Almost two years ago, in October of 2022, a secretly recorded conversation between three members of the Los Angeles City Council and a prominent union leader went public, sparking an explosive scandal that reverberates to this day.
The conversation, which was tinged with casual racism, centered on how to manipulate the redistricting process to best serve their own interests to the disadvantage of Black residents.
Only one councilmember who was in that room remains on the council: Kevin de León, who’s currently fighting for his political life in the 14th Council District race. De León joined KNX News’ new daily political show Countdown 2024 for a live half-hour discussion.
Listen here:
During the leaked conversation in question, de León compared Black political power in the city to the “Wizard of Oz,” implying that Black people have more representation than they should. He also disparaged his white colleague Mike Bonin as the council’s “fourth Black member” and accused him of using his adopted Black son as a prop, likening the toddler to a luxury handbag.
But de León pushed back on the “false narrative” that the often blatantly racist conversation was about manipulating the redistricting process to diminish the power of certain racial groups, insisting that it was actually about “making sure that the Voting Rights Act was respected among people of color.”
De León said the fallout of the scandal was a “painful journey” for him.
“The death threats, the people screaming and yelling at you, the physical assaults, being spat on,” he said. “It was painfully difficult. It was unlike anything that I've ever experienced before.”
He said he “did a lot of healing” with ministers and pastors and had conversations with residents in his district. As for whether the ordeal changed him as a person, he said, “Well, let me say this, I have the same values and the same principles.”
De León is running for reelection against tenants rights attorney Ysabel Jurado, who narrowly beat him in the primary. He said the contrast between his campaign and his opponent’s “couldn’t be bigger,” citing Jurado’s support for criminal justice reform.
“Ultimately, at the end of the day, she wants to abolish the police, and I'm saying we need to support the police,” he said.
Jurado’s official campaign platform doesn’t call for abolishing the police.
When asked to describe the best thing about his opponent, de León replied, “I don’t know her at all. I've never heard of my opponent in my entire life.” He also accused her of being “put up as a candidate” by the Democratic Socialists of America, which endorsed her last September.
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