LA council’s racist talk shows elected officials should not be in charge of redistricting

Yes, racism reared its ugly and stupid head during a 2021 conversation among three high-ranking Los Ángeles City Councilmembers and a top union official – all Latinos – and the condemnation has been swift, from President Biden down to the city’s Oaxacan community.

Council President Nury Martínez, the first Latina to serve as council president, resigned from her $207,000 job on Wednesday. Ron Herrera, head of the L.A. Federation of Labor, resigned Monday night.

Councilmembers Kevin de León, who lost his bid for mayor this year, and Gil Cedillo have apologized for their remarks during the conversation that was recorded and obtained by the Los Ángeles Times on Sunday. Both, like Martínez, are former state lawmakers who still carry clout within Latino politics.

Many have weighed in on the racism that exists in the Latino community against Afro Latinos and Mexican Indigenous. It remains a major problem that needs to be addressed.

Having said all this, my intent is not to dwell on racial relations. That is something this publication has written about, starting with a 1990s report on how Oaxacans are discriminated against at home and then again when they migrate to the United States.

What will result from the leaked audio will be real redistricting reform. It took the leak to reveal what public officials have said privately about drawing district maps that consolidate their power.

“It serves us to not give (Eunisses Hernández) all of K-Town, because if you do, that solidifies her renters’ district, and that is not a good thing for any of us. You have to keep her on the fence,” Martinez said.

Hernández, who was endorsed by civil rights icon Dolores Huerta, defeated Cedillo in June. She’ll take her seat in December.

De León – who was once the most powerful state Senator as the first Latino in 131 years to serve as president of that chamber – chimed in that what the four were discussing was “for Latino strength for the foreseeable future.”

The 15 members of the LA City Council do not draw the boundaries of their districts, but like many other public entities in the state they do get the final word.

The city’s 21-member redistricting commission turned in its recommendations last fall, but the council ignored those maps and instead made their own changes.

It’s too soon to know whether that 2021 conversation to maintain Latino political power resulted in the new maps. That is for state Attorney General Rob Bonta to determine.

He announced an investigation into that process.

“The redistricting process is foundational for our democracy and for the ability of our communities to make their voices heard. And it must be above reproach,” said Bonta.

“Given these unique circumstances, my office is going to investigate. We’re going to gather the facts. We’re going to work to determine the truth and take action as necessary to ensure the fair application of our laws.”

It’s sad it took a leaked recording to spur Bonta into action.

Supervisors throughout the heavily Latino San Joaquín Valley had a similar playbook: Go through the motions of listening to community members, accept recommendations made by county redistricting commissions, then scuttle them with last-minute introductions of their own district maps that looked very similar to previous ones despite major demographic changes over the last 10 years.

It took state lawmakers to force Fresno, Kern and Riverside counties to employ independent redistricting commissions next time, much like the counties of Los Ángeles, Santa Bárbara, San Diego, and San Francisco already use.

The Latino Caucus of California Counties sent a letter last December to Bonta expressing concern that county supervisors in Merced and San Luis Obispo were violating the California Fair Maps Act in their redistricting process.

The Dolores Huerta Foundation, which used its own mapping expert to help community groups draw their favored supervisorial maps, threatened lawsuits if new maps did not acknowledge the growth of the Latino population. No lawsuits have been filed.

Perhaps the LA City Council fiasco will finally take the map-drawing process away from those in power.

By the way, I was in Los Ángeles in October 2014 when de León took the oath as state Senate Pro Tem from the California Chief Justice as a female mariachi and Korean drummers performed at the Walt Disney Concert Hall.

De León promoted a future of inclusiveness. It’s sad that a Latino leader who broke barriers took part in a conversation that tried to put hurdles in front of other people of color.

Esta historia fue publicada originalmente el 13 de octubre de 2022, 0:07 p. m..