CHAMBERS TO RICHARDSON: STOP DECEIVING & LYING TO VOTERS, COMPTON CITY ATTORNEY: “THAT COMMENT WAS NOT MADE”

COMPTON, CA -- Michelle Chambers is setting the record straight in response to the latest false and defamatory accusations being circulated by Laura Richardson’s campaign. These lies, which attempt to revive discredited conspiracy theories about Michelle Chambers making a comment regarding former Compton City Councilmember Isaac Galvan’s son, have been thoroughly debunked and are a desperate attempt to smear and undermine Chambers’ credibility. They come one week after Chambers reported raising nearly double Richardson’s haul in the latest fundraising period and having nearly two and a half times Richardson’s cash on hand.

 

The Richardson campaign’s only source, disgraced former Councilmember Galvan, is a convicted criminal currently under federal indictment for bribery. He also faces state charges for conspiring to rig votes to secure a one-vote victory in June 2021. In May 2022, a civil court judge ruled that four votes in that election were cast illegally and ordered Galvan to be replaced by his opponent.

 

Chambers released the following statement Thursday:

 

“Laura Richardson’s campaign is so desperate that they are resorting to blatant lies about me, straight out of the Donald Trump playbook. Let me make it clear - nobody who knows me could believe that I would ever say the things that Laura Richardson is accusing me of saying. The Compton City Attorney’s office investigated the situation thoroughly back in 2021 and found that I did not say any of those hurtful things. I question Laura Richardson’s judgment in recycling the discredited claims of a disgraced former Councilmember who is currently under federal indictment for bribery and who has been previously charged with voter fraud. But as the saying goes, you are the company you keep.”

 

Damon Brown, who served as Compton City Attorney at the time of the initial allegations and was present in the closed session, publicly discussed the investigative findings in October 2021:

 

“Councilmember Galvan did make an inappropriate comment to Councilmember Michelle Chambers and there’s no evidence to support Councilmember Galvan’s accusation. I wanted to take this time to personally apologize to Councilmember Chambers because when I was called upon at that meeting to confirm that the comment was not made, I was hesitant to do so because I did not want to violate the Brown Act by discussing items that were discussed in closed session. However, I did confirm, subsequently, that it is not a Brown Act violation to talk about things that were not talked about during closed session and to confirm statements that were not made during closed session that had nothing to do with any confidential information that was being discussed in closed session… I did know that that comment was not made during closed session.”

 

On Friday, current Compton City Attorney Eric Perrodin confirmed the findings of the investigation:

 

“Before becoming the Compton City Attorney, I can report that an investigation was conducted by the law firm of Harrington, Foxx, Darrow & Canter. The report of the investigation dated September 17, 2021, concluded there was no evidence to support Councilmember Isaac Galvan's accusation that Councilmember Michelle Chambers referred to his son in a derogatory manner. Any accusations stating Councilmember Chambers used a racist derogatory term towards Councilmember Galvan's son are patently false and are not supported by any evidence.”

 

In the wake of the initial false allegations by Mr. Galvan, Chambers and her family were forced to leave the state after her car was shot at, a direct result of the dangerous and misleading statements made by Isaac Galvan. After these allegations were proven false, no one, not even Galvan, ever mentioned this again. Michelle continued to serve on the council for eight months afterward with no calls for her resignation or press conferences demanding her removal. 

 

The desperation of Laura Richardson’s campaign is evident from recent financial disclosures. Michelle Chambers reported raising $323,313 in the latest filing period (2/18-6/30), nearly $150,000 more than Richardson, who raised just $174,386 — including contributions from big oil and tobacco companies. Chambers had $236,885 on hand as of the June 30 deadline, while Richardson reported just $89,626. Richardson used nearly 25% of her campaign funds to pay herself back for loans, spending $56,000 — and still reported $165,157 in outstanding debt, nearly double her cash on hand.

 

Michelle Chambers remains committed to addressing the real issues facing our community and calls on Richardson to engage in a campaign focused on the facts rather than resorting to false and misleading tactics.