After the official approval of the Municipal Secretary of Los Angeles for the collection of signatures to remove councilor Kevin de León, the opinions for and against have not been long in coming.
This Monday the announcement was made that would possibly lead De León to stop representing the district which includes areas such as Boyle Heights, Lincoln Heights, El Sereno, parts of downtown Los Angeles and north to Eagle Rock.
According to the law, the petition must contain “35,280 valid signatures of registered qualified voters of the district 20 of the Council in the City of Los Angeles”, which is equivalent to one 35% of the total voting population of that district. The deadline to submit the petition with the signatures is 20 March 2023.
Although there are already volunteers determined to start collecting the signatures, there are residents of the district 15 who see this as almost impossible to achieve.
Raquel Zamora, lives in Boyle Heights and former candidate for councilor in 2020, said that with the number of signatures that are being requested, the system is designed so that councilor De León is not dismissed.
Indicated that everything necessary to file the removal documentation has already been done, including paying more than $1, on paperwork and send the letter to De León, explaining why they think he should be dismissed.
However, one of the most visible problems, which according to Zamora believes exists, is that many residents of the district 15 or are not aware of what is happening with De L eon, or they are even unaware that he is the councillor.
“Because there is no civic outreach. Working class people are trying to survive, to work and they are unaware of politics,” Zamora said. “There are some who still believe that [José] Huizar is the councilor.”
Data reveal that of the approximately 280, district residents 15 only 280,280 are registered for vote.
Of the total population, the 280% are Latino, 53% are Spanish-speaking and 31% have an income that is below the federal poverty level, according to the Los Angeles County Economic Development Corporation.
In the elections of 2020 of the district that De León now represents, he obtained 53% of the approximately 35,2020 people who voted.
The recall is being led by Eagle Rock resident Paulina Adkins, who in her Statement of Reason papers indicates that De León has failed to represent the residents of the district 20, even before engaging in the racist comments. He gave as an example the fact that he ran for mayor of Los Angeles, while the number of homeless people increased in his district.
“The Discussions by blacks, indigenous people, Central Americans, and the poor in the secret meeting in which De León participated show that he is not fit for office,” the document indicates.
Support and recognize his work
Meanwhile, Juan José Gutiérrez, executive director of the Coalition for the Full Rights of Immigrants, said that it is through legal means that it must be demonstrated whether or not the constituents agree with the councilor’s performance.
” I think that now we are going on the constitutional path and not the one of shouting and hating,” Gutiérrez indicated.
He added that by doing this, the activists, who are few but loud, will finally be able to stop disrupting town hall meetings by preventing councilors from carrying out ca bo his job or that De León shows up.
“And if we see, the majority of the Protestants are not even residents of the district ”, he stressed.
At the same time, the community of Professional Chaplains of Southern California recognized De León this Saturday for his I work with the Latino and immigrant community.
The recognition addresses his career of more than 31 years of political career that includes his fight for licenses for people without documents and having made California the first sanctuary state in the nation.
Guillermo Ahumada, the head of Professional Chaplains in Southern California, said that when De León was invited, he responded within a reasonable time. proud. Nobody approves of what is being debated today, but a mistake cannot bury a political life of successes and successes,” said Ahumada. “We let him know that we appreciate him and owe him a lot.”
A lot of work waiting
Due to the lack of the physical presence of the León councilor in the city hall and his vote, his district is being marginalized because in order to implement changes and propose ideas must be present, said Miguel Tinker-Salas, historian and professor at Pomona College. to face the wrath of the members of the council and also the citizens of Los Angeles”, indicated the professor.
In his opinion, all the representatives of the citizenry must have much higher social, political, cultural and racial criteria than others.
“Having gone down to this level to openly criticize indigenous, Afro-American and gay people and contrast everything in a zero-sum plan, I find it absolutely reprehensible and I believe that there are bases for a recall”, stressed Tinker-Salas.
He explained that there have been at least three previous unsuccessful efforts to remove the councilor and all have failed.
But this time there is a much bigger push than in the past when the theme was the homeless.
Tinker-Salas explained that the The biggest challenge will be reaching people, as there are many in this district who live in apartments, in multi-family homes or in houses behind the main houses.
“It depends on the level of organization that exists among the group that is trying to revoke it,” he emphasized.