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| Photo Credit: AP. |
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Where does the Los Angeles City Council go from here?
Three of its
members – including the former Council president – are facing calls from
President Joe Biden to resign after a recording surfaced of them participating
in a closed-door meeting in which racist language was used to mock colleagues
while they schemed to protect Latino political strength in Council districts.
Three
current or former Council members have been indicted or pleaded guilty to
corruption charges, and it’s possible resignations in coming days could create
new vacancies.
The current
mayor, Democrat Eric Garcetti, was named last year to become U.S. ambassador to
India but the nomination appears stalled in the Senate because of sexual
harassment allegations against one of his former top aides. Elections next
month will bring a new mayor and several Council members.
In the short
term, it’s a looming question if the Council can assemble the required 10
members — out of 15 total — to conduct business on Wednesday, when coincidentally
Biden will be in town.
“I have
never seen anything like this,” said Raphael Sonenshein, executive director of
the Pat Brown Institute for Public Affairs at California State University, Los
Angeles.
“That’s the real challenge now, to kind of get
to where they are going to conduct business on a regular basis,” Sonenshein
said. “This chaotic situation is going to be very visible ... both here and
nationally.”
The Council
will attempt to reconvene Wednesday, possibly to censure the three members
cited by Biden. A Tuesday meeting was nearly derailed when a raucous crowd of
protesters packed the chamber, calling for the resignation of those involved in
the meeting — former City Council President Nury Martinez, who is taking a
leave of absence, and Councilmen Kevin de Leon and Gil Cedillo, all Democrats.
The Council
cannot expel the members — it can only suspend a member when criminal charges
are pending. A censure does not result in suspension or removal from office.
The uproar
was triggered by a leaked recording of crude, racist comments from a nearly
year-old meeting, which also provided an unvarnished look into City Hall’s
racial rivalries. Those involved in the meeting were all Latinos.
Martinez
said in the recorded conversation that white Councilmember Mike Bonin handled
his young Black son as if he were an “accessory” and said of his son “Parece
changuito,” or “he’s like a monkey,” the Los Angeles Times reported Sunday. She
also referred to Bonin as a “little bitch.”
At another
point on the hourlong recording, Martinez, the first Latina appointed president
of the City Council, called indigenous immigrants from the Mexican state of
Oaxaca “tan feos,” or “so ugly.”
The
discussion — which also included a powerful Latino labor leader, who has since
resigned — centered on protecting Latino political power during the redrawing
of council district boundaries, known as redistricting. The once-a-decade
process can pit one group against another to gain political advantage in future
elections.
At the ornate
Council chamber, an overflow crowd of protesters delayed the start of Tuesday’s
meeting as they angrily shouted for de Leon and Cedillo to leave the room.
Police officers scurried at the edge of the crowd.
De Leon sat
impassively at his seat, his eyes cast downward, as protesters called on him by
name to exit the chamber. Others on the 15-member Council urged the crowd to
settle down and allow the meeting to begin.
Cedillo and
de Leon left their seats early, leaving in doubt if they will appear Wednesday.
Martinez
stepped down from the leadership job and apologized Monday, saying she was
ashamed of her racially offensive language in the year-old recording. However,
she did not resign her council seat. She announced Tuesday that “I need to take
a leave of absence and take some time to have an honest and heartfelt
conversation with my family, my constituents, and community leaders.”
She did not
appear at the Tuesday meeting.
In emotional
remarks at the meeting, Bonin said he was deeply wounded by the taped discussion.
He lamented the harm to his young son and the fact that the city was in
international headlines spotlighting the racist language. “I’m sickened by it,”
he said, calling again for his colleagues’ resignations.
“Los Angeles
is going to heal,” he said at one point. “I want to lead with love.”
Black and
Latino constituents often build alliances in politics. But tensions and
rivalries among groups separated by race, geography, partisanship or religion
have a long history in Los Angeles and, indeed, the country. The friction can
cross into housing, education and jobs — even prisons — as well as the spoils
of political power.
The
California Legislative Black Caucus said the recording “reveals an appalling
effort to decentralize Black voices during the critical redistricting process.”
In one of
the most diverse cities in the nation, a long line of public speakers at the
meeting said the disclosure of the secretly taped meeting brought with it
echoes of the Jim Crow era, and was a stark example of “anti-Blackness.”
There were
calls for investigations, and reforming redistricting policy.
Many of the
critics also were Latino, who spoke of being betrayed by their own leaders.
Candido
Marez, 70, a retired business owner, said he wasn’t surprised by Martinez’s
language, who is known for being blunt and outspoken.
“Her words blew up this city. It is
disgraceful,” he said. “She must resign.”
The Los
Angeles Times reported that the recording was posted on Reddit by a now-suspended
user. It is unclear who recorded the audio, who uploaded it to Reddit and
whether anyone else was present.
Biden press
secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said Tuesday that the president wanted Martinez,
de Leon and Cedillo to resign.
“The
language that was used and tolerated during that conversation was unacceptable,
and it was appalling. They should all step down,” Jean-Pierre said.
Other calls
for the councilmembers to resign have come from across the Democratic
establishment, including from U.S. Sen. Alex Padilla, Garcetti, mayoral
candidates Karen Bass and Rick Caruso and members of Council.
Democratic
Gov. Gavin Newsom has stopped short of doing so, denouncing the racist language
and saying he was “encouraged that those involved have apologized and begun to
take responsibility for their actions.” Democratic state Sen. Steven Bradford,
who represents parts of Los Angeles County, said Newsom should call for the
resignation of the three councilmembers.
“Every
ethnic caucus in the Legislature has called for the resignations, so I would
hope that the governor would ... ask for the resignation as well,” Bradford
said.
Councilmember
Mitch O’Farrell, serving as acting president of the Council, said the city
cannot heal if the three remain in office. He called it a “clear abuse of
power” that was “profoundly unacceptable” of elected officials.
“Public
opinion has rendered a verdict and the verdict is they all must resign,” he
said.
Associated
Press writers John Antczak and Amancai Biraben in Los Angeles and Sophie Austin
in Sacramento contributed to this report.