good morning. Welcome to LA on the Record, City Hall’s newsletter. David Zahniser joins Dakota Smith to bring you the latest on city and county government from the past week.

Los Angeles City Council Member marquise harris dawson He was one of the first to call for the removal of city council members. kevin de leon 2 years ago.

Mr. Harris Dawson, who appeared in South Los Angeles, said Mr. de Leon ‘stripped’ him of leadership By participating in secretly recorded meetings that included crude and racist remarks.

Current City Council President Harris Dawson took a more lenient approach last week, awarding De Leon a coveted seat on the city council’s powerful Planning and Land Use Control Committee, which reviews the city’s biggest development projects. announced that he had been appointed.

Mr. de Leon’s tenure on the committee may be short-lived. He is in a fierce battle for re-election, and if he loses, he will step down in mid-December. He had already regained many of his committee seats last spring after a long political wilderness thanks to his predecessor, Harris Dawson. Paul Krekorian He too had called for his resignation.

Still, some of de León’s opponents were surprised and questioned why he was being elected again so close to an election.

“flat [Biden] I have asked him to resign.” Darrell Goodpresident of the NAACP Santa Monica Venice Branch, attended an event in front of City Hall to commemorate the second anniversary of the audio leak. “So why would the City Council president appoint him to that committee knowing that he is causing fear in the black community?”

De Leon said through a spokesperson that he is focused on representing the district and “working for Angelenos.”

De Leon’s gradual return to L.A. politics in the wake of the scandal has been well documented over the past year. For Harris-Dawson, it was one of the few committee nominations that drew criticism.

Harris Dawson was recently appointed to the City Council. john leerepresenting the northwest San Fernando Valley, is the new chairman of the Planning Commission, also known as PLUM. As you may recall, Mr. Lee is the subject of 10 Ethics Commission lawsuits in 2017 over gifts he was accused of receiving during a trip to Las Vegas with then-Ethics Commission members. mitchell englanderwas his boss at the time.

According to Ethics Commission investigators, these gifts were provided by businessmen and real estate developers. Englander was contacted by the FBI in 2020 and pleaded guilty to lying to investigators about the gift.

Kay Hartmanpresident of Palms Neighborhood Councilsaid Mr Lee should not have been appointed while “an ethical cloud was hanging over his head.” Her neighborhood association plans to consider issuing a letter asking for his appointment to be revoked.

“He’s already been accused of being willing to bend the rules to benefit himself and his superiors,” Hartman said.

Harris Dawson offered some thoughts on Lee’s situation a few years ago. Talk to KCRW-FM In 2021, he expressed dissatisfaction with the city council’s decision to suspend the then-council member. mark ridley thomasHe was charged with corruption. At the time, Harris-Dawson pointed out that the council had not taken similar action against Mr Lee.

“We have a sitting council member who has been involved in activities that other council members have been charged with,” Harris-Dawson said, referring to Lee and Englander’s trip to Las Vegas. “The indictment says that person was there and participated.”

(The Ethics Commission had not yet charged Lee at the time of KCRW’s interview, but released court documents suggested he was in Vegas with Englander.)

Mr. Lee has denied wrongdoing, and his ethics lawyer did not respond to inquiries from The Times.

In an email, Harris-Dawson said her comments to KCRW three years ago were part of a broader criticism of the council’s “inconsistent handling of ethical issues.” He said he still believes the council needs a better process for dealing with members who get into legal trouble.

“My focus has been, and continues to be, on Charter reform and a standardized and transparent process for addressing ethical concerns,” he said.

It’s no surprise to see Harris-Dawson working amicably with a wide range of colleagues. After all, the speaker of parliament can be removed from office with just eight votes. This is a strong incentive to maintain good relationships with as many members as possible.

Harris Dawson supported Lee’s re-election in the March 5 primary. Lee won the race brilliantly. motion Harris Dawson will be sworn in as president in May. Mr. Lee, Mr. de Leon, and 12 other city council members I voted seconded the motion.

Days before taking office on Sept. 20, Harris-Dawson said she had several “heart-to-heart conversations” with de Leon and resolved things. He acknowledged that the audio leak scandal has “left a mark,” but said he was ready to work with de Leon on behalf of Angelenos.

“When you’re elected to the city council, it’s your responsibility to work with the people the voters have sent you,” he said at the time. “So I hope that the members of the council will do that.”

Harris-Dawson announced a further series of appointments on Tuesday, naming councilors. current price He will become chairman of the council’s newly established Economic, Regional Development and Employment Committee. Like Lee, Price also faces legal troubles.

Earlier this year, Price pleaded not guilty to 10 criminal charges brought by the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office. Mr. Price voluntarily resigned from the commission when the lawsuit was first filed. Krekorian returned some of his duties to him in May, but declined to award him the chairmanship.

jamie yorkThe president of the Reseda Neighborhood Council expressed alarm at Price’s new position, where he can set the agenda on hotel subsidies, wage proposals and other economic policies. Price faces allegations that he voted for an affordable housing project in which the developer somehow employed his wife, she noted.

Giving such a powerful post to Price, who is fighting a felony charge, would undermine public trust in city government, York said.

“The message they’re sending is that they’re going to do what they want and it doesn’t matter how it looks to the world,” York said, adding that he is speaking out for himself. He added that he was not doing this, but was speaking for himself. her neighborhood association.

angelina valenciaA spokeswoman for Mr. Price pushed back on the criticism, saying his boss has a long record of supporting policies that help working families. She said the criminal case was “completely separate and unrelated.”

“In the face of pressing issues such as increasing wages for tourism workers, Los Angeles needs an experienced and seasoned leader, and Congressman Price is that leader,” she said.

State of play

— Eastside Brawl: The battle for the Eastside City Council seat continues to heat up between de Leon and his opponent, tenant rights attorney Isabel Jurado. On Sunday, Jurado’s campaign held a rally in Highland Park featuring three ultra-progressives in Congress. Nitya Raman, Hugo Soto Martinez and Eunice Hernandez — and a number of trade union leaders, including the president of the county labor federation. Two days later, a group of NAACP leaders censured de Leon and gave him an “F” grade.

De Leon announced he had won support from the Los Angeles Police Protective Alliance, a union representing about 8,800 police officers, which quickly donated more than $100,000. efforts to re-elect him. He and Jurado sparred at yet another candidate forum, one in Boyle Heights.

— Gascon in crisis: Former federal prosecutor Nathan Hockman They beat the district by 30 points. Atty. Georges Gasconaccording to a poll conducted by the Institute of Government at the University of California, Berkeley, in collaboration with the Times. According to the poll, 51% of likely voters in Los Angeles County chose Mr. Hochman, while 21% voted for Mr. Gascon and 28% were undecided.

— Mejia’s List: Gascón certainly got a boost from his corner of City Hall. city ​​controller Kenneth Mejia advised many of its social media followers to re-elect the DA as part of a larger list of voting recommendations on November 5th. Mejia, social media posts Highlighted his weightlifting talent and offered his support to Jurado, a candidate for city council. Jillian Burgos In the San Fernando Valley, john ee state legislature and david kim Especially for Congress.

— big money problems: Mejia was fired up. emoji siren Last month, he told his followers that the city is like this. go bankrupt. Tuesday, City Council members Bob Blumenfield The city issued its own stark warning, saying it ran out of money for legal payments three months into the financial year. Blumenfield echoed recent reports, saying the city’s emergency reserves are dropping below 3% of the overall budget, which he called “dangerously low.”

Blumenfield said if the provident fund drops below 2.75%, the City Council will need a two-thirds (10 of 15) vote to move money from the provident fund to pay for expenses. It is said that it will become. “You need to know that the situation is dire,” he told colleagues.

— In commemoration of one year: Mayor Karen Bass On the one-year anniversary of the Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel by Hamas militants, city leaders told the audience they are “committed to ensuring that our Jewish community always feels safe.” Appearing at the Museum of Tolerance, she assured the audience that “anti-Semitism has no place in LA.”

— A team: Things are looking brighter for Measure A, a half-cent sales tax to pay for services to Los Angeles County’s homeless population. According to the poll, the bill is close to the 50% majority needed to pass.

— Hello Highrise: The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors has taken another big step toward purchasing a downtown skyscraper. This move was again opposed by the superintendent Janice Hahn.

— high payment: The City Council approved a $3 million settlement against a former Department of Building Safety director who sued the city alleging whistleblower retaliation. Steve Ongel’s The lawsuit alleges that after he alleged fraudulent billing and other misconduct within the department, his supervisors reduced his work and then fired him.

— beginning of sentence: Former city council member Jose Huizar He began his 13-year sentence this week and turned himself in after several delays. He is currently being held at Federal Correctional Facility Lompoc II, a low-security prison for male inmates in Santa Barbara County.

— Learn more about HACLA: Lourdes Castro RamirezBass will become head of housing and homelessness at the Los Angeles Housing Authority starting December 2nd. Ramirez’s successor in Bass’ office is expected to be announced in the coming weeks. news release.

— We have a guide! Don’t forget, we have election guides for races that affect city and county government. If you want the inside story on voting strategies, city council elections, and local representative elections, this is the place to go.

quick hit

• Where is Inside Safe? The mayor’s program to combat homelessness took place Tuesday at the corner of Cesar Chavez Avenue and North Hill Place, an encampment near the high school’s Ramon C. Cortinez School of Visual and Performing Arts. focused on. A few days later, the program went to a part of Van Nuys near the airport.
• Next week’s record: The Economic, Regional Development and Employment Committee city ​​report Regarding the minimum wage increase for some tourism industry workers, including hotel workers.