De León: still time to go and to stay gone

Seeing Los Angeles City Councilmember John Lee this week being accused of violating city ethics laws for not reporting gifts he allegedly got from a developer while he was a city employee — a top aide to his now-disgraced former boss, then-Councilmember Mitch Englander — does not exactly renew the public's faith in L.A.'s electeds.

That faith was already horribly deflated in the wake of last year's release of a recording of racist scheming by three other now-gone councilmembers discussing redistricting, and by four current or former councilmembers facing criminal charges over the last four years. What had been considered one of the cleanest city councils in the nation was already now considered one of the dirtiest.

The Los Angeles Ethics Commission says there is “probable cause” to believe that Lee, in 2016 and 2017 as chief of staff to Englander, accepted favors far in excess of the gift limit for city officials, failed to report the gifts, misused his position, and aided and abetted Englander's misuse of his own position, as our news group's Olga Grigoryants and Linh Tat reported.

Three of the four former civic leaders have disappeared from public life, a year after the recording. Last week, speaking out for the first time since she resigned, former council President Nury Martinez gave a half-hearted apology for her actions in an indepth interview with LAist.

But in a press release he issued Monday, the one who hasn't disappeared — though he certainly should — Councilmember Kevin de León reminded Angelenos that not only will he still not do the right thing by resigning from his powerful office: he's running for council again. The “re-election campaign is already firing on all cylinders,” his campaign said. “Just ten days after jumping into the race, Kevin has already amassed a staggering $118,000 in donations by his first filing period . ... `I couldn't have asked for a better start.' ”

Here's the better start the citizens of his district and of the city at large would prefer: Jump right back out of the race for reelection. Better yet, resign, as he should have done a year ago. What an arrogant reminder de León remains for the scandal-plagued council of the divisive role he played in dishonoring his city. Just go, Kevin, and stay gone.

The President Joe Biden impeachment inquiry

Re “GOP drive to impeach president kicks off” (Sept. 29):

When Watergate started, no one on Earth thought it would lead to the president of the United States resigning from office. There was no evidence linking Nixon to the break-in at the Watergate until a dogged and unrelenting effort by investigative reporters uncovered the whole sordid detail of the illegal operation and cover-up.

Just like Nixon, Biden is using every instrument of his governmental power to deflect and obstruct an honest and thorough investigation of the facts of the case.

If he was innocent, he would cooperate by turning over all relevant documents, including bank records, to the House Oversight Committee.

MALLARD FILLMORE:

Assembly Bill 1228

Re “Newsom OKs new Fast Food Council, worker pay boost” (Sept. 29):

Newsom signed a $20-anhour pay raise for fast food workers of national franchises to prove he is nothing but a national progressive socialist. Despite the fact that these national companies don't sign the paychecks, for the pay comes from small franchise owners. Janice Hahn wants to implement the same type of control and raise medical workers minimum to $25 per hour. Are they going to cherry-pick industry after industry until they destroy our free capital market society? A constitutional republic and democracy with individual liberty is absolutely incompatible with socialism. Is this legally constitutional or is it Newsom's desire to destroy this state and country?

Sen. Dianne Feinstein's record of achievement

To suggest in your editorial on Oct. 3 that Senator Feinstein's record was a “mixed bag” is to suggest that her greatest strengths did not clearly outweigh her few weaknesses.

She was the most prepared senator on any issue before her. She was kind and very popular. She knew more about terrorism than any other member of the Senate.

In San Francisco, she provided comfort and acceptance to AIDS victims when other politicians were turning a blind eye. She did not support Clinton's Defense of Marriage Act, and eventually supported samesex marriage and parenthood. She made mistakes for sure, but if more senators were like her, things in Washington might be better.

By Bruce Tinsley