Los Angeles City Councilman Kevin De Leon said he would not resign amid an uproar over a leaked recording of Latino officials making crude, racist remarks and plotting to expand their political power. The scandal has already led to the resignation of City Council President, Nury Martinez, to resign from her position.
De Leon told the Univision Spanish-language station that he was “so sorry,” and refuses to resign. “I failed in my leadership,” he said. Council members criticized his statement, and they called for his resignation.
“Apologies will not be nearly enough to undo the damage this city has suffered,” said Council President Paul Krekorian, who replaced Martinez in the leadership post. “The only way we can begin to heal as a city is for Mr. de Leon to take responsibility for his actions, accept the consequences, and step down.”
The Los Angeles city council installed a new President– Paul Krekorian–after protestors called for halting the vote for redrawing council district boundaries until de Leon and Cedillo resigned for their part in the meeting. An influential labor leader who was also in attendance at the private meeting, Ron Herrera, resigned.
Carlos Loera, a citizen, living in the heavily Latino Boyle Heights part of De Leon’s district, thinks it is time for him to go. He expressed his opinions saying, “We don’t want him here because he’s racist,” and that the trust in the Councilman is no longer there.
In an interview conducted by Leon Krauze, an Univision Noticias national network anchor, De Leon said, “I ask for forgiveness from all my people, my community for the damage that those painful words caused on that day.”
De Leon called the comments in the private meeting “horrible” but said the responsibility for the offensive language rested with Martinez, who has resigned. He said he failed by not raising his voice.
De Leon has asked to be excused from council meetings to “attempt to rebuild the relationships I’ve broken.” He also said he would seek “professional sensitivity training.”
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