Bass can help give de Leon heave-ho
Of all the successful candidates elected to any office in the land last month, we can't think of a one in our nation with a more-pressing to-do list than Los Angeles Mayor-elect Karen Bass.
Because no school boarder, councilmember, supervisor, legislator or member of the House or the Senate has one to compare.
Homelessness? Check. City Hall corruption? Check. Taxes and fees that drive crucial businesses from your city? Check. Consequent cashflow problem — not to mention long-term financial uncertainty owing to pensions? Check. Mistrust between police and people? Check. The looming reality of running an L.A. Olympics 2028 rather than just the glittering faraway promise of it? Check.
Yet, though her plate is clearly full, can we add to it just one more delectable item from the buffet? That would be to use her bully pulpit of persuasion because of the crucial need for Councilman Kevin de León to resign immediately from his City Hall post.
His refusal to do so is making it impossible for Los Angeles politics to even begin to recover from the body blow suffered by the insufferable racism, cynicism and malfeasance revealed in the infamous audio recording in which de León, former council President Nury Martinez, Councilman Gil Cedillo and labor leader Ron Herrera shocked the world with their despicable words and insights into the way City Hall operates.
Martinez resigned. A defeated Cedillo leaves office this month. Herrera is out as L.A.'s labor boss. Only de León, clinging to the absurdity that his Eagle Rock-to-Downtown district “really needs him,” remains in office.
Bass knows that de León's presence is a poison in City Hall. Given his obstinance, the only resort for the residents of his district is to mount a costly and time-consuming recall campaign — a waste of their time and energy, but necessary in order to regain true representation. Better than to bother the busy mayor, better than to further rile his constituents, would be for Kevin de León — nothing if not a smart operator — to do the right thing and simply resign his post. It's not too late to do so and not rain on Bass's inaugural parade. The sooner you do, councilman, the sooner you can begin working out your own future.