"Eyes must turn towards Council President Krekorian’s colleagues if he fails to act appropriately. We cannot allow another Council President to run amok and abuse power. Two options are at the council’s disposal, censure and/or moving to select a new Council President if this one is unwilling to take the proper corrective actions necessary."
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - March 7, 2024
Contact: Rob Quan [email protected]
Repent or Resign: Response to Council President’s Illegal Political Activity
Los Angeles (March 7, 2024) - Yesterday, the LA Times reported on a press release issued by the Council President’s office touting the electoral performances of his colleagues. This included extended remarks imploring Angelenos to appreciate the merits of Krekorian’s former Chief of Staff, former Assemblymember Adrin Nazarian, who will face a runoff for Council District 2, which Krekorian is termed out of. It is stunning to see the leader of our City Council flagrantly engage in this kind of a textbook misuse of city resources.
We call upon the Ethics Commission to conduct an immediate and swift investigation into the matter. Failure to do so sends a greenlight to every city official that this type of illegal political activity is acceptable. We also invite and encourage former Assemblymember Adrin Nazarian to denounce this misuse of city resources. This is not the type of conduct the people of Council District 2, or the City of Los Angeles, expect from our elected officials.
This is yet another setback in efforts to restore trust in LA City Hall. It is particularly troubling to see this conduct come from a former Ethics Commissioner, and the leader of the council. The Council President chairs the Governance Reform Committee which is supposed to address the culture of corruption that has pervaded LA City Hall. The chair has, for the last 17 months, refused to schedule an item on ethics charter reforms which would ensure elected officials no longer view ethics laws as advisory. The Council President also holds the power to fill the only vacancy on our Ethics Commission, a body which could very well be hearing charges related to this Council President’s activity
In light of this egregious conduct, and the Council President’s enormous power over the entirety of LA City Hall, it is imperative that immediate corrective actions are taken if Council President Krekorian plans to continue in his current role leading the council. If he intends to address his wrong doing in a good faith manner and restore trust in LA City Hall, these five demands should be non-controversial:
- Enter a $1 Stipulation Agreement With Ethics: The Ethics Commission should not be forced to waste time and resources investigating and prosecuting this case. We need legal clarity now, not 2-4 years after the fact as we see all too often in this city. The Council President should be required to pay a $1 fine and clearly acknowledge his wrongdoing.
- Unequivocal Public Apology: The Council President has deeply undermined efforts to reform city hall. He must unequivocally apologize for his conduct. On top of his press release, Krekorian also offered commentary on the 2024 primary results at the beginning of Wednesday’s council meeting. In addition to a written apology, a verbal apology should be issued at the next council meeting. Lastly, Council President Krekorian must address his constituents directly on the matter, and include his written apology in the next edition of his newsletter “Our Valley News.”
- Schedule Charter Ethics Reform: The failure to hear ethics charter reforms in a timely manner essentially ensures those reforms will have no viable path towards making it onto the November ballot. The LA City Council has failed to change a single law to address corruption in the time since Councilmember Huizar’s arrest in 2020. The Council President has repeatedly expressed his plan to hear this item “soon”...for the last 17 months. This item must receive a prompt hearing, with sufficient notice, to ensure adequate time for public input.
- Update Laws re: Illegal Political Activity: This misuse of city resources, position, and title is merely one instance of many we have seen over recent years, or even the final week of the primary. Council President Krekorian must introduce a motion asking the Ethics Commission to report back with comprehensive recommendations for modernizing our ethics code to ensure that city officials and the public have absolute clarity on what is and isn’t acceptable political activity, including with newer forms of communication like email and social media.
- Require In Person Ethics Training: As Councilmember Hutt recently suggested to LAist we must overhaul the practices used to conduct regular ethics training for city officials and require this training be done in person. The current system has little accountability, and it appears as though many of our elected officials are checked out while they participate in their training.
Eyes must turn towards Council President Krekorian’s colleagues if he fails to act appropriately. We cannot allow another Council President to run amok and abuse power. Two options are at the council’s disposal, censure and/or moving to select a new Council President if this one is unwilling to take the proper corrective actions necessary.
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