Kevin de León, In Contentious CNN Interview, Defends Decision To Stay On Los Angeles City Council

13.12.2022 - 21:25 / deadline.com

Embattled Los Angeles City Councilman Kevin de León defended his decision not to resign, as colleagues continue to shun him and, last week, he got into a physical altercation with an activist at a community event.

De León told CNN that he planned to attend a council meeting on Tuesday, even though proceedings have been interrupted and even delayed as activists shout calls for him to step down.

“Let me say this Kate, and let me be very clear about this: In a democracy voters make the decision, not folks who are in the peanut gallery, or political pundits, or even my own colleagues,” he said.

He also addressed members of the council who walked out of the meeting last week, as he made his first appearance in the chamber since October.

“Tens of millions of Americans go to work every single day with folks that they don’t like. But you know what they do? They get up and they go to work. They don’t have the luxury that some folks do when they want to walk out.”

De León has refused widespread calls for him to resign, ever since the revelation of a leaked 2021 conversation he had with then-City Council President Nury Martinez, Councilman Gil Gedillo and Los Angeles labor leader Ron Herrera. During their conversation, Martinez was heard making racist remarks about the child of another council member, Mike Bonin, while de León makes a joke about Martinez’s comparison of Bonin’s Black son to a fashion accessory.

Martinez resigned from the council, and Herrera stepped down as president of the Los Angeles County Federation of Labor. Cedillo lost a bid for reelection earlier this year.

De León told CNN’s Kate Bolduan “if you don’t think I’m profoundly sorry for participating in that meeting, and for not standing up and shutting