LOS ANGELES—Acting Los Angeles City Council President Mitch O'Farrell said Oct. 17 that he will remove Councilmen Kevin de León and Gil Cedillo from their committee assignments, though he had no update on whether the two embattled council members will resign their seats over their involvement in a racism scandal surrounding the city’s redistricting process.
Four elected officials participated in a recorded conversation in 2021 that included a series of racially charged remarks and discussions over redistricting. Two of them—former Council President Nury Martinez and former LA County Federation of Labor Ron Herrera—have resigned.
de León chairs the Homelessness and Poverty Committee, and Cedillo chairs the Housing Committee. Council rules require each council member to be appointed to at least one committee, and O'Farrell said he was working out the details of removing the pair from their assignments.
O'Farrell said Cedillo will not be attending Oct. 18’s council meeting, which will take place remotely. He has urged de León not to attend but has not been able to get in touch with him.
“What I have to do is make sure that this council is not held hostage because two additional members refuse to resign,” O'Farrell said at a news briefing Oct. 17 at City Hall.
When asked to confirm if Cedillo would not be attending Tuesday’s meeting, a representative did not respond directly Monday afternoon, saying only that the councilman was “at a place of reflection.” A representative for de León did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The South Central LA Tenants community group sent a letter to council members Marqueece Harris-Dawson, Heather Hutt, and Curren Price on Monday asking them to not attend any council or committee meetings until de León and Cedillo resign.
If all three abide by such a request, the already short-handed council would potentially be unable to meet.
Acting Council President Mitch O’Farrell announced that the council will hold both Oct. 18 and Oct. 19’s meetings remotely due to possible COVID exposure after Councilman Mike Bonin tested positive Oct. 12 for COVID-19. Bonin was present at the council meeting earlier that day.
Bonin wrote on Twitter Oct. 15 that his most recent COVID test, taken on the morning of Oct. 15, was negative.
