Democrat rips ‘cancellation culture’ after pressure to quit over racist remarks

[ad_1]

A former prominent Democratic member of the Los Angeles City Council has defended his defiance of calls for his resignation over racist remarks, attempting to blame ‘cancellation culture’ for his woes.

Former City Councilman Gil Cedillo became embroiled in controversy when the Los Angeles Times obtained a taped conversation from October 2021, in which former City Council Speaker Nury Martinez made racially derogatory remarks against black and ethnic people. immigrants from Oaxaca living in Los Angeles. Cedillo, along with Councilman Kevin de León and Los Angeles County Federation of Labor leader Ron Herrera, also joined in the conversation.

Both Martinez and Herrera resigned from their positions following a backlash at the tape. Cedillo, conversely, defied calls to quit, serving out the remainder of his term, which ended on Sunday. He had already lost re-election to Eunisses Hernandez several months before the gang leaked. In a 1,000-word statement released the day after his term ended, Cedillo defended his decision, accusing his critics of a ‘modern version of McCarthyism’ and a ‘cancel culture’, according to NBC Los Angeles. .

“I refused to resign before the end of my term,” Cedillo said. “It’s not who I am, and I haven’t done anything to justify it. My life’s work has been to fight tirelessly for those who have no voice, regardless of ethnicity. .. Despite all the calls from my detractors that I ‘do the right thing’, I say unequivocally that NOT quitting was the right thing.

“This is ‘cancellation culture’ at its worst, and this kid from Boyle Heights never quit.”

Protesters demonstrate outside City Hall demanding the resignation of LA City Council members Kevin de Leon and Gil Cedillo following a leaked audio recording on October 12, 2022 in Los Angeles, California. Inset, Los Angeles council member Gil Cedillo. Mario Tama/Getty; Kevin Winter/Getty

The conversation captured on the leaked tape concerned the city’s redistricting process. In it, Cedillo dismissed black voters, saying “the 25 blacks are screaming”, to which de León replied, “But they are screaming as if they were 250”. Later, Cedillo did not intervene when Council President Martinez made insulting remarks about the black son of a former councilman. Backlash against the tape eventually reached Biden’s White House, with press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre calling the remarks “unacceptable” and “appalling.”

While defending his decision not to quit amid the controversy, Cedillo admitted the conversation “crossed a line” and apologized for not interrupting Martinez’s remarks.

“Conversations can also get raw when people think they’re speaking in private, which happened that day,” Cedillo said in his Monday statement. “No one denies that the conversation crossed a line at several points, and I deeply regret not speaking up when she did.”

Newsweek has reached out to the Los Angeles City Council for comment.

[ad_2]