By T. A. Hendrickson
The neighborhood councils of Eagle Rock and Highland Park will hold special meetings Monday evening to craft responses to the racist comments heard in a secretly recorded discussion among Councilmembers Gil Cedillo (Council District 1) Kevin de León (CD 14), then City Council President Nury Martinez and a former high-ranking labor union official.
The Eagle Rock Neighborhood Council will discuss sending a “letter demanding the resignations of Nury Martinez, Gil Cedillo and Kevin de León,” according to the special-meeting agenda.
The Historic Highland Park Neighborhood Council will discuss sending a letter that calls for the resignations and condemns “hateful, derogatory and racist comments from an October 21, 2021 private meeting,” according to the special-meeting agenda.
De León and Cedillo have been holding on to their council seats in the face of demands for their resignations that have only intensified since Oct. 9, when the Los Angeles Times broke the story of their participation in the backroom meeting led by Martinez, who resigned last week. The other known participant in the meeting — labor leader Ron Herrera – also resigned last week.
On Monday, acting City Council President Mitch O’Farrell said that Cedillo and De León would be stripped of their committee assignments. The move guts the effectiveness of the councilmembers, because much of the actual work of the City Council is done in committee.
The comments on the audio recording, especially those by Martinez, spare virtually no one: Black people, including the Black toddler son of Councilmember Mike Bonin, Oaxacans, Jews, Armenians, gay councilmembers and non-Hispanic white people are all disparaged.
In one part of the recording, Cedillo and De León have choice words for the Eagle Rock and Highland Park communities they were elected to represent.
“Elysian Valley is a headache. Eagle Rock is a headache. Highland Park is a headache,” said Cedillo.
“Elysian, Eagle Rock and Highland Park are white,” De León responded.
Both Cedillo and De León issued apologies following the Times’ Oct. 9 release of the audio recording. Since then, a spokesperson for Cedillo told the L.A. Times that the councilmember is “at a place of reflection.” De León has made no further public statements.
The agenda and sign-up information for the Eagle Rock Neighborhood Council special meeting on Monday, Oct. 17, at 7 p.m., are here and can also be found by scrolling down to the “Upcoming Meetings” section on the ERNC homepage at ernc.la. The agenda and sign-up info for the Historic Highland Park Neighborhood Council meeting, which is also scheduled for Monday, Oct. 17, at 7 p.m., are here and can also be found by scrolling down to the “Meeting and Events” section of the HHPNC homepage at Highlandparknc.com.
T.A. Hendrickson, a native of Eagle Rock, is the editor of the Boulevard Sentinel and a former member of the Editorial Board of the New York Times.
Cedillo and deLeon need to resign immediately for the good the the city and their constituents. It is time for an independent redrawing of districts in order to get a more honest outcome
Not only do they need to resign immediately, but Nury Martinez needs to resign her seat on the Metro board
Last week I called both the ER office of De Leon and the downtown office and could not leave a message. I finally emailed De Leon strongly urging him to resign because he is not fit to serve our community. I sure hope you can get rid of him and Cedillo.
Councilmember Gil Cedillo did nothing wrong! He said nothing racist. He lost the election and is out of office Dec. 12. Cedillo is an honest and respectful man. Sad that those he fought for their civil rights for so many years are now throwing him the bus.
Sad. Get your facts right.