One year ago, Congress defunded public media. Now that we're 100% community funded, please become a sustaining member or increase your existing membership today.
This is an archival story that predates current editorial management.
This archival content was written, edited, and published prior to LAist's acquisition by its current owner, Southern California Public Radio ("SCPR"). Content, such as language choice and subject matter, in archival articles therefore may not align with SCPR's current editorial standards. To learn more about those standards and why we make this distinction, please click here.
11-Year-Old Daughter Of Top City Official Found Wandering City Hall Alone On Night Of Party
Another gloomy day at L.A. City Hall (Photo by houze via the LAist Featured Photos pool on Flickr)
A top city official announced that she was taking a leave of absence in the wake of an investigation into whether she should be charged with child endangerment.Officers found the 11-year-old daughter of Los Angeles Board of Public Works President Andrea Alarcon unattended at City Hall around 11:45 pm last Friday night, according to City News Service. Officials couldn't find Alarcon, and so they brought her daughter to a nearby police station. Alarcon turned up to pick up her daughter around 2 am.
That night there was a party at City Hall thrown by Project Restore, which is a group devoted to restoring city-owned landmarks, according to the Los Angeles Times.
Police said they have launched an investigation into whether the 33-year-old Alarcon should be charged with child endangerment because of this incident, and the county's Department of Children and Family Services has been notified. Alarcon has not been arrested.
Alarcon told Times, "My daughter and I have an extremely close relationship and as a single mother, she often accompanies me to special events for work. Out of respect for my daughter's privacy and because she is a minor, I really have nothing further to say about this matter."
Yesterday the mayor announced that Alarcon would take a leave of absence, but he told the Times that he does not believe that she should resign.
This isn't the first time Alarcon has faced legal questions about her parenting. She was arrested on suspicion of drunken driving last December and was charged with cruelty to a child, since her daughter was in the car at the time of her arrest. She pleaded not guilty and is due back in court next month, CNS reports.
Alarcon is the daughter of Councilman Richard Alarcon, who has faced legal challenges of his own.
One year ago, Congress voted to defund public media, eliminating a critical $1.7 million from our budget every year going forward. But they couldn’t silence us, and we’re not going anywhere. LAist is now 100% community funded and that means we’re taking our future into our own hands and turning to you to keep local reporting strong.
You come to LAist because you want independent reporting and trustworthy local information. Our nonprofit newsroom doesn’t answer to shareholders looking to turn a profit. Instead, we answer to you and our communities. We are free to follow facts wherever they lead and to hold power to account without fear or favor. Our only loyalty is to our readers and listeners and our mission: to inform, engage, and strengthen Southern California’s communities.
If this story helped you, please become a monthly member today to help sustain this mission. It just takes 1 minute to donate below.
You come to LAist because you want independent reporting and trustworthy local information. Our nonprofit newsroom doesn’t answer to shareholders looking to turn a profit. Instead, we answer to you and our communities. We are free to follow facts wherever they lead and to hold power to account without fear or favor. Our only loyalty is to our readers and listeners and our mission: to inform, engage, and strengthen Southern California’s communities.
If this story helped you, please become a monthly member today to help sustain this mission. It just takes 1 minute to donate below.
Senior Vice President News, Editor in Chief
