The governor of California hopes that there will be announcements soon about the departure of the two Los Angeles councilors; Newsom was questioned at the end of the debate he had this Sunday in San Francisco
California Governor Gavin Newsom joined the voices this Sunday calling for the resignation of Councilmembers Kevin de León and Gil Cedillo from their positions on the Los Angeles City Council.
After participating in an election debate in San Francisco, when asked if De León and Cedillo should resign because of their connection to a recording of a talk with racist comments, Newsom replied: “I think they should.”
“I was very clear with (former City Council President Nury Martínez) that she did the right thing, and I think others should do the same. She wanted to give them the opportunity to justify… what they said and the opportunity to be transparent about what they said. So we expect announcements soon, “said the governor.
The October 2021 conversation between De León, Cedillo, Martínez and Ron Herrera, former president of the Los Angeles County Federation of Labor, included racist comments and discussions of favorable redistricting schemes. Both Martínez and Herrera resigned days after the audio was made public.
Initially, Newsom did not ask for resignations. He said words mattered and racist language could do a lot of damage.
Last week, both De Leon and Cedillo were removed from various Council assignments, leaving the Homeless and Poverty and Housing committees without chairs.
However, the two councilors have ignored calls for them to resign. De León said earlier this week that he does not plan to resign, and a spokesman for Cedillo mentioned Wednesday that the councilman remained in a place of reflection.
Newsom joins voices across the country, including President Joe Biden, in calling for everyone involved in the publicly disclosed controversial talk to resign.