Concern over potential impact City Council scandal could have on Latino representation
Some political experts have expressed concerns that the image left behind by those involved in the scandal surrounding Los Angeles City Council could have a longstanding negative impact on the future of Latino representation in Southern California.
The scandal made headlines on Sunday, when audio of a racially-charged conversation involving LA Council President Nury Martinez, Councilmen Gil Cedillo and Kevin de León, and Ron Herrera, president of the L.A. County Federation of Labor, was released to the public. During the conversation, racist statements against a litany of different ethnicities and groups could be heard, prompting the resignation of both Martinez and Herrera, and calls for the other two involved to follow suit and step down.
"For the constituents of those districts, it it is very worrisome to lose representation. Their voices, their votes," said Dr. Fernando Guerra, a political science professor at Loyola Marymount University.
He's among the many concerned by potential impact the scandal could have on the Latino community and their representative voices.
Should Cedillo and De León offer their resignation, there could be a massive gap in representation in their communities, meaning a loss of influence on education, economic and health policies.
"It is devastating because they want representation in the community, the want a voice, they want pride, they want respect and they hear their leadership absolutely letting them down, and perpetuating, maybe, stereotypes in other people's minds around Latino power." Mindy Romero, Founder of USC's Center for Inclusive Democracy.
She believes that the scandal, which she referred to as a "violation of betrayal" will undoubtedly put future Latino representatives under a microscope. She's also concerned that the leaked audio could provide additional ammunition to those politicians who believe race should not be considered in LA's redistricting process, also being scrutinized as a result of the leaked audio, which could in the long run put the representation it's intended for at risk.
"There has been a horrific, one reason at least, a horrific history in our country, right, gerrymandering of districts to deliberately exclude communities of color and other interest groups. So you bring, you make sure that groups like the Latino community are represented. But what we hear in this recording is not a fair approach to representation," she said. "It is representation at the deliberate, even cruel, expense of others, which, of course, many in the Latino community would never want to see in LA, and beyond."
Guerra said only time will tell whether the incident will weaken coalitions between Latinos and other communities. He does, however, say that Latino and Black relations in Los Angeles are stronger than most other major cities in America, something that has been evidenced by the outpouring of support in recent days.
"This scandal, I think, shows that. It shows it not with what happened on that recording, but by the reaction, the overwhelming condemnation of these remarks by the Latino community," he said. "Latino leadership has been overwhelming, and it shows that there's absolutely no room for anti-Black racism."
While Cedillo is already set to step down in less than two month's time, after losing his seat to Eunisses Hernandez during the Primary Elections, research shows that voters in De León and Martinez's districts will likely elect another Latino representative.
