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LA City Council Remains Deadlocked
Protestors demonstrate outside LA City Hall on October 12 calling for the resignations of L.A. City Council members Kevin de Leon and Gil Cedillo in the wake of a leaked audio recording.
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Mario Tama
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Getty Images
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Topline:
The L.A. City Council remains deadlocked, as two city council members — Kevin de León and Gil Cedillo — refuse to resign over a leaked recording that surfaced over the weekend in which they can be heard having a conversation with former council president Nury Martinez that included racist and demeaning comments.
The impact so far: Martinez resigned on Wednesday, but protesters have vowed to keep disrupting scheduled meetings until all of them step down.
Why it matters: Mitch O’Farrell, now acting City Council president following Martinez's resignation, canceled Friday’s scheduled meeting after angry protests disrupted Tuesday and Wednesday’s meetings. O’Farrell told Larry Mantle on AirTalk that he wants the city council to censure de León and Cedillo, stripping them of their committee assignments and chairmanships. “The L.A. City charter does not enable us to remove colleagues from office,” O’Farrell said.
What's next: The council typically meets Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Fridays, but they haven’t had a regular meeting since the scandal broke. “As soon as we get these resignations, we can plan special elections. We need to get on so that the residents of these council districts have a voting member that they can vote for,” O’Farrell said. In the meantime, city business is piling up. Contracts, legal matters, and other motions involving independent redistricting were pushed later in October.
More on City Hall Tape Scandal
Oct. 9: Tape becomes public
Oct. 10: Martinez steps back as Council President
Oct. 11: Martinez announces she's taking a leave
Oct 12: Martinez resigns and California Attorney General launches investigation
Oct. 13: Calls continue for Cedillo and de León to quit
Oct. 19: Kevin de León says he won't resign from office
Explaining What's Going On So Far
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