LOS ANGELES (KNX) — In a television interview Wednesday, Kevin de León said he “will not resign” from his seat on Los Angeles City Council.
“I’m so sorry. I am excessively sorry and that is why I apologize to all my people, to my entire community, for the damage caused by the painful words that were carried out that day last year,” de León told Noticiero Univision anchor León Krauze. The interview, recorded at Univision 34’s Westside Los Angeles studio, aired at 3:30 p.m. P.T.
“No, I will not resign because there is a lot of work ahead,” he continued.
In a second interview Wednesday — live on CBS2 — the councilman was asked how he plans to rejoin the council's order of business for meetings.
"I have to do the hard work. I have to regain the trust of my colleagues. It won't be easy," de León said. "The past week I’ve taken a lot of reflection with my staff and my closest friends. It’s been very, very painful."
Asked whether he's being selfish by staying put, he said, "It’s not about me. it’s about Council Dristrict 14," saying the district has been overlooked and underrepresented.
When pressed on why he failed to say anything about the racist nature of the leaked conversation, de León pushed back, arguing he made a "verbal note" after the meeting to colleague Gil Cedillo — the third councilmember on that tape also facing calls step down. De León insisted he told Cedillo that he was "shocked by the words that came out of Nury's mouth," asserting he has not spoken to [Nury] Martinez since her resignation.
"I will always be sorry for not stepping up, not stopping the meeting, not shutting it down and condemning it right then and there," he continued.
Although the 55-year-old politician has held elected office as a member of the California State Assembly, a California state senator, and a Los Angeles City Councilman for roughly 16 years, he further justified his standstill by the homelessness crises. De León claimed he could not resign because he had more work ahead to address the housing plague.
But his claim stands in stark contrast to the record his colleagues remember, particularly Mike Bonin, whose Black son was subjected to racist comments on the leaked recordings.
In a Twitter thread posted Wednesday before the interviews were taped or aired, Councilman Mike Bonin condemned the “enourmous power” wielded by de León, Gil Cedillo, and Nury Martinez, saying it was “often used to the detriment of people in Los Angeles” to prop up the status quo and consolidate power.
Bonin said in 2021, he and Nithya Raman proposed seven requirements to standardize homeless outreach, ensuring “programs were focused on helping people off the streets and not pushing them from one block to the next.”
“Kevin refused to schedule it in [the] Homelessness & Povery Committee,” Bonin wrote.
A separate proposal to create a Commission on Lived Experience with Homelessness — to include the voices of those affected — failed when de León “adamantly refused to schedule” the motion, Bonin said.
“He said he didn’t see the need,” Bonin lamented.
Following the TV interview, Bonin called de León's comments "gaslighting of the highest order."
Los Angeles City Councilman Paul Koretz told KNX News’ Rob Archer he believes de León needs to leave now before things get worse.
“I think the longer he delays the inevitable the worse it will likely get and so hopefully he will realize that at some point and resign and maybe in a few years he might be able to make a political comeback,” he commented.
Hernan Molina, a political analyst for Estrella TV, said de León will more than likely struggle to get anything done due to his comments.
"Nobody's gonna want to work with him," Molina explained. "...Any motion that he tries to spearhead or at least tag along with another council member, no one's will want to add his name to it."
In a statement, City Council President Paul Krekorian said, "Apologies will not be nearly enough to undo the damage that this city has suffered … The only way we can begin to heal as a city is for Mr. De León to take responsibility for his actions, accept the consequences, and step down. I believe Mr. De León has it in him to be a better person than we heard on that tape, but apologizing is not the same as making amends. We need to show the world that there is no seat for racism, exclusion, and disrespect on the Los Angeles City Council.”
De León has two years left in his four-year City Council term representing District 14., representing Boyle Heights, downtown Los Angeles, and Eagle Rock, where protestors and activists have staged a 24-hour encampment demanding his resignation outside his home.
With a salary of $224,000 a year, Los Angeles City council members rake in more than any other council members in the state, all of the California legislature, and more than most of the U.S. Congress.
Follow KNX News 97.1 FM
Twitter | Facebook | Instagram | TikTok
Related
Related
Related
