Fallout from LA racism scandal keeps shaking City Council
LOS ANGELES — Two months after becoming entangled in a racism scandal that shook public trust in Los Angeles government, disgraced City Councilman Kevin de Leon has refused calls to resign and is attempting to rehabilitate his reputation as he faces a politically uncertain future.
As of Monday, de Leon, a former state legislator, is the only council member still resisting calls from President Joe Biden to step down, while continuing to collect his annual salary of nearly $229,000 — among the most lucrative paydays for city council members in the nation.
Gil Cedillo, another councilman involved in the scandal over a leaked recording of racist insults emerged in October, had vanished from public view within days of its disclosure but refused to resign. His term expired Monday at 12:01 a.m., after he lost a reelection bid earlier this year.
Continuing fallout from the racism scandal is one challenge that will confront the city’s new mayor, Democrat Karen Bass, as she takes office.
Meanwhile, three other current or former Council members have been indicted or pleaded guilty to corruption charges.
Stripped of his ability to participate in council committees, facing widespread pressure to resign and after an extended absence from council meetings, de Leon has been maneuvering in public and private to emerge from political purgatory, despite being reviled by colleagues who say they cannot work with him.
His situation deteriorated Friday, when he scuffled with an activist who heckled him at a holiday toy giveaway that was partially captured on video and posted on Twitter. The confrontation left children at the event in tears.
Council President Paul Krekorian, who has called on de Leon to step down, said in a statement that the councilman, one of his staff members and a volunteer were attacked and he called it intolerable. The Los Angeles Times reported that activists said de Leon was the aggressor.
“This city has endured horrendous division and toxicity in recent months,” Krekorian said. “We need to reject hatred in all of its forms and we need to reject the atmosphere of intimidation, bullying and threats.”
De Leon appeared Friday at his first council meeting since mid-October, setting off a chaotic protest between competing factions in the audience. About a dozen protesters bellowed at de Leon to leave the ornate chamber, while his supporters chanted “Kevin, Kevin.”
Some council members walked out and police ejected two people, fearing they might fight.
“Leave, Kevin!,” one protester shouted at de Leon. “This is why these meetings need to be shut down.”
The scandal triggered the resignation in October of then-City Council President Nury Martinez and a powerful labor leader, Ron Herrera, along with calls from Biden and other elected officials for de Leon and others to resign.
The uproar stemmed from a leaked recording of crude, racist comments from a year-old meeting involving Martinez, Herrera, de Leon and Cedillo — all Latino Democrats — in which they plotted to expand their political power at the expense of Black voters during a realignment of district boundaries.
The once-a-decade redrawing of district lines can pit one group against another to gain political advantage in future elections.