Corruption is so thick in Los Angeles government that if it was a demonstration sport in the 2028 Olympics, the city would win enough gold to pay the legal bills of all the government officials who are under investigation.
Of course, that’s an exaggeration. By 2028, even Fort Knox won’t have enough gold to pay those legal bills, not at the rate they’re racking up.
In the latest episode of Council Capers, a lawsuit has been filed by a civil rights group to prevent former City Council president Herb Wesson, Jr., from filling the seat on the City Council that would be held by council member Mark Ridley-Thomas, except that Ridley-Thomas was suspended by his council colleagues after he was indicted on federal bribery charges last fall.
Ridley-Thomas, who denies the charges, is fighting his suspension. He argues that the bribery charges stem from his time serving on the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors, so the City Council has no legal authority to suspend him.
According to the City Charter, the council has the power to suspend any city elected official who has been charged with a criminal felony “related to” official duties, but Ridley-Thomas says that doesn’t apply to official duties in some other government agency, only to official duties related to his work for the city of Los Angeles. Meanwhile, the lawsuit by the Southern Christian Leadership Conference of Southern California says the decision to suspend Ridley-Thomas after he was indicted “contravenes the bedrock presumption of innocence guaranteed under California law.”
Just a reminder, in case you’ve been mired in Los Angeles for so long that this statement sounds reasonable, that the standard for holding public office is higher than “not found guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.” Public office is a public trust. The 15-member L.A. City Council and the five-member L.A. County Board of Supervisors have quite a lot of control over quite a lot of your money, and for the last two years, quite a lot of control over whether you’re even allowed to leave your house.
So the people of Los Angeles have the right to expect the highest standard of ethical conduct from the individuals they have entrusted with the power of public office.
Just kidding. The weather’s nice, though.
Ridley-Thomas has been charged with accepting bribes from a former dean of the University of Southern California in exchange for awarding USC millions of dollars worth of county contracts.
Wesson was president of the L.A. City Council during the period when events transpired that are the subject of an ongoing federal investigation. The FBI has already ensnared former councilmember Mitchell Englander, who pleaded guilty to obstructing the investigation, and former councilmember Jose Huizar, who was arrested last year on corruption charges.
Wesson has not been charged with wrongdoing. He left the council because he was termed out. The SCLC lawsuit asserts that Wesson is ineligible to fill the council seat, even temporarily, because he has already served for the maximum three terms.
Council District 10 has been without a voting representative since Ridley-Thomas was suspended on October 20, and the residents have been represented by a non-voting caretaker. The SCLC says that’s a violation of the civil rights of district residents.
Ridley-Thomas’s attorney, Michael Proctor, welcomed the SCLC lawsuit, declaring that his client has been “a lifelong advocate for civil rights” who believes “the right to accountable and elected representation is paramount to our democracy.”
That inspirational rhetoric is almost enough to make you forget about the bribery allegations and the evidence the federal government amassed before bringing those charges against Ridley-Thomas.
The swampiness in this story just gets swampier when you realize that the city official in charge of responding to the SCLC’s lawsuit is City Attorney Mike Feuer, who appears to be right in the middle of a growing scandal over corruption at the LADWP and in his own office.
The U.S. Department of Justice has already secured agreements for a number of guilty pleas in connection with that investigation, which has uncovered bribery and kickback schemes that cost ratepayers a lot.
Undaunted, Feuer is a candidate for mayor and Ridley-Thomas is demanding to serve on the City Council while he awaits trial.
At least the weather’s nice.
Write Susan at Susan@SusanShelley.com and follow her on Twitter @Susan_Shelley.
