LA City Council meeting: Councilmembers call for censure of colleagues while protestors cause delay
In the first Los Angeles City Council meeting since leaked audio revealed several council members, including President Nury Martinez, hurling a number of racially-charged comments around in an Oct. 2021 conversation, protestors caused such a scene that a lengthy recess was called to regain control.
Slated to begin at 10 a.m., the regularly-scheduled meeting began with an impassioned speech from Councilman Mike Bonin, whose two-year-old Black son was targeted by a number of racist comments.
"These people stabbed us and shot us and cut the spirit of Los Angeles. It gave the beatdown to the heart and the soul of the city. But before anything else in the world, I'm a dad who loves his son in ways that words cannot capture. And I take a lot of hits, and I practically invite a bunch of them. But my son? Man, that makes my soul bleed and it makes by temper burn," he said, calling for the resignation of all parties involved.
As Councilman Mitch O'Farrell, acting in Martinez's role as president after being voted as the council's pro tempore in 2021, was unable to progress the meeting as outraged protestors shouted over his words, prompting him to call for the recess.
"What will be their role in helping us heal?" he asked once the meeting finally got underway. "Can that healing happen if they remain around this horseshoe? ... I believe it can not."
On Monday, Martinez announced that she would be stepping down from her role as council president, but still planned to hold her seat on the council. Early Tuesday morning, prior to the beginning of the council meeting, she also announced a leave of absence from LA City Council to "take some time to have an honest and heartfelt conversation with my family, my constituents, and community leaders."
Once the meeting was able to get underway, nearly half of the council members called for the censure of those involved in the released recording, Martinez and Councilmen Kevin de León and Gil Cedillo, the latter two of whom were in attendance for the meeting on Tuesday. They both left during the protests.
Los Angeles County Federation of Labor President Ron Herrera, also heard in the conversation, resigned from his position on Monday.
The motion was signed by council members Bonin, Marqueece Harris-Dawson, Nithya Raman, Bob Blumenfield, Paul Koretz, Heather Hutt and O'Farrell. It states that the comments made in the recording "exposed layers of contempt for the people of
Los Angeles and a cynical, ugly desire to divide the city rather than unite and serve it," also referring to the conversation as "vile, abhorrent, disgraceful and demonstrates a culture of corruption in our Council Chambers. It is unbefitting of any public office."
According to LA's city charter, members can be censured by a two-thirds vote if they conduct actions that "constitute a gross failure to meet such high standards, even if the action does not constitute a ground for removal from office under the Charter."
With full attendance, the council would need 10 members to vote to censure Martinez, de León and Cedillo.
In the wake of the leaked audio, several prominent political figures, including Mayor Eric Garcetti and mayoral candidates Rep. Karen Bass and Rick Caruso have called for the resignation of the council members on the recording.
On Tuesday, President Joe Biden joined the ranks of officials urging members to step down.
The crowds outside of City Hall were so large, that Main Street was closed for hours as they continued to peacefully protest.
"Many of them Oaxacan, indigenous, immigrants, many of them African American, and all of them impacted by the racism and the hatred expressed by these three city council leaders," said Cliff Smith, one of the many protestors present outside of City Hall.
Even in a predominantly Democratic city, it appeared that everyone was quick to condemn the abhorrent actions of the council members heard in the recording
"I'm a Conservative Republican, and I am deeply concerned about the institutional racism that is taking place, particularly in City Hall," said Eric Layain, another protestor. "I'm out here demonstrating against exactly that type of thing."
Protestors hoped that the showing of unity between Black and Latino communities, both targeted in the leaked audio, could prevent decades of work from falling apart.
"Here as the community, we need to save Black and Brown unity," said one protestor. "It takes unity to build community, and together we will be the example the city needs."