The disagreement began during public comment and resurfaced near the meeting’s conclusion, when Gordo corrected an earlier statement that the two communities were already friendship cities.
“I did misspeak earlier,” Gordo said. “I invited, I sent a letter to the mayor of Guanajuato to consider a friendship city.”
Madison urged the full City Council to formally invite Guanajuato to become a sister city, arguing that the decision belonged to the council.
“It’s far, far beyond the time where we should have already done that,” Madison said.
The exchange followed comments from Rene Gonzalez, who described three years of work on a formal Guanajuato sister city proposal and frustration over the absence of a Latin American sister city flag in the council chamber.
“After three years of civic dedication completing the formal Guanajuato Sister City proposal process and placing our trust in elected officials, we feel deeply disappointed and betrayed,” Gonzalez said.
Currently, Pasadena’s sister cities include locations in China, Germany, Japan, Finland, Armenia and Dakar-Plateau, Senegal—the city’s first African partnership. To date, there is no official sister city relationship with any city in Mexico.
A Pasadena delegation previously visited Guanajuato to examine the prospect of becoming sister cities. Mayor Samantha Smith Gutiérrez visited Pasadena to discuss the potential partnership.
Smith later thanked Madison for hosting the Guanajuato group during the Rose Parade and other events, including tours of major Pasadena locations. In turn, Smith extended an invitation for Pasadena officials to join a delegation visiting Guanajuato.
The City Council has not been publicly updated on the matter since a 2025 update led to an earlier contentious encounter between Gordo and Madison.
Tuesday’s discussion was the closest thing to an update since the earlier meeting.
The discussion began after Gonzalez requested a proclamation or resolution recognizing Oct. 14, 2027, as Pasadena Sister City Day and urged officials to advance the Guanajuato affiliation.
Gordo initially responded that he had exchanged communications with Guanajuato’s mayor.
“We are now a Friendship City and the flag has been ordered and will be displayed appropriately,” he said.
Madison immediately challenged that statement and said the council should exercise its authority to extend a sister city invitation.
Gordo maintained that the city’s mayor has authority to recognize friendship cities.
“It’s a fact that the mayor of the city has always had the authority to recognize Friendship Cities,” Gordo said. “I’ve recognized a number of them, but we can agree to disagree.”
Madison also alleged that Pasadena’s existing sister cities organization was not in good standing under California law.
According to media reports, at the time of the September meeting, the Sister Cities Committee was barred from entering into contracts because its nonprofit status had been suspended. The California Attorney General’s Office also imposed a fine in August 2025 over compliance and document-filing issues.
Gonzalez has since formed another Sister Cities organization whose application the council could consider, according to Madison.
Near adjournment, Gordo returned to the subject, explaining that his letter proposed a friendship city relationship as a step toward developing a longer association. He said the invitation had been accepted.
Madison disputed that characterization, saying Guanajuato’s response instead identified a representative who could communicate with a Pasadena counterpart.
The two also disagreed over whether Councilmembers had received the correspondence.
“The letters weren’t provided to the City Council,” Madison said, adding that members saw them only after a public records request.
Gordo disputed that account, saying the correspondence had appeared in his regular communications to Councilmembers. He agreed that Councilmembers should receive copies of the correspondence.
Madison questioned Gordo’s referral of Guanajuato’s mayor to a private citizen, saying she was not a Pasadena city official. Gordo responded that he had referred the inquiry to the sister city committee recognized by the city.
Madison requested that the matter be placed on a future agenda. Gordo said it had previously been placed on an agenda and discussed at length.
No vote on a Guanajuato sister city designation was taken during the exchanges.
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