Acting Council President Mitch O’Farrell to strip Cedillo, De León of their committee posts

Acting Los Angeles City Council President Mitch O’Farrell said Monday that he will remove Councilmembers Kevin de León
and Gil Cedillo from an array of committee assignments.

With Cedillo and De León refusing to step down, O’Farrell said he is taking them off of committees that deal with real estate development, homelessness, housing and other issues.

The announcement was only the latest example of fallout surrounding the racist comments heard in a conversation that was secretly recorded between Cedillo, De León, then-Council President Nury Martinez and a high-level labor official, who has since resigned.

O’Farrell has said in recent days that he is determined to bring stability to City Hall, where one councilmember has already resigned and calls have been growing for Cedillo and De León to depart as well. At the same time, he made clear that he and others have not been successful in persuading those two to step aside.

The council is scheduled to meet Tuesday to select a new president — a position O’Farrell has already said he does not want. But one of the people seeking that post, Councilmember Paul Krekorian, tested positive for the coronavirus over the weekend. An aide to Krekorian said he currently expects to attend the meeting, since it will be held via Zoom and he is experiencing only cold-like symptoms.

De León had spent the last year presiding over the council’s homelessness and poverty committee, which has been grappling with the city’s response to the homelessness crisis. He also had been serving on the powerful Budget and Finance Committee.

Cedillo, who leaves office in December, has been the chair of the housing committee and also sat on the committee that reviews and approves major development projects.

De León and Cedillo have given no indication in recent days that they intend to resign in the wake of The Times reporting on the leaked audio, which was recorded during a meeting at the Los Angeles County Federation of Labor headquarters in October 2021.

In that recording, Martinez made racist remarks about Councilmember Mike Bonin and his son, who is Black. She also used a profanity while discussing Dist. Atty. George Gascón, saying that he is “with the Blacks.”