Protesters again disrupt L.A. City Council to pressure de León, Cedillo to resign

LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- Protesters again interrupted the Los Angeles City Council meeting on Wednesday in their efforts to force two members to resign.

Activists have been demanding the resignation of members Kevin de León and Gil Cedillo after audio was leaked of them participating in a conversation in which racist remarks were made in addition to discussions of manipulating the city redistricting process.

On Wednesday protesters - though a smaller group than past meetings - interrupted the session three times before they were escorted out by police.

After they were cleared from chambers, the City Council took the next step in finalizing the special election to replace former 6th district council member Nury Martinez who resigned days after the racist recordings were made public.

During public comments, just about everyone who spoke wanted this special election to happen.

One caller said "so I'm asking the people of the 6th district please, please look into your hearts to see who's the best to serve my community and service this great city."

The special election to fill Martinez's council seat is scheduled for April 4, 2023.

After that decision, the council discussed how to legally oust de León and Cedillo from their council seats.

Cedillo lost his primary election this summer and is out of office in a few weeks anyway, but de León still has two years left on his term. He's publicly stated he won't resign.

Kevin de León says of constituents: 'If I were to step down, then they'd have no voice in City Hall'

In an interview with ABC7's Marc Brown, embattled Los Angeles City Councilmember Kevin de León discussed his decision to remain in office despite widespread calls for him to resign.

Michelle Hope Walker went before the City Council during public comments saying "just praying Kevin and Gil, we need you gone. Resign for your racist statements and actions."

The council is looking into whether it can remove de León for not attending meetings for 60 days without City Council permission.

City Council President Paul Krekorian said starting the discussion allows the council to explore the limits of its power in removing members.

The City Attorney's Office was asked to submit a report to the City Council by next week to see if that's legally doable.