Member-only story
A Scandal Plagued City Council
Pure Selfishness
Voters have already selected his replacement but Los Angeles City Councilman Gil Cedillo still ignores calls for his immediate resignation.
“Clearly, I should have intervened.”
- Gil Cedillo
The public airing of Gil Cedillo’s participation in a conversation steeped in racism has resulted in his eviction from the halls of power. Angry crowds have prevented him from participating in City Council meetings and his colleagues have stripped him of his committee assignments. The councilman is unable to represent his constituents in any meaningful way.
Not only has Cedillo been made politically impotent, but he has also abandoned his public platform. The representative has been silent, with his spokesman stating that “Councilmember Cedillo is at a place of reflection.”
Unlike Nury Martinez and Kevin De Leon, his fellow councilmembers who were involved in the racist conversation, Cedillo has a replacement waiting in the wings. Voters in the June primary had already made clear that they were ready to move on from their representative since 2013. Eunisses Hernandez beat the incumbent by a margin of 2,408 votes and is set to assume office in December. Cedillo’s resignation would allow the rest of the council to appoint her to the seat immediately. The residents of District 1 would be represented again during city business.
Cedillo has a long history as a “public servant,” having taken his first office, a seat in the California State Assembly, in 1998. His already tarnished reputation is only made worse by his refusal to put the public that he serves first and resign. This would leave him plenty of time for reflection.
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Carl Petersen is a parent advocate for students with special education needs and public education. He was elected to the Northridge East Neighborhood Council and is the Education Chair. As a Green Party candidate in LAUSD’s District 2 School Board race, he was endorsed by Network for Public Education (NPE) Action. Dr. Diane Ravitch has called him “a valiant fighter for public schools in Los Angeles.” For links to his blogs, please visit www.ChangeTheLAUSD.com. Opinions are his own.
