it's mean spirited, and that if we want to be a tolerant and open city, we need to be open to other points of view," said Monterey County Republican Party Chairman Jeff Gorman.

Olga Reyna with the organization Building Healthy Communities was one of the protestors. She says she disagrees with DeSantis's actions toward immigrants.

"I was very happy to hear that the city council is stepping up and they're going to support the people of Salinas and that's all of us.” Reyna said.

"We should be open minded and free speech, which is assured by the first amendment. It's very important to the American tradition," Gorman said.

Council member Anthony Rocha, who introduced the resolution along with council member Sandoval, said the resolution is about more than just freedom of speech.

“This resolution has everything to do with his actions that he has taken in his capacity as an elected official," Rocha said.