LA City Councilmembers Krekorian and De León bid farewell during final meeting

The Friday, Dec. 6, Los Angeles City Council meeting was the final one for outgoing Councilmembers Paul Krekorian and Kevin de León.

The council kicked off the meeting by recognizing Krekorian – a farewell that featured the USC marching band and video highlighting work that the termed-out councilmember for the city’s 2nd District has done through the years.

In contrast, the sendoff for De León came with much less fanfare.

The outgoing councilmember for District 14 lost his bid for reelection last month and is leaving office two years after a scandal stemming from a racist-laced backroom conversation that was secretly recorded and leaked to the public — and led to widespread calls for his resignation.

De León was one of four Latino leaders in that private meeting. Though he’s apologized for not shutting down the conversation and for a “flippant remark” that he said was taken out of context, his image took a hit and he never fully recovered from it politically.

In an interview as he was leaving the Council Chamber as the council meeting was ending on Friday, De León, who turns 58 next week, said he would never rule out the possibility of running for office again – though he declined to say which office, if any, he might seek in the future.

“I’ll never close any door. I love public service. I’ve dedicated my life to public service,” he said. “Never close the door, but I think now is a time to take a really deep breath and to spend time with family, with friends, especially with loved ones.”

At the same time, De León said he anticipates a “tumultuous period” with President-elect Donald Trump returning to the Oval Office.

“I’ve always loved being in the trenches during those difficult moments, during the most controversial moments,” he said. “That’s what leaders do – they lead during the most difficult moments. … Where I’ve always excelled most is during the most difficult periods of time when there’s much tumult. … I’ll be watching it from the sidelines, but I’ll be involved in some form, way or shape.”

Friday’s council meeting began with a tribute to Krekorian, who’s been on the council for 15 years and served as its president for about the last two years, leading the council through what many of his colleagues acknowledged as a “dark period” in the aftermath of the audio leak scandal – especially in the early days when council meetings devolved into chaos as protesters packed the room and, on at least one occasion, law enforcement in riot gear were called in.

Calling his tenure “the greatest honor,” Krekorian noted that he’s served on the council through three mayors and alongside 30 or so other councilmembers and he’s seen the council work through tough times, from the Great Recession to the COVID-19 pandemic and other conflicts.

“I’m really proud that this council has turned the page … from really difficult times to very promising times … and I’m really excited to watch (the council’s) future as a civilian,” he said.

Before Krekorian spoke, three members of the public were kicked out of the meeting for allegedly being disruptive – something that’s become routine at L.A. City Council meetings. But Friday’s meeting also resulted in the arrest of one man who was escorted out after a brief struggle with sergeants in the Council Chamber.

Afterward, Council President Marqueece Harris-Dawson said it was “strangely appropriate” that Krekorian’s sendoff should be interrupted – a reference to the many occasions when protesters have disrupted meetings that Krekorian and other councilmembers have become all too familiar with.

Several councilmembers also called Krekorian the right “skipper” for steering the ship during a tumultuous period right after the backroom audio leak scandal.

Councilmember Hugo Soto-Martinez presented Krekorian with a Bobblehead of former Los Angeles Dodgers Manager Tommy Lasorda, saying that “just like the Dodgers needed the right skipper to win a championship, you were the right skipper for us at the time.”

Krekorian, an alumnus of USC, also received from Councilmember Curren Price a basketball signed by members of the USC women’s basketball team. Councilmember Bob Blumenfield, on behalf of the council, then presented Krekorian with a party-size bag of Cool Ranch Doritos – presumably a snack that the outgoing councilmember is particularly fond of. Harris-Dawson also presented Krekorian with two jerseys – a USC one and a Dodgers one – with Krekorian’s last name on them.

When Friday’s meeting started, De León did not appear to be in the Council Chamber. But he entered the room midway through the meeting after most members of the public had left.

De León reserved his farewell speech for the end of the meeting, thanking his staff as well as other city staff and his colleagues.

There was no pomp and circumstance, though several of his fellow councilmembers – Councilmembers Harris-Dawson, Imelda Padilla, Curren Price, John Lee, Traci Park and Monica Rodriguez – spoke and thanked him for his service. Councilmembers Krekorian and Blumenfield weren’t in the room during that part of the meeting, and Councilmember Nithya Raman was absent.

Rodriguez recognized De León for his years in public office, starting from his time in the state Legislature before he joined the City Council, and for the advocacy work he did before that on behalf of immigrant communities.

“You, by example – by your life’s example – have been that stalwart individual that has fought for workers’ rights, that has fought for immigrant rights,” Rodriguez said. “And may all of us have the guts to stand strong and remake ourselves after the worst moments of our life. All we can do is pick ourselves back up from any vulnerable moment that any one of us could ever experience.”

While the council meeting was going on, outside in the hallway where photos of all 15 L.A. City Council members are displayed, the photo of De León was “covered over” with the stickers that visitors to City Hall are supposed to wear when they’re in the building to identify them as visitors.

While Friday was the last council meeting for Krekorian and De León, their terms end on Sunday night. Their successors – Adrin Nazarian for District 2 and Ysabel Jurado for District 14 – will begin their terms at midnight Monday.