Los Angeles City Council again grapples with aftermath of racist scandal

On Wednesday, the Los Angeles City Council again faced an ongoing racist row that led to the resignation of its former president and left a quandary about how to deal with a disgraced member who resisted President Joe Biden’s calls to step down.

In a 12–2 vote, the council agreed to explore possible additional punitive measures against convicted council member Kevin de Leon, including restricting his use of certain office facilities and seizing government-sponsored mailing lists he sends to voters.

He is the only councilor implicated in the scandal still in office, allowing him to continue earning his nearly $229,000 annual salary — one of the most lucrative city council salaries in the country.

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The scandal has exacerbated racial tensions and become a national embarrassment for the country’s second-most populous city, which is also grappling with an uncontrollable homeless crisis and rising crime. Meanwhile, three current or former members of the council have been charged or pleaded guilty to corruption.

The riots were fueled in October by a leaked recording of strong racist comments from an annual meeting involving de Leon, then-council president Nuri Martinez, labor leader Ron Herrera, and then-council member Gil Zedillo—all Hispanic Democrats—at which they plotted to expand their political power at the expense of blacks. voters during the restructuring of the boundaries of municipal districts. Herrera resigned and Zedillo’s term expired in December.

The California Black Legislature said the tape “demonstrates a horrendous effort to decentralize the black vote during a critical redistricting process.”

Who leaked the entry to Reddit just a few weeks before the November midterm elections – and why – remains unknown. State and local law enforcement agencies are investigating.

The move to potentially further restrict de Leon’s activities follows the council’s vote in October to convict him, Martinez and Zedillo, in what is the most drastic step the council could take to publicly reprimand them for their participation in the closed session. The council cannot expel members – it can only remove a member when criminal charges are filed. De Leon was also stripped of his positions on the committee.

He also faces a re-election that could remove him from office. De Leon repeatedly apologized, but said he would not resign.

The latest sentence appears to reflect the growing frustration of colleagues who see de Leon as a political pariah and say they don’t want to work with him, while pressuring the former state Senate leader to reconsider his decision to remain in office.

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Council president Paul Krekorian said the city’s law “lacks clarity” when a council member fails to meet standards of ethical conduct but does not commit a crime. He said the proposal, approved on Wednesday, asked city officials, including the city attorney, to evaluate other possible moves against de Leon “so that this council can decide what options are available.”

They may also include limiting his ability to make certain types of motions and limiting his ability to authorize contracts.

“The Council cannot legally take any action to remove Councilman de Leon from the Council – only the residents of District 14 can do that,” Krekorian said in an earlier statement, referring to the possible withdrawal of the election. “But the council doesn’t seem to be able to tolerate racist sentiment like that heard on… the record.”

He said none of the possible moves would affect the county’s funding or services.

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After being absent from the council, De Leon is trying to get back into the public sphere, despite being openly rebuked by colleagues in the House. His appearance at council meetings sparked violent protests, and last month he got into a fight with an activist who interrupted him during a holiday toy giveaway.

In his speech to the council, De Leon called the proposal “deeply troubling”, saying it would relegate his neighborhood’s residents to “second-class status”.

De Leon called the proposal’s provisions a “slippery slope” that, if approved, would undermine “my constituents’ rights to equal service.”

As in meetings in recent weeks, a number of residents who spoke called de Leon a disgrace and should retire, but others urged him to continue his work in his predominantly Hispanic neighborhood, which includes downtown Los Angeles.