| Kevin was caught on tape with several colleagues hatching an illegal gerrymandering scheme and launching an extended, racist attack against a fellow member of City Council, a white colleague whose adopted son is Black. The lowlight of that discussion was when they accused the colleague of displaying his Black son like the then-council president displays her Louis Vuitton handbag.
As a woman of color, as a mother, and as a lifelong Angeleno — I'm appalled and I'm angry.
That Kevin launched his racist tirade while plotting to illegally gerrymander our city to preserve his own power makes it all the more disgusting.
Every other city councilmember implicated in this racist, anti-democratic conspiracy has left their offices in disgrace. Not Kevin. He apparently thinks a handful of apologies — "wholly inappropriate," "short of the expectations we set for our leaders," yada yada yada — are enough for us to forget that he's unfit for office.
I haven't forgotten. Our community hasn't forgotten. And that community is why I am who I am today — and why I'm running for office.
As a housing rights attorney, I've been protecting the rights of low-income tenants and small businesses here in LA for years. My whole career, I've fought so that working people of the second largest city in America would get a fair shot, have an equal playing field, and a voice within the system.
But this isn't just my story. I could never have become a housing rights attorney, run for office, and raised my daughter as a single mom, if it weren't for the community that lifted me. My mom, aunties, friends, neighbors, and others pitched in so I could succeed and beat the odds.
When Kevin de León trashes our community with his racist rhetoric and power-fueled attempts to illegally gerrymander our electoral districts, I'm not going to sit quietly.
I'm running for office so LA City Council will no longer be synonymous with racism and corruption. Kevin is just the latest in a long line of men who, for decades, have betrayed our trust here in District 14. His predecessor resigned after being indicted on federal corruption charges and was recently sentenced to 13 years in prison.
It's time for a change. Angelenos know what we want: safe streets, affordable housing, climate action, economic justice. District 14 needs a leader who'll deliver them — who will deliver for our community, not just themselves.
I will be the leader that the people of District 14 have always deserved.
I'm a daughter of Filipino immigrants, a lifelong Angeleno, and a fierce defender of human rights, economic justice, climate equity, and safe and dignified housing.
Will you help me unseat Kevin de León so I can deliver the results for District 14 that he's failed to provide? |
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