Update: Consequences have been imposed on the two members of the Los Angeles City Council who were involved in the racist recording scandal and remain councilmembers. Kevin de León and Gil Cedillo have been removed from their committee assignments, KTLA reports. "My mission and my duty is to help this city heal," acting Council President Mitch O’Farrell said during a press conference Monday. “The only recourse is resignation or recall." Neither de León nor Cedillo has issued a statement since the third person involved in the scandal, Nury Martinez, stepped down as city council president and then resigned from public office entirely. Protesters are camping out at de León's home to call for his resignation, ABC 7 reports. Our previous story from Oct. 13 follows:
The former president of the Los Angeles City Council resigned from public office Wednesday, three days after a recording surfaced of her making racist remarks in a meeting that is now the subject of a state investigation, the AP reports. Nury Martinez, the first Latina to hold the top post on the council, announced her decision in a press release following a groundswell of outrage and calls for the resignations of her and two other council members involved in the conversation recorded last year. Martinez had stepped down as president Monday while still holding onto her council seat. Her decision to give up her seat came as President Biden was due to arrive in Los Angeles a day after he condemned the remarks and called on all three council members—Martinez, Kevin de Leon, and Gil Cedillo—to resign.
Martinez's resignation statement did not address the comments she made specifically, though in words directed at her daughter she said she had fallen short of expectations recently and added: "I vow to you that I will strive to be a better woman to make you proud.” The announcement was made several hours after Attorney General Rob Bonta said he would investigate Los Angeles’ redistricting process that the three council members discussed with a labor leader in which they schemed to protect Latino political strength in council districts. Bonta, a Democrat like the three council members, said his investigation could lead to civil liability or criminal charges, depending on what is found. “It’s clear an investigation is sorely needed to help restore confidence in the redistricting process for the people of LA,” he said.
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Bonta spoke in Los Angeles while the council tried unsuccessfully to conduct business nearby amid the uproar that exposed City Hall’s racial rivalries. Those involved in the leaked conversation were all Latinos, while Bonta is the first Filipino American to hold the top law enforcement job in the nation’s most populous state. The council reconvened Wednesday, possibly to censure the three members, but it was unable to do business because a crowd of about 50 protesters drowned out the acting president chanting slogans such as, “No meeting without resignation.” A minimum of 10 out of 15 members necessary for a quorum had assembled, but the meeting was adjourned when one left. None of the three embattled council members showed up. Acting Council President Mitch O’Farrell called on de Leon and Cedillo to also resign.
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