LA City Council cancels meeting as 2 members refuse calls to resign over leaked recording
The two have faced calls to step down from a long list of officials including President Joe Biden
Acting LA City Council President Mitch O'Farrell abruptly canceled Friday's meeting because two members have refused widespread calls to step down after they were caught in a leaked recording taking part in a conversation that included racist remarks and disparaging comments about colleagues.
O'Farrell made the announcement Thursday on Twitter as civic leaders were transfixed by the evolving scandal involving council members Gil Cedillo and Kevin de León and former President Nury Martinez, who resigned a day earlier.
“The people’s business cannot be conducted until we have these next two resignations,” the acting president said.
The city has been in tumult since the leak of an hourlong conversation between three council members and a local labor leader over the weekend, prompting calls for their resignations from a long list of political leaders including President Joe Biden.
Biden was visiting Los Angeles Thursday and repeated his earlier endorsement of Rep. Karen Bass, who is running for mayor of America's second-largest city against billionaire developer Rick Caruso.
In the leaked recording, the three can be heard using racist remarks while they discuss redistricting and ways to dilute the power of Black Angelenos.
Martinez at one point used a racist slur to describe the Black son of a fellow council member. The news has mobilized hundreds of angry protesters, who earlier this week swarmed LA City Hall with calls for justice, resulting in one meeting, on Tuesday, adjourning early.