Just hours after his term ended, former Los Angeles City Councilman Gil Cedillo released a statement Dec. 12, defending his decision not to step down from his seat over his participation in a racist 2021 conversation that involved three other officials.
Cedillo lost his re-election bid to Eunisses Hernandez in June—months before the conversation between Cedillo, fellow councilors Kevin de León and Nury Martinez, and Ron Herrera, head of the Los Angeles County Federation of Labor, was leaked.
“I refused to resign before my term ended,” Cedillo said. “That’s not who I am, and I did nothing that warranted it. My life’s work has been about fighting relentlessly for those who do not have a voice—regardless of their ethnic background.”…