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Los Angeles City Council racism leaks finally catch up with Kevin de Leon
In November 2018, Kevin de Leon’s opposition bid for the U.S. Senate ended in defeat to legendary and groundbreaking San Francisco politician Dianne Feinstein.
At the time, Mr. de Leon was finishing his term in the state Senate, had risen to the position of president pro tempore, and had the backing of the California Democratic Party.
He received just over 5 million votes, and the future looked bright for the relatively young (then 51) but experienced lawmaker.
As of Saturday morning, Mr. de Leon had received just over 28,000 votes and is likely to lose the small but important Los Angeles City Council District 14 race. He conceded on Friday.
His likely defeat comes amid a murky turn in Los Angeles politics surrounding his involvement in the November 2022 Los Angeles City Council audio leak that included racist comments and insults against Black people, Oaxacans, Jews, Armenians and others. It would bring the chapter to a close. A review of the city’s redistricting process to favor Latino residents was also detailed.
Within days, City Council President Nury Martinez and L.A. County Federation of Labor President Ron Herrera resigned, and within weeks Councilman Gil Cedillo resigned after losing his re-election campaign.
Mr. de Leon was the only survivor and was not re-elected for more than a year. However, he ultimately did not advance to a second term, leaving his once impressive career in flux.
De León championed increasing political power for Latinos, but ended up reducing that power.
My colleagues David Zahnizer and Dakota Smith elaborated on a familiar theme throughout de Leon’s campaign: the persistence and expansion of Latino power.
De Leon was heard on the recording saying she wanted to make sure her East Side neighborhood “remained Latino” after she was gone. He lamented the lack of political influence wielded by Latinos in Los Angeles, especially when compared to the black community.
Ironically, his defeat in Tuesday’s election, which ended his four-year term, means Latinos will only hold four of the 15 seats on the City Council, which represents about half of the city’s population.
Tenant rights attorney Isabel Jurado declared victory over Mr. de Leon on Thursday, widening his lead by double digits in a district that stretches from downtown to Eagle Rock. She will be the first Filipino-American to serve on the City Council.
Jurado’s victory means the 14th District, which includes neighborhoods with large Mexican-American populations such as Boyle Heights and El Sereno, will have no Latino representation for the first time since 1985.
Eastside just wanted to distance itself from the scandal.
Jurado said her victory allows the city to “finally close this chapter in Los Angeles’ history and move beyond its past record.”
Throughout his campaign, Jurado grilled de León over his participation in secretly recorded conversations that took place in 2021 and became public in 2022.
De León apologized for things he said and didn’t say during the conversation when he was running for re-election in 2022. But in legal filings, he opened up, saying he “never made any comments that were even remotely offensive.”
Jurado said he disagreed with de León’s emphasis on strengthening Latino power, saying it “sowed the seeds of racial division.”
candidates who represented them
Jurado, the daughter of undocumented immigrants, said her story of growing up in Highland Park, becoming a single mother at age 18 and relying on food stamps resonated throughout the district.
“We built a big tent, and it was a coalition of multigenerational, multiracial, multiethnic people, and it really reflected my background,” she said.
Councilman Hugo Sotomartínez, who campaigned for Jurado, said he spoke about issues that Latinos care about, including the need for “good union jobs.”
“Her immigration story resonated with the Latinx community,” he says.
Read the report to learn more about this developing story.
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He groomed, hugged, shook hands and mingled with legends and politicians. Los Angeles City Councilman Kevin de Leon was in full campaign mode two days before Tuesday’s election, when voters will decide whether he deserves a second term. The setting was not a restaurant or a neighborhood street. It was in the VIP section at the dedication of a towering mural set featuring the late Dodgers ace Fernando Valenzuela in Boyle Heights.
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Men no longer see her as a stereotypical woman, but as an older woman who doesn’t drink or smoke and is no longer a pin-up. Meanwhile, he did not receive any winnings and was imprisoned for selling drugs. They met for dinner on their first date, when they both stepped out of their comfort zones. Read here to find out how this budding relationship evolved.
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Reporter Andrew J. Campa
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