Kevin De Len, LA City Councilmember, refuses to resign despite Biden’s insistence

Kevin De León, the Los Angeles City councilmember who is one of the central figures of an audio leak in which former council president Nury Martinez is heard passing racist remarks, has refused to resign from his position. The 55-year-old made this comment in a television interview which was transcribed by Noticiero Univision. De León’s decision comes in the wake of US President Joe Biden urging all councilmembers who were heard in the clip to resign from their positions.

In the interview, De León further said, “I’m so sorry. I am extremely sorry, and that is why I apologize to all my people, to my entire community, for the damage caused by the painful words that were carried out that day last year”.

Also Read| Nury Martinez, Los Angeles City Council president, quits after audio leak of racist remarks

LA is currently going through a homelessness crisis and De León chose to refer to the situation as the reason behind him not resigning from his post. His comment was, “No, I will not resign, because there is a lot of work ahead”.

De León, a member of the Democratic Party, is a former leader of the California State Senate and has two years left on his term as a member of Los Angeles’ city council. He was a candidate for the city’s 2022 mayoral elections (nonpartisan), but managed to finish third in the primaries despite being endorsed by a number of influential California politicians.

Also Read| Joe Biden calls for resignation of LA city council members over racist remarks

In the audio clip that has been the centerpiece of this controversy, former council president Martinez can be heard talking about a fellow councilmember Mike Bonin: “Bonin thinks he’s f**king Black.” The clip was initially uploaded on Reddit by an anonymous user before being obtained by the Los Angeles Times.

Martinez further went on to say that Bonin “handled his young Black son as though he were an accessory.” Martinez quit her position as president before also vacating her role as a member of the city council.