"I publicly apologized for not cutting off my colleagues when their comments crossed a line," Cedillo said. Published Oct. 11, 2022 Updated Oct. 12, 2022. . The citys Asian community has become a rising political force with nearly 12 percent of the population. Mr. Guerra noted that, as in most of California, getting along remains a work in progress and that unlike the county and state, the city of Los Angeles still allows elected officials, rather than an independent commission, to have the final say in their own district maps. In the audio, the officials the Los Angeles City Council president, Nury Martinez; two council members, Gil Cedillo and Kevin de Len; and a top labor representative, Ron Herrera are heard making racist and disparaging remarks about Black and Indigenous people. Tuesday's agenda includes several items related to the incendiary recording made during a private meeting about the contentious issue of redrawing council districts, which can give some lawmakers significant power and dilute the influence of others and by extension, disenfranchise the ethnic or racial groups they represent. The four people heard on an audio recording that rocked Los Angeles politics over the weekend have long been significant Democratic power brokers, not just in the city but in California as a whole. He claimed to have apologized "profusely" to Bonin, but Bonin did not accept his apology and demanded via Twitter that de Len resign. In the end, it is not my apologies that matter most; it will be the actions I take from this day forward. While I did not engage in the conversation in question, I was present at times during this meeting last year. Through tears, he says he didnt want to be here today. [17][18] The motion was opposed by Marqueece Harris-Dawson and Mike Bonin, who instead proposed instructing the city attorney to find eligibility requirements for appointments. "When you're saying defund the police and people are getting upset, that is an opportunity to have a conversation, to let them know yes, we've given them a ton of money and still we have harm and violence. Protesters have settled in near De Lens Eagle Rock home, setting up tents and saying they dont intend to leave until he resigns. Martinez said Councilwoman Nithya Raman was "making a play" for Koreatown but that she, Martinez, wasn't going to entertain the idea. 3 min read. Mayoral candidate Karen Bass, appearing alongside a coalition of leaders in downtown Los Angeles, said Tuesday that we cannot and will not tolerate bigotry. Ms. Bass touted the diversity of Los Angeles and said the city must move ahead together and heal. I think we should, but its unclear.. She used a Spanish term to compare his young Black son to a little monkey. The City Council must take away her as Council President immediately, and she or he needs to resign from office. It hurts me that one of our sons earliest encounters with overt racism comes from a number of the strongest public officials in Los Angeles, Bonin said in a statement. This hateful and racist conversation set us back, he said. Cedillos campaign aides said he likely will not comment on the election resultsuntil all votes have been counted or finalized. Man, that makes my soul bleed.. Mr. Bidens spokeswoman called the language used on the tape unacceptable and appalling.. The final results of the June 7 election released Friday by the county Registrar-Recorder/County Clerks Office also confirmed the November runoff battle between Rep. Karen Bass and businessman Rick Caruso in the race for Los Angeles mayor. With that in mind, heres a quick rundown of some recent events: Almost a year ago to the day, Mr. Ridley-Thomas, then a member of the Council, was indicted on federal corruption charges. Wednesday, June 29, 2022. . The situation has been delicate for both candidates because the altered electoral landscape in this years mayors race makes it politically perilous to alienate Latino voters, who make up roughly half the citys population. L.A. Councilmember Kevin de Len, left, and former Council President Nury Martinez confer at a meeting on Oct. 4, 2022. The two leading candidates in the closely fought race for mayor of Los Angeles: Rick Caruso, a white billionaire developer on the police commission, and Representative Karen Bass, who is Black and has represented the city in the Legislature and Congress for many years. "I told her that's not happening," Martinez said. After the release of the audio, Herrera faced calls to step down from across the labor movement, including the leaders of eight SEIU California unions with Los Angeles-area members, United Teachers Los Angeles, Unite Here Local 11 and the California Nurses Association. ", He later added: "For all my critics' calls for me to `do the right thing,' I say unequivocally that NOT resigning was the right thing.". The two men have refused widespread calls to step down despite widespread condemnation that led former council President Nury Martinez to resign last week. No one denies that the conversation crossed a line at several points, and I deeply regret not speaking up when it did. A number of their council colleagues even have known as for them to step down. And they are gonna screw everyone else", and referred to Areen Ibranossian, an advisor to councillor Paul Krekorian, as "The guy with one eyebrow." Court filings last month showed that prosecutors were looking into the full scholarship Ms. Bass received to pursue a masters degree in social work. If the council members do not resign, they cannot be forced to leave. Despite testing positive for the coronavirus, Krekorian said he is still planning to attend Tuesdays meeting, since it will held via Zoom. Councilmember Gilbert Cedillo during the first in-person council meeting since pandemic restrictions were put into place at Los Angeles City Hall, Wednesday May 4, 2022. Council members Gil Cedillo and Kevin de Lon, who participated in the meeting in which the former council president made racist remarks, are no longer on the dais. Man, that makes my soul bleed., Mr. OFarrell, the council member leading the meeting, condemned the comments and the political maneuvering of his colleagues. A member of the Democratic Party, Cedillo was previously a member of both the California State Assembly and the California State Senate . Kevin de Lon just postponed 'Wakanda Forever' screening after uproar. Complicating matters further, Krekorian tested positive for the coronavirus over the weekend, raising the prospect that a continued outbreak among councilmembers could force the body to meet several more days via Zoom. The imbroglio engulfing Los Angeles after a leaked audio recording revealed racist and disparaging remarks made by the City Council president in a meeting with two other council members last year is only the latest in a string of scandals to have hit City Hall in just the past few years. While Latinos make up about half the population, they are underrepresented on the council with only four of the 15 seats at the time. To move forward as a city, we must move past the politics of divide and conquer, she said in a statement. In the furor over the racist leaked audio, calls are growing for the city to throw out the boundary lines drawn last year for the councils 15 districts. Cedillo, a longtime political figure with strong ties to organized labor who served in . For the last nine years, we've lost 10% of the Latino community in Highland Park and this district is one of the only two districts that's lost double digits in community from displacement in the last census numbers.". Sophie Gilchrist, an aide to City Council President Nury Martinez, said Cedillos absences were excused, but did not give a reason. O'Farrell says he has removed Councilmen Kevin de Len and Gil Cedillo from their committee assignments. OFarrell said he believes a special election should be called for Martinezs council seat as soon as possible. [22][23], As a result of the fallout from the controversy, separate audio recordings of a conversation between Herrera and Hannah Cho, a former Mitch O'Farrell (and later LA County Federation of Labor) staffer, were leaked on October 15. He left office on December 12, 2022. All four people on the audio recording are Latino. Please contact the developer of this form processor to improve this message. De Len has vowed to serve out the rest of his term through 2024. There was an error and we couldn't process your subscription. Councilmembers Paul Krekorian and Curren Price have publicly expressed interest in the post, which was held by Martinez for nearly three years. Abarca appears to be the only incumbent who lost outright on Tuesday. [44] Paul Krekorian was later elected as the new council president. Byron Sigcho Lopez' bid for a second term faced a stiff challenge from Aida Flores, a Chicago Public Schools principal. They already must choose who will replace Ms. Martinez as the councils president. Im so sorry. It's always been on the community end," said Hernandez. It was unclear who leaked the recording, which was of an October 2021 meeting between Ms. Martinez; Gil Cedillo and Kevin de Len, council members representing parts of the citys East Side; and Ron Herrera, who was the head of the powerful Los Angeles County Federation of Labor before he resigned Monday night. And they don't want us.". She earned a BA degree in literature from the University of California, Santa Cruz. O'Farrell has spoken with Cedillo and said he is "reconciling his feelings about this transgression and understood the gravity of the moment." "[12] Martinez also called the child a "changuito" according to the Los Angeles Times, meaning "little monkey" in Spanish. Eunisses Hernandez, who appears to have unseated Gil Cedillo on the Los Angeles City Council, hopes to shift funding priorities for the LAPD and other agencies. Rachel Uranga covers transportation and mobility for the Los Angeles Times. Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting. As Angelenos processed the furor, calls for solutions focused on whether the citys redistricting process had been changed and whether it might have been corrupted. The outrage in Los Angeles has extended to its tight mayoral race. A Black speaker said she wanted an investigation into all decisions that have affected Black people in Los Angeles. Whoops! The three councilmembers discussed how to appoint a new councilmember who would work in their interests, and also agreed to gerrymander Councilmember Nithya Raman's district in order to suppress those who had voted for her. Councilmember Mike Bonin the target of Martinez's most offensive remarks tested positive for the virus after being consoled in the crowded chambers and appeared virtually at the following day's meeting. In the past, Los Angeles elected its mayors in odd-numbered years, which deeply depressed voter turnout, particularly among Latinos. Incidentally, that same investigation has touched Los Angeles mayoral candidate and current congresswoman, Karen Bass. Mr. Bonin, a white council member whose Black child was a target of some of the racist remarks, said that while he was still processing what had happened, he and his husband were both feeling raw and angry and heartbroken and sick., Through tears, Mr. Bonin said, I take a lot of hits, and I know I practically invite a bunch of them. Last week, Cedillo apologized for his involvement in the recorded conversation, saying he should have intervened. Now its Game of Thrones.. In the profanity-laced recording, a copy of which was obtained by The New York Times and which was first reported by The Los Angeles Times on Sunday, Councilwoman Nury Martinez, who is Latina, compared the Black child of a white council member to a changuito, Spanish for little monkey. Even in an era in which the boundaries of political speak have seemingly evaporated, a nearly 80-minute recording of Los Angeles leaders mocking people in racist terms is still powerful enough to shock the nations second-largest city. From left, Mark Ridley-Thomas, Jos Huizar, Mitchell Englander. Ms. Martinez stepped down as council president on Monday and said on Tuesday that she would take a leave of absence. My work speaks for itself. Bonin additionally called for the resignation of Herrera and known as out Cedillo for the tacit acceptance of the remarks. In a moment of intense frustration and anger, I let the situation get the best of me and I hold myself accountable for these comments. An investigation found that Mr. Garcetti likely knew or should have known about the conduct of Mr. Jacobs, a longtime Democratic fund-raiser who served as the mayors chief of staff from 2013-16. Gil Cedillo. 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