LOS ANGELES (AP) 鈥� The Los Angeles City Council struggled again Wednesday with a that led to the resignation of its former president and left behind a quandary about how to deal with a disgraced member who has resisted calls from President Joe Biden to step down.
On a 12-2 vote, the council agreed to explore possible additional, punitive steps against censured Councilman Kevin de Le贸n, including restricting his use of certain office funds and collaring publicly funded mailers he sends to constituents.
He is the only council member involved in the scandal still in office, allowing him to continue to collect his annual salary of nearly $229,000 鈥� among the most lucrative paydays for city council members in the nation.
The scandal has strained racial tensions and become a national embarrassment for the nation's second most populous city, which also has been contending with an unchecked homeless crisis and rising crime rates. Meanwhile, three current or former council members have been indicted or pleaded guilty to corruption charges.
The turmoil was triggered in October by a leaked recording of crude, racist comments from a year-old meeting involving de Le贸n, then-council President Nury Martinez, labor leader Ron Herrera and then-Councilman Gil Cedillo 鈥� all Latino Democrats 鈥� in which they plotted to expand their political power at the expense of Black voters during a realignment of council district boundaries. Herrera resigned and Cedillo's term ended in December.
The California Legislative Black Caucus has said the recording 鈥渞eveals an appalling effort to decentralize Black voices during the critical redistricting process.鈥�
Who leaked the recording on the website Reddit just weeks before the November midterm elections 鈥� and why 鈥� remains unknown. State and local law enforcement investigations are underway.
The move to potentially further restrict de Le贸n's activities followed the council鈥檚 vote in October to censure him, Martinez and Cedillo, the strongest step the council can take to publicly reprimand them for their participation in the private meeting. The council cannot expel members 鈥� it can only suspend a member when criminal charges are pending. De Le贸n also was stripped of his committee assignments.
He's also facing a possible recall election that could remove him from office. De Le贸n has apologized repeatedly but said he will not resign.
The latest proposal appeared to reflect growing frustration by colleagues who consider de Le贸n a political pariah and say they are not willing to work with him, while pressuring the former state Senate leader to reconsider his decision to stay in office.
Council President Paul Krekorian said city law was 鈥渓acking in clarity鈥� when a council member falls short of ethical conduct standards but doesn鈥檛 commit a crime. He said the proposal approved Wednesday asked city officials, including the city attorney, to assess other possible steps against de Le贸n 鈥渟o this council can decide what options are available.鈥�
Those also could include limiting his ability to introduce certain types of motions, and limiting his ability to authorize contracts.
鈥淭he council cannot legally take any action to remove Councilmember de Le贸n from the Council 鈥� only the people of District 14 can do that," Krekorian said in an earlier statement, referring to a possible recall election. "But the council cannot appear to tolerate racist sentiments like those heard on the ... recording.鈥�
He said none of the possible steps would affect funding or services for the district.
After an absence from council, De Le贸n has been maneuvering to return to the public sphere, despite being reviled by colleagues who have openly rebuked him in the chamber. His appearances at council meetings have set off raucous protests, and last month he scuffled with an activist who heckled him at a holiday toy giveaway.
In remarks in council, De Le贸n called the proposal 鈥渄eeply troubling,鈥� saying it would reduce residents in his district to 鈥渟econd-class status.鈥�
De Le贸n called the provisions outlined in the motion a 鈥渟lippery slope,鈥� which if approved, would undermine 鈥渢he rights of my constituents to be equally served.鈥�
As at meetings in recent weeks, a series of residents who spoke called de Le贸n a disgrace who should resign, but others urged him to continue his work in his heavily Latino district, which includes downtown Los Angeles.
Michael R. Blood, The Associated Press
