It’s Time for Los Angeles Councilman Kevin de León to Take His Own Advice

Commentary

On Sunday, Oct. 9, the release of a revealing private conversation on Reddit that took place one year prior, quickly, and forcefully shook the core of the Los Angeles City Hall with revelations of its racist comments.

It was in the office of Los Angeles County Federation of Labor President Ron Herrera, with councilmembers Nury Martinez, Kevin de León, and Gil Cedillo.

Herrera immediately resigned from his prestigious and powerful elected position on Monday night, Oct. 10. Quite a dramatic exit for someone who controls the public employee unions and, therefore, controls the city council.

Council President Nury Martinez resigned from her leadership position within hours and took a “leave of absence.” However, the uproar was too visceral, and she would resign from her city council seat entirely that Wednesday.

Gil Cedillo, who failed to get reelected, refused to resign and finished his term a few weeks later in early December.

Kevin de León also refused to step down. City council meetings have been regularly interrupted by protestors demanding his resignation, whenever he was present, for the last three months. Protestors also gathered outside his district office to vent their frustrations. Before the week was over, he was stripped of his committee assignments. Requests for his resignation the following week by new Council President Paul Krekorian went unheeded.

On Oct. 26, for the first time in 111 years, the Los Angeles City Council approved two motions to censure Cedillo and de León with a 12-0 vote. The following day, frustrated residents filed a notice of intent to recall de León.

On Dec. 6, the city clerk gave the green light to allow the gathering of a minimum of 20,437 signatures from 14th District’s registered voters by March 31.

On Dec. 9, de León attended the regular city council meeting again, but left after audience members chanted for his resignation. That evening, things escalated, finding de León in a fisticuffs with an activist at a public Christmas event. On the 13th, the city council routine of coming and leaving occurred again.

Kevin de León, 55, has been on the council since 2020. He unsuccessfully challenged U.S. Senator Diane Feinstein in the 2018 election. He also made an unsuccessful run for mayor this year, not placing in the top-two in the primary.

Before this, he served in the state Assembly from 2006 to 2010 and then in the state Senate from 2010 to 2018. He was the president pro tempore when I arrived in the state Senate in March of 2015. Although we were from opposite parties, “Mr. President” and I enjoyed a cordial and professional relationship. A mutual friend, former Orange County Supervisor and State Senator Lou Correa, put in a good word for me before I arrived, which started my friendship with Kevin on a good footing.

We would characterize our relationship as that of the old cartoon characters, the sheep dog and the coyote, where they fight during working hours, but clock out and leave together as friends at the end of the day.

Sen. de León allowed me to fully participate in the “No Place Like Home” efforts, including editing original bill language, and being a joint author on Senate Bill 1206, which pursued putting the very successful Proposition 2 on the November 2018 ballot, allowing for $2 billion in funding for homeless mentally ill housing. The debt would be paid from an existing personal income tax revenue stream created by Proposition 63 in 2004.

Having had a good working relationship, let me share a few observations on his dilemma, as it has been painful for me to watch the tables turn on Mr. President. I don’t want to excuse what he has done, but I can understand his reluctance to resign after having accomplished so much in his years of public service and having risen to heights that so few achieve.

The unfortunate aspect of his stubbornly clinging on to his position is the irony of it all.

As the pro tem, he had to ask his friend and fellow colleague, Senator Tony Mendoza, to resign over an insinuation from a former female staffer about alleged misappropriate conduct. After taking a leave of absence, Mendoza, with the encouragement of the Senate Democratic Caucus, resigned. Watching de León not taking his own counsel is concerning, but also reflects an unwillingness to take what he sees as a big fall.

The pro tem was also an aggressive protestor. He detested that Hillary Clinton lost to Donald Trump in 2016 and was antagonistic towards Trump and his stated objectives, real or otherwise, at every turn. He showed his disdain through his efforts to make California a sanctuary state, being very obstinate over immigration policies and other policies coming from the White House.

The pro tem vociferously opposed my Senate Resolution 8, encouraging a peaceful transition of power on Jan. 20, 2017, with brutally hostile amendments. Now he is experiencing a taste of angry vitriol, but this time by numerous irate protestors.

Kevin de León is an expert operative who knows how to damage opponents. One easy way is to give others the impression that someone should not be in a leadership role. This was done with Senator Robert Hertzberg, emphasizing his propensity to give everyone “awkward” hugs. It was Senator Hertzberg who gave me my first hug in the Capitol. Inferring that something more diabolical was going on was unfair to a very accomplished leader like Hertzberg.

Danny Alvarez, de León’s secretary of the Senate, did something similar to me. During the long days before deadlines, when hundreds of bills need to be voted on, the Senate would work through lunch and dinner. On occasion, when our days would go into the evening hours, to break up the monotony, I would shadow box with the Sergeants at Arms as I passed by. It was good natured fun to keep us all awake. I do not recall ever touching anyone. All the same, Alvarez would send me a letter requesting me to “discontinue inappropriate touching.” It would not have gone out without de León’s approval. You can only imagine what the public employee unions did with that phrase in their campaign smear pieces against me.

Mr. President, it’s time to take your own advice for the good of the body politic. You screwed up. You were caught. And for one who knows how to soil someone else’s reputation, it’s time to move on. The outrage and the righteous anger will not blow over or go away until you do.

Views expressed in this article are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times.