Los Angeles City Council member Kevin de León said he is refusing to resign after the publication of a leaked recording that included racist and other offensive remarks.
De León made his comments during a Wednesday interview with CBS2 in Los Angeles. He said he intends to keep his post, despite calls for his resignation from the public and President Joe Biden.
"I have to do the hard work," he said. "I have to repair. I have to help heal. I have to help restore."
Council President Nury Martinez has resigned after she was heard on the tape making a racist remark about a Black child of a white council member.
At one point in the conversation, de León said the council member used the child as a prop like a designer handbag, Politico said.
And, according to The Guardian, the recording of the conversation also included de León and city council member Gil Cedillo crudely talking about Black voters.
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said Biden believes all members involved in the recorded conversation should step down.
"The president is glad to see that one of the participants in that conversation has resigned, but he believes they all should resign," Jean-Pierre stated.
"The language that was used and tolerated during that conversation was unacceptable and is appalling," she added. "He believes they should all step down."
In the interview with the CBS affiliate, de León said: "I failed in my leadership. I didn’t step up and intervene. I didn’t put a stop to it."
And he added: I shouldn't have made that flippant remark."
He said: "I accept my responsibility for a lot of that pain that exists today. It's not going to be easy, it's gonna be hard, as it should be.
"I know it's going to be hard. That's why… I'm not going to mince words or I'm not going to deflect blame."
Jeffrey Rodack ✉
Jeffrey Rodack, who has nearly a half century in news as a senior editor and city editor for national and local publications, has covered politics for Newsmax for nearly seven years.
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