The Los Angeles City Council struggled again Wednesday with a\u00a0still-unfolding racism scandal\u00a0that led to the resignation of its former president and left behind a quandary about how to deal with a disgraced member who has resisted calls from President Joe Biden to step down.
\nOn a 12-2 vote, the council agreed to explore possible additional, punitive steps against censured Councilman Kevin de Le\u00f3n, including restricting his use of certain office funds and collaring publicly funded mailers he sends to constituents.
\nHe is the only council member involved in the scandal still in office, allowing him to continue to collect his annual salary of nearly $229,000 \u2014 among the most lucrative paydays for city council members in the nation.
\nThe scandal has strained racial tensions and become a national embarrassment for the nation\u2019s second most populous city, which also has been contending with an unchecked homeless crisis and rising crime rates. Meanwhile, three current or former council members have been indicted or pleaded guilty to corruption charges.
\nThe turmoil was triggered in October by a leaked recording of crude, racist comments from a year-old meeting involving de Le\u00f3n, then-council President Nury Martinez, labor leader Ron Herrera and then-Councilman Gil Cedillo \u2014 all Latino Democrats \u2014 in which they plotted to expand their political power at the expense of Black voters during a realignment of council district boundaries. Herrera resigned and Cedillo\u2019s term ended in December.<\/p>\n