Editorial: Another Los Angeles public corruption case? Curren Price should resign
Here we go again.
Los Angeles City Hall, which has lurched from scandal to scandal in recent years, has been hit with yet another elected official accused of corruption. City Councilmember Curren Price was charged Tuesday with embezzlement, perjury and conflict of interest for allegedly having a financial interest in projects that he voted on.
Price is now the fourth member of the City Council who has faced corruption charges and been accused of using public office for personal gain. The fourth in three years!
And that doesn’t include the political scandals that have shaken public trust, including allegations that former Mayor Eric Garcetti ignored sexual harassment by a top aide, and the secret recording that captured three council members and the county’s top labor official making racist comments about colleagues and constituents, while plotting to maintain power.
This goes beyond mere coincidence or a few bad apples. The string of criminal complaints and scandals is a flashing neon sign over City Hall showing that the political culture of Los Angeles is rotten and needs a complete overhaul. The question at this point is whether City Hall is capable of reforming itself.
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As for Price, he announced Tuesday that he would step down from council leadership — he was appointed second in command after the leaked audio scandal last fall — and his committee assignments, while he defends himself in court.
That’s not enough. Price should resign from the council. While he is presumed innocent and has a right to present his defense in court, the reality is that he cannot be an effective public servant while facing corruption charges. Council President Paul Krekorian introduced a motion Wednesday to suspend Price, which would leave his constituents without a voting representative, unless the council appoints an interim member. Price, who represents downtown and South Los Angeles, won reelection last year to a term ending in 2026.
The charges against Price involve his wife, Del Richardson, who owns a consulting company. According to the Los Angeles County district attorney’s criminal complaint, Price had voted to approve the projects of developers who had paid Richardson. Council members are prohibited from voting on projects in which they have a financial interest. Price is also accused of failing to reveal all payments to his wife on financial disclosure forms.
Price allegedly voted on projects after the developers had paid his wife on multiple occasions, including after a Times investigation in 2019 highlighted the possible conflicts of interest.
Mark Ridley-Thomas has been a giant in L.A. politics, and his conviction should prompt self-evaluation and soul searching among the city’s other elected leaders.
He is also accused of embezzlement of public funds because Richardson received city-funded medical insurance premiums between 2013 and 2017 even though she and Price were not legally married. Price did not divorce his first wife and marry Richardson until 2018, according to the complaint.
For a few months, it seemed like Los Angeles was done with corruption cases and scandal. Former Councilmember Mark Ridley-Thomas was convicted in March on federal bribery and conspiracy charges for steering county contracts to USC in exchange for admitting his son into a graduate program with a full scholarship and paid professorship. Ridley-Thomas is appealing the conviction.
Former Councilmembers Mitch Englander and Jose Huizar were indicted as part of a separate federal investigation into pay-to-play corruption involving real estate development. Englander pleaded guilty in 2020 and has since served his time and been released from federal prison. Huizar pleaded guilty in January, admitting that he extorted at least $1.5 million in bribes from real estate developers. His sentencing has been delayed to September.
The public outcry following the corruption cases and leaked audio scandal spurred City Council leaders to start developing a major reform measure for the ballot next year. Led by Krekorian, the ad hoc committee on city governance reform is studying how to enact independent redistricting and whether to expand the 15-member City Council.
They should add ethics reform to the agenda. The complaint against Price again underscores the need for an independent, empowered Ethics Commission as a check on city elected leaders. The commission now relies on the City Council for funding and to enact laws, which is a problem. The regulator shouldn’t need permission from the regulated party to do its work.
With so much misconduct in City Hall, there is a real risk that Angelenos will tune out or lose faith in their local government, which would only reduce public participation and further allow the personal interests of city officials to determine L.A.’s most important decisions. What makes us hopeful, however, is that good government groups, philanthropists, academics and even some city leaders are starting to move forward long-overdue reforms that could help restore trust.
Updates
1:26 p.m. June 14, 2023: The editorial was updated to reflect that a motion was filed to suspend Councilmember Price.
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