Mayor's new emergency order runs up against an unresolved problem chaos
0It was the first major policy announcement from the new administration of Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass — a declaration of a state of emergency aimed at providing immediate relief to thousands of unhoused residents. That declaration needs a City Council vote on Tuesday before going into effect, a simple enough task in a quieter political moment. Except the council has one meeting left until mid-January, and has been struggling to conduct its business amid a scandal surrounding Councilmember Kevin de León. De León faces a furor over his participation in a conversation featuring racist remarks and, more recently, a violent incident involving protesters at an Eastside toy giveaway, which has only intensified the powder keg atmosphere at City Hall. He plans to attend Tuesday’s meeting, all but guaranteeing there will be a show of force from demonstrators who have demanded that all council meetings be canceled until he steps down. Several organizations, including Black Lives Matter-Los Angeles and the Los Angeles Tenants Union, urged their supporters on Monday to show up for the meeting. Ricci Sergienko, co-founder of the activist group known as the People’s City Council, pointed out that even President Biden called for De León’s resignation after the secretly recorded conversation became public.“The city cannot move forward with him on the council, ” Sergienko said. An aide to Bass declined to comment. Council President Paul Krekorian, who has endorsed Bass’ emergency declaration, said the council would continue to carry out its work.“We will not be deterred by any distractions or any disturbances or any disruptions, ” he said. The emergency declaration would give Bass greater power to spend money on facilities and programs to aid the city’s unhoused population — without council approval or a bidding process. Still, it is not the only big issue facing the council on its final day before winter break. Also on the agenda is a vote on whether to keep Krekorian as president. Until that decision is made — and the public has the opportunity to weigh in — the meeting will be run by City Clerk Holly Wolcott, who will have to respond to any disruptions in the audience. Complicating matters further, some council members walked out the last time De León showed up. If too many of them pursue that strategy this time around, the council will not have enough members for a quorum. The calls for De León to resign began in October after The Times’ coverage of year-old audio featuring him and three others — then-Councilmembers Nury Martinez and Gil Cedillo and Ron Herrera, then-head of the county Federation of Labor. On the recording, Martinez said then-Councilmember Mike Bonin handled his young son as though he were an “accessory” and said the child was “parece changuito, ” or “like a monkey. ”Bonin is white and his son is Black. De León appeared to compare Bonin’s handling of his child to Martinez holding a luxury handbag.
All data is taken from the source: http://latimes.com
Article Link: https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2022-12-12/bass-city-hall-chaos
#council #newsnow #newsworldwide #bbcnewsworld #newstodaylocal #newstodayoncnn #