Currently, the LA City Council consists of 14 council member: three Blacks, two Asian-Americans, four Whites, one Armenian-American, and four Latinos. District 6 is currently vacant after the resignation of Nury Martinez. Thomas A. Saenz, president and general counsel of the Mexican American Legal Defense Education Fund shares how common it is for Latinos to face under-representation when it comes to positions of leadership in LA.
Tag: Los Angeles City Council
Posted inOpinion
COMMENTARY: Why I Did Not Resign from LA City Council
Gil Cedillo explains why he didn’t resign as a member of the Los Angeles City Council after being caught up in the leaked audio scandal that led to the resignation of former Council President Nury Martinez and calls for Council Member Kevin de León to step down, too.
Posted inOpinion
EDITORIAL: CEDILLO, DE LEÓN must apologize by leaving City Council
Nury Martínez has resigned, shamefully without an apology. Now Kevin de León and Gil Cedillo must also resign from the Los Angeles City Council. Councilman Bonin was correct when he stated this week that the shameful trio should have resigned first and then apologized.
Posted inOpinion
COMMENTARY: Nury Martinez should embrace Oaxacan culture
In this current political scandal, we have five prominent Mexican-Americans in positions of influence nearly unprecedented historically, given the racist legacy of a past LA dominated by Anglo Americans. If those present did not directly insult the Oaxacans, they at the very least entertained language disparaging them. Such Oaxacan peoples are among the most culturally resilient in world history – and yet intrinsically linked to the national identities of modern Mexican people and their American counterparts. This is the historic legacy bestowed upon those officials, too.