LA City Council president pushing back on demand for special election to fill Ridley-Thomas' seat
LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- Los Angeles City Council President Paul Krekorian is pushing back on demands for a special election to fill the seat of former Councilman Mark Ridley-Thomas.
The seat was officially vacated when Ridley-Thomas was convicted of federal bribery and fraud charges last week.
Over the weekend, Los Angeles civil rights leaders called on the city to let constituents choose who will represent them.
Heather Hutt has been holding that seat. Krekorian says he wants her to fill the remainder of the term through December of next year.
"Heather Hutt has capably represented the district as the temporary appointee and I am confident she will continue to do so as the permanent appointee," Krekorian said to City News Service.
Krekorian plans to call on the council, at its next meeting, to appoint Hutt to fill out the remainder of Ridley-Thomas' term for the District 10 seat. The council is in recess and is next scheduled to meet on April 11.
Krekorian formally declared the seat vacant Thursday evening, hours after a federal jury in downtown Los Angeles convicted Ridley-Thomas of bribery and conspiracy charges, along with mail and wire fraud, stemming from his time on the L.A. County Board of Supervisors.
RELATED: Mark Ridley-Thomas convicted of bribery, conspiracy in corruption trial
City News Service contributed to this report.
