In late April — long before the abuse of dogs on L.A.’s Skid Row made national headlines — Rebecca Corry, an actress and comedian who founded the animal nonprofit Stand Up for Pits, posted a video of her experience at City Hall where she tried to get elected officials to pay attention for the 60 seconds she was allotted for public comment before the start of the meeting. As she spoke about inhumane abuse inflicted on dogs that activists had uncovered, some City Councilmembers scrolled. Councilmember Nithya Raman, Corry noted, walked out. A few chatted. Others ate breakfast. One talked on his cell phone. The disrespect in the video was tangible, and what Corry called “unbelievably rude.”
Stand Up for Pits founder Rebecca CorryCredit: Irvin Rivera
So, Los Angeles set out to see how the highest-paid City Council in the nation treats its constituents.
We left that hearing thinking two words: Holy. Hell.
It was a Wednesday morning in late April during what should be an ordinary day of business for Councilmembers who assemble on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Fridays at 10 a.m. in the John Ferraro Council Chamber located in Room 340 of the majestic sprawl of Downtown Los Angeles City Hall. When we arrived, roughly half the chairs were unoccupied by the Councilmembers (CD11’s Traci Park was officially excused for district business) as the public began to address their elected leaders.
We quickly learned that there is nothing mundane about these meetings.
A City Council meeting regular throws the birdCredit: Irvin Rivera
With their dog, two men — both infamous gadflies known for terrorizing elected officials from the gallery, think versions of the Muppets characters Statler and Waldorf, only much more profane and vile — began to yell from their seats. A group of Latino small business owners from Highland Park came in a cooperative, all wearing matching T-shirts to complain about being abused by their landlords and took turns at the mic, their comments translated by the seemingly hardest-working city employee in the room.
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The gadflies threw up random middle fingers as performer and artist Anam Syed got up to sing a parody ripping local government to the tune of Shaggy’s “It Wasn’t Me,” asking in her lyrics about the infamous sprawl of an abandoned development that has become a symbol of urban blight known in Downtown L.A. as the graffiti towers, riffing: Did we ever put a lien on the towers that put our city at a loss/ the ones that were empty/ that got covered in graffiti.
Anam SyedCredit: Michele McPhee
Syed’s lyrics for “It Wasn’t Me Parody” Credit: Michele McPhee
No one listened. She wasn’t surprised. “They’re utterly disrespectful to the constituents they serve. They treat public comment period like a coffee break,” Syed said. “I have had minimum wage service jobs where if I treated customers with a modicum of the disrespect that they show us, I would have been fired.”
Nick Caputo, who has been a vocal advocate for charter reform that would significantly expand the L.A. City Council, with his nonprofit Livable Advanced LA, agrees. He has often complained about the discourteous way elected officials behave.
On this morning, Caputo took to the podium to make an impassioned argument that running a city as large and sprawling as Los Angeles with just 15 City Council districts is more suited for “a city like Burbank.” He added that the way the City Council works now is “like trying to run a semi-truck with an engine that’s meant for a Prius.” He’s not wrong. Not only are L.A. council members the highest paid in the country, they each also represent about 260,000 residents and hold incredible sway over their districts, with a lot of influence on land use decisions. Which basically makes them mini mayors lording over impressively-sized fiefdoms.
Livable Advanced LA founder Nick CaputoCredit: Michele McPhee
And just like the speakers before him, Caputo’s remarks were virtually ignored by the elected leaders — who, he points out, unlike those making public comments in their one-minute speeches, drove to work in taxpayer-funded electric vehicles or were reimbursed for their rides. “I don’t care if someone is spouting on about the rapture,” Caputo said. “Listening to the public is literally the job.”
In recent years, the Los Angeles City Council has been rocked by a slew of controversies and FBI raids. Three councilmembers have been convicted on federal charges. Two, Jose Huizar and Mitch Englander, separately padded their already-wildly-lucrative salaries with grifts and grafts and pay-to-play schemes. Mark Ridley-Thomas was convicted of what federal prosecutors call a bribery and fraud scheme to help land his kid a spot at the University of Southern California, which he is currently appealing. A fourth, Curren Price, an active member who showed up at the hearing Los Angeles attended, continues to serve despite facing trial later this year on state corruption charges. Then there was the national outrage that came after a leaked tape of a meeting between City Councilmembers and a union official during which they engaged in racially charged rhetoric, which led to the resignation of Nury Martinez, the City Council president. Of the other members heard on the tape, Councilmember Kevin de León lost his seat and Gil Cedillo termed out.
With all these shenanigans, courtesy is the very least that a taxpaying citizen can expect, said Jamie Moore, a community activist who likes to pop by to watch the show. “Even when I’m viewing these hearings at home, the politicians, their workers, are munching on Cheetos, eating, drinking, talking like it’s gossip hour. But they want the public to be like nice boys and girls. What kind of shit is that?”
When the public comment portion of the meeting was over, Los Angeles approached Councilmember Eunisses Hernandez, who is facing a tough re-election battle, in the hallway, to ask if she thought Angelenos’ complaints about incivility were warranted. Instead of answering a reporter’s question, she spun and stormed off without a response. An email to City Council President Marqueece Harris-Dawson about the lack of congeniality by the mere 15-member body that represents roughly 4 million Angelenos went unanswered.
City Hall Crime and Punishment
A slew of scandals rocked L.A.’s City Hall that led to four former city councilmembers being convicted, or pleading guilty to, federal corruption charges
Modern Los Angeles has never seen anything like the federal takedown dubbed by the Justice Department as Operation Casino Loyale. It started with the March 2020 indictment of former District 12 Councilmember Mitch Englander on charges he accepted $10,000 in cash, upscale Vegas trips and the services of an escort in a pay-to-play scheme. Englander would later plead guilty to one count of falsifying material facts and was hit with a 14-month sentence.
He wasn’t the only one. Next came the indictment and arrest of District 14 Councilman José Huizar, a Democrat from Boyle Heights, in June 2020, as part of that same probe. Federal prosecutors asserted that the Eastside Council rep had helmed a criminal operation so bra- zen the feds labeled it the “CD-14 Enterprise,” and that he accepted $1.5 million in bribes and kickbacks in exchange for pushing forward certain real estate development projects in Downtown L.A. Huizar, whose own brother was slated to testify against him at trial, pleaded guilty in January 2023. In 2024, a disgusted federal judge sentenced him to 13 years behind bars, saying that his crimes had “the real potential to destroy the delicate fabric of our democracy” and causes the public “to disengage in the democratic process” and “give up all hope of participating” with the government.
Credit: lacity.gov
Credit: lacity.gov
The next Councilman to find himself facing prison time had nothing to do with that scheme. Mark Ridley-Thomas, a Democrat from Leimert Park, was convicted in 2023 on seven federal felony bribery and fraud charges. Prosecutors say Ridley-Thomas demanded that the former dean of the USC Dworak-Peck School of Social Work, Marilyn Flynn, provide his son with admission to a master’s program, a full-tuition scholarship and a paid professorship — a charge he staunchly denies as he continues to fight his conviction with an appeal.
Credit: lacity.gov
Credit: lacity.gov
City Councilmember Curren Price, a veteran politician who represents District 9, is slated to go on trial this month on 12 counts of public corruption. Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan Hochman’s Office accused Price of illegally using approximately $33,800 in city funds to pay for medical benefits for his current wife while he was still legally married to another woman. Prosecutors also allege Price voted on multimillion-dollar contracts and grants for agencies that same wife was doing consulting work for. He pleaded not guilty to those charges in April and has maintained his innocence while retaining his City Council seat, which he will term out of in November.
Free Rides
Not only are Los Angeles City Councilmembers the highest-paid elected officials in the nation, but all city officials also have the option of a free EV ride from a taxpayer-funded pool of electric vehicles, which, naturally, are plugged into taxpayer-funded ports and maintained by taxpayer-funded mechanics. For elected officials who don’t want to go electric, there is an option for a $1,200-per-month reimbursement for the use of private vehicles, which is in addition to mileage accrued on city business.
New BMW i7 – electric top variant of the 7 SeriesCredit: Mike Mareen – stock.adobe.com
The IRS, however, views the free rides as income. The most popular rides for the City Council in the government-issued vehicle category are the BMW i3 sedan. Yup. A BMW. For less-flashy Council members, say perhaps Democratic Socialists of America-backed candidates, there is a less-luxury option: the Chevrolet Bolt. The cars are part of the City of Los Angeles implementation of an Electric Vehicle Master Plan that will transition over 10,000 municipal vehicles to a zero-carbon fleet by 2035.
City Council Races to Watch
The 2026 Los Angeles City Council elections, scheduled for a June 2 primary and NOV. 3 general election, will decide eight of 15 seats in odd-numbered districts 1, 3, 5, 7, 9, 11, 13 and 15
Credit: FiledIMAGE via AdobeStock
District 1
Glassell Park, Highland Park, Mt. Washington
Embattled incumbent Eunisses Hernandez faces three challengers: nonprofit leader Maria Lou Calanche, business consultant Nelson Grande, housing activist Raul Claros and small business owner Sylvia Robledo.
District 2
North Hollywood, Studio City, Valley Village
Adrin Nazarian (even-numbered district)
District 3
Canoga Park, Reseda, Tarzana, Woodland Hills
Incumbent Bob Blumenfield is terming out of office. Three candidates are vying for his seat: business owner Tim Gaspar; Barri Worth Girvan, a constituent services employee for L.A. County Supervisor’s Office; and Christopher “C.R.” Celona, who works in tech and entertainment.
District 4
Los Feliz, Silver Lake, Sherman Oaks
Nithya Raman (even-numbered district) currently running for mayor.
District 5
Westwood, Bel Air, Fairfax, Palms
Incumbent Katy Yaroslavsky faces two challengers: Henry Mantel, a political consultant; and accountant Morgan Oyler.
District 6
Arleta, Lake Balboa, North Hills East, North Hollywood, Panorama City, Sun Valley, Van Nuys
Imelda Padilla (even-numbered district)
District 7
Sylmar, Pacoima, Lake View Terrace, Sunland-Tujunga, Mission Hills, North Hills and Shadow Hills
Monica Rodriguez has no challengers.
District 8
South Los Angeles, Baldwin Hills, Crenshaw, Jefferson Park
Marqueece Harris-Dawson (even-numbered district)
District 9
South Central, USC and areas in Downtown that include L.A. Live and the Convention Center
Curren Price, who is facing trial on a dozen corruption charges this year, is termed out after 12 years in office. There are six contenders: Price staffer Jose Ugarte; community organizer Estuardo Mazariegos; education expert Elmer Roldan; nonprofit head Jorge Nuño; college professor and therapist Martha Sanchez; and teacher Jorge Hernandez Rosas. This is the first time no Black candidate in this historically Black district has run in 60+ years.
District 10
Koreatown, Mid-City, West Adams, Arlington Heights, Palms, South Robertson, Olympic Park, Leimert Park, Baldwin Hills/Crenshaw, Jefferson Park, Wilshire Center
Heather Hutt (even-numbered district)
District 11
Venice, Pacific Palisades, Playa del Rey, Brentwood, Mar Vista, Sawtelle, Westchester
Incumbent Traci Park faces off against Democratic Socialists of America-endorsed candidate and lawyer Faizah Malik.
District 12
Chatsworth, Granada Hills, North Hills, Northridge, Porter Ranch, Sherwood Forest, West Hills
John Lee (even-numbered district)
District 13
Echo Park, Silver Lake, North Hollywood, East Hollywood
Hugo Soto-Martínez has three challengers: his neighbor and housing activist Colter Carlisle; artist and activist Dylan Kendall; and urban community planner Rich Sarian.
District 14
Eagle Rock, Highland Park, El Sereno, Lincoln Heights, Glassell Park, Garvanza, Montecito Heights, Hermon
Ysabel J. Jurado (even-numbered district)
District 15
San Pedro, Wilmington, Harbor City, Harbor Gateway, Watts
Incumbent Tim McOsker faces 22-year-old challenger Jordan Rivers.