Part 112: Kevin de León vs. Ysabel Jurado – The LA Fed Tapes and Election Politics
September 13, 2024
Photo of Los Angeles City Councilmember Kevin de León who is being challenged by first time candidate Ysabel Jurado in background by the author (GoPro Hero 11 Black).
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By Zachary Ellison, Independent Journalist
It’s the scandal that never ends, at least in Los Angeles. Most elsewhere, the press has moved on, but not in Los Angeles, where the deep racial divisions and political complications persist well beyond the uproar of late 2022. Ever since the LA Fed Tapes leaked in October 2022, the tsunami of racism and political outrage refuses to end. For the first time on September 11, embattled Los Angeles City Councilmember Kevin de León met his opponent, Ysabel Jurado, on stage for direct debate. The primary field had been crowded, but Jurado had come in first, with De León trailing. Challengers Miguel Santiago and Wendy Carrillo had fallen by the wayside. That night Jurado reminded the audience in Lincoln Heights, she had not only the political backing of the Democratic Socialists of America—Los Angeles chapter, but also of the LA County Democratic Party, and KDL did not.
Moreover, as Jurado noted, she also had the backing of the Los Angeles County Federation of Labor, AFL-CIO (LA Fed), “the teachers in our communities, the nurses at the hospitals, the SEIU 721, our sanitation workers, the people and the workers in this city, the list goes on, SEIU-UHW, SEIU 215, the roofers, and the waterproofer entities, architects,” she said. Waving her arm, Jurado declared, “These are all people who get work done that chose me, a first-time candidate, a woman of color, a single mom, a tenant rights attorney, someone who is not supposed to be here, correct?” De León’s response to the scandal, for which Jurado repeatedly attacked him for “not showing up for work” for more than 200 days afterwards, was to plead that he was a victim. Former LA Fed President Ron Herrera, another participant in the conversation, alongside former Council President Nury Martinez and Councilmember Gil Cedillo, were there to support De León. KDL is a former leader of the California State Senate seeking a second term.
The crowd was not on Jurado’s side. The roughly 200 people packed into the Sacred Heart Auditorium were clearly on the side of De León, with only a small contingent in favor of Jurado. Every time Jurado would bring up the LA Fed Tapes, there would be an outcry, and ultimately attendees who would not accede to KDL’s attempts at shushing their zealotry had to be removed. For many in the Hispanic community, De León and his battle to survive the scandal, including the suggestion by President Joseph Biden that he resign, had become a point of community pride. Los Angeles Times journalist David Zahniser is denounced virulently by Nury Martinez, something he waffles about in the Times transcript. Zahniser looked stunned at the end of the night standing by to seek a quote from Jurado.
“That fucking little piece of shit,” Nury Martinez says referring to Zahinser on the LA Fed Tapes; suggesting that the U.S. Attorney’s Office, or the FBI, “the Feds,” were leaking material to Zahniser about politician Mark Ridley-Thomas. Nury declared that she was “uncomfortable with this conversation... I don’t know why you’re telling me this shit,” after he had asked her about more incriminating evidence. If the LA Fed Tapes were an acoustic bomb, full of inflammatory material, the blast-effect surely was enough to overtake anyone’s sense of decency, even as many, such as Eunisses Hernandez and Hugo Soto-Martinez had declared De León had none in refusing to resign as Martinez had done.
If there was one policy issue that dominated the night, it was homelessness, an equally difficult topic as racism. Here too, endorsements came into play.
Attacking Los Angeles County Supervisor Hilda Solis for endorsing Jurado, in rebuttal De León declared, “And that has been the responsibility of Hilda Solis, your chief sponsor,” as the crowd jeered and clapped, “I know you want to have it both ways; you want to say I have all these endorsements, but these are the individuals who have been responsible for impacting this major crisis.” KDL continued, “I do want to mention MacArthur Park,” in reference to Hernandez’s district, he said, sputtering and pivoting, “the reason why CD9 historically has been the busiest fire station in the United States of America is because of Skid Row,” contrasting to “Station 11 in MacArthur Park” before the timekeeper cut him off. Throughout the evening, De León had bombastically spoken into the microphone in a display of machismo that left Jurado joking apologetically to “Ms. Timekeeper” with a knowing smile in response to being treated disrespectfully as a woman.
For some, this type of politics is clearly quite attractive. La Opinion journalist Araceli Martinez, who covers City Hall, immediately tweeted out following the debate: “Definitely #KevindeLeon wins the 14th District Debate @LACityCouncil #YsabelJurado did her best but she couldn’t compete with KDL experience [sic] Kevin ganó el debate a Jurado por el D14 del Concejo de #LosAngeles” without further explanation. Several times during the night, De León trumpeted securing $36 million to improve Valley Boulevard and cited his prior Sacramento legislative accomplishments, particularly on climate change. Impressive though it may be, following the debate, it became clear after KDL exited the stage shaking hands and glaring at me that not all of his supporters were swooning because of his environmental advocacy. Two men stood in the middle and calmly announced, looking at Jurado and her supporters, “Yeah, tree huggers over there.” I told them that I thought, at this point in time, everyone should be hugging trees.
Jurado sought to highlight the lack of working street lights in CD14, which in addition to Lincoln Heights and Skid Row also includes the neighborhoods of Boyle Heights, El Sereno, Little Tokyo, the Jewelry District, Fashion District, Eagle Rock, and Highland Park, where Jurado is from. De León accused Jurado of wanting to defund the police, noting how he had sponsored the Los Angeles Police Department Heavy Metal Theft Task Force that Hernandez and Soto-Martinez had opposed, arguing that more criminalization was not the solution. For his part, when asked about policing in the East Side community, he argued against “harassment” and the “school-to-prison pipeline.” Jurado sought to highlight the high cost of LAPD helicopters, stating she wanted to give youth a “different pathway.” Twice during the night, Kevin De León told the story about how he was allegedly homeless, noting that he had lived in cars and done some “couchsurfing.”
The candidates clashed over rent increases, with Jurado calling the COVID-19 pandemic a “missed opportunity” and criticizing De León over the 6.5% rent increase cap, which KDL in turn countered would have been 10% if he had not intervened. The burning question, though perhaps with the throwdown over CD14, will be as much about demographics as it will be about policies, with Jurado teasing De León with a retort of “let’s dance” several times and telling him he was a great “sparring partner.”
CD14 is 68.1% Hispanic, 13.6% White, 12.4% Asian, and 4.2% Black. The district was previously represented by the likes of José Huizar, who will soon report to begin a 13.5-year federal prison sentence. So as long as Latinos don’t abandon De León, he would likely coast to victory even if he didn’t prevail in a contested, divided primary.
Jurado sought to drive home the history of corruption several times, as did climbers like Antonio Villaraigosa, now running for Governor of California after serving as Mayor of Los Angeles. If there’s anything that will drive voters away from Balkanized politics, you would hope that racism would do the trick, but the sad truth is that many in the hall seemed to be unconcerned. De León alleged that he had received death threats following the LA Fed scandal and famously had been in a brawl with activist Jason Reedy, from which no charges resulted.
For their part, Reedy as well as other activists from the People’s City Council seemed to have turned even on Jurado, criticizing her for taking photos with De León and for reportedly only briefly having attended one of their recent events. All of which just goes to show that in Los Angeles politics, things can be pretty fleeting, especially after the authorities get involved. For example, on the LA Fed Tapes, De León and Martinez clearly seem a little at odds about L.A. County Supervisor Hilda Solis, the former Labor Secretary under President Barack Obama and member of Congress, with Nury expressing concern that she had become compromised by serving with Mark Ridley-Thomas and Kevin De León saying “Hilda should be careful,” before noting that he believed she was “under FBI investigation.” Martinez questions this before Kevin De León explains, “I know because the FBI visited me.” Having friends turn on you is one thing, but having the authorities truly after you for good is another thing; one is survivable, the other is not.
The left in Los Angeles is likely not going to get Ysabel Jurado elected. Already the cry of a “careerist” went out, and comparisons with Eunisses Hernandez and Hugo Soto-Martinez, whom having allegedly failed to sufficiently change Los Angeles fast enough are now viewed as disappointments. So even as the DSA-LA and its union allies have managed to create a credible threat to the establishment, they’ve also become opposed from even further left, as well as from the right, for having had their politicians work with perceived centrists such as Mayor Karen Bass and more moderate councilmembers.
In Los Angeles, many have turned against government nearly completely on both left and right. Even as Kevin de León regained his committee seat alongside Councilmember Curren Price, the subject of a slew of criminal charges from the District Attorney’s office, he’s never truly lost political viability. As reported in Politico, De León has been moving funds from three accounts, including one created for a 2026 run at Lieutenant Governor to offset the loss of funding from a number of traditional allies.
Kevin de León defended his loss of endorsements, citing a few remaining allies and saying that he was “proud to be endorsed by the community of Lincoln Heights, and at the end of the day, that’s what matters the most.” For those in attendance, that certainly seemed to be the truth, at least last night among the faithful. The recall effort against De León following the LA Fed Tapes failed to collect adequate signatures, but a January 2023 poll found that only 23% of voters in the district approved of him, with 48% disapproving. Still, there was a sizable amount of voters who, despite months of news coverage, hadn’t formed an opinion. Latino politics in Los Angeles are undoubtedly complicated, and as Los Angeles Times journalist Gustavo Arellano recently wrote in his newsletter. At the recent dedication of a mural to the late legendary Latina politician Gloria Molina, both De León and his political ally Monica Rodriguez, a close friend of Nury Martinez, “used their short speeches to rail against print and television media, for reasons known only to them.”
For their parts, both Kevin De León and Gil Cedillo filed lawsuits against the alleged leakers, two employees of the LA Fed, the late director of finance to Ron Herrera, Santos Leon, and his spouse Karla Vasquez, Herrera’s assistant. Both have denied responsibility, and despite months of reported investigation by the Los Angeles Times, nothing further has been found that would link them to the recordings. Allegedly, according to the LAPD, recording software was found on Santos Leon’s work computer, a claim he’s disputed in court filings with De León, who is represented by famed attorney Mark Geragos. Neither Councilmember Kevin de León’s office nor Geragos responded to a request for comment on if they believe Leon and Vasquez are associated with the DSA-LA. To date, no evidence has been offered connecting them.
LAPD, after having their initial investigation into the source of the leak, indicated that their home Internet Protocol address was somehow linked to the recordings by the LAPD Cyber Crime Division, a claim disputed by attorneys for Leon and Vasquez. Ysabel Jurado had no response to De León’s allegation that the DSA-LA was behind the leak, and neither Santos Leon nor Karla Vasquez came up. The Los Angeles County DA’s office declined to prosecute felony charges in May, referring the case to City Attorney Hydee Feldstein-Soto, which reportedly is still reviewing the charges, according to Los Angeles Magazine journalist Michele McPhee, who was first to report on the LA Fed’s reported internal investigation that implicated Leon, which resulted in his termination. Mark Geragos co-owns the publication.
De León’s lawsuit has been ordered to trial in June 2025, which of course is well-beyond voting which will conclude on November 5, with early voting starting on October 4. The status of Cedillo’s separate lawsuit is unclear. In the end, at least for political purposes, the facts may not matter so much here as the appearances. Consider that former President Trump has pursued an unabashed campaign of red-baiting against Kamala Harris, herself a former California Attorney General, that is drawing support from close to half the U.S. population despite having no factual basis. Santos Leon’s filings indicate that he believes the Attorney General’s investigation precipitated his termination. Attorney General Bonta is supposed to be investigating whether the illegally recorded conversation itself regarding redistricting was lawful. In the March primary, he campaigned for several candidates in races that were allegedly affected by anti-Black racism in redistricting. To date, Bonta’s office has produced no findings, twice declining to comment. Bonta backed Miguel Santiago in the primary election.
The only elected official to endorse De León is former City Councilmember Paul Koretz, who famously ended his service by jokingly saying, “Fuck you too” in response to the routine cursing by public commenters. For her part, Jurado noted in the debate that she even had the backing of legendary labor leader Dolores Huerta, as well as former LA City Councilmember Mike Bonin, whose son Kevin de León racistly mocks on the main LA Fed recording. Jurado also has the support of former California Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon, an influential figure in Latino politics. Supervisor Hilda Solis responded to De León in an Instagram post, saying about him, that he “has once again demonstrated his inability to take responsibility for his own incompetence and failed policies.” When will Kevin De León learn his lesson?
Link: Inside the room: The entire L.A. City Council racist audio leak, annotated by our experts
Link: Gil Cedillo: 'The audio scandal was fabricated to disempower the Latino community'
Link: Araceli Martinez Tweet RE: Kevin de León and Ysabel Jurado Debate
Link: Fighting copper wire theft, LA approves $200K to further support LAPD's Heavy Metal Task Force
Link: Kevin de León and activist won’t be charged over their fight. Here’s why neither is happy
Link: Jason Reedy Tweet RE: Jurado Selfie
Link: Despite scandals, Curren Price and Kevin de León regain seats on L.A. council committees
Link: LA Council member Kevin de Leon’s ballot measure shell game
Link: L.A. on the Record: Effort to recall Councilmember Kevin de León fails
Link: Voters turn sharply against Kevin de León, favor recall, poll finds
Link: Canto CCCXLVII: A Play for Gloria Molina, a Win for Josefina Lopez
Link: Rob Bonta Endorsement of Miguel Santiago
Link: Hilda Solis Instagram Post RE: Debate
Please support my work with your subscription, or for direct support, use Venmo, CashApp, PayPal, or Zelle using zachary.b.ellison@gmail.com
Zachary Ellison is an Independent Journalist and Whistleblower in the Los Angeles area. Zach was most recently employed by the University of Southern California, Office of the Provost, from October 2015 to August 2022 as an Executive Secretary and Administrative Assistant, supporting the Vice Provost for Academic Operations and the Vice Provost and Senior Advisor to the Provost, among others. Zach holds a Master’s in Public Administration and a Graduate Certificate in Sustainable Policy and Planning from the USC Sol Price School of Public Policy. While a student at USC, he worked for the USC Good Neighbors Campaign, including in their newsletter distributed university-wide. Zach completed his B.A. in History at Reed College, in Portland, Oregon, and was a writer, editor, and photographer for the Pasadena High School Chronicle. He was Barack Obama’s one-millionth online campaign contributor in 2008. Zach is a former AmeriCorps intern for Hawaii State Parks and worked for the City of Manhattan Beach Parks and Recreation. He is a trained civil process server, and enjoys weekends in the great outdoors.
