Joining the dignitaries who attended President Biden’s star-studded fundraiser at the Peacock Theater on Saturday evening was the man who urged Biden to resign from the Los Angeles City Council: Kevin de León.
De León, who endured a scandal that rocked City Hall, was seen in the theater lobby as other elected officials met with Biden and former President Obama.
Outside the theater, De León took the opportunity to speak to reporters about what he characterized as the danger of Donald Trump becoming president again.
Noting the pro-Palestinian demonstrators who had flanked the theater, he said: “What is at stake here right now, in the theaters of war… is the well-being of immigrants, undocumented immigrants, the poor, the most vulnerable, our elderly citizens That is what is also at stake here – not just global issues.”
In a video posted online by a Pasadena Star-News journalist, De León added: “I look forward to Presidents Biden and Barack Obama really generating a sense of deep enthusiasm among Democrats. Listen, this is a blue city; this is a blue state. We’re not going anywhere…I hope California can have that huge positive impact.”
De León is mounting a political comeback after the Los Angeles Times revealed in 2022 that he had participated with other council members in a secretly recorded conversation filled with racist comments. The audio leak led to then-council President Nury Martinez resigning. Many also called for De León’s resignation – including Biden.
“The president is happy to see that one of the participants in that conversation has resigned, but they all should,” White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said at the time.
Instead, De León clung to his seat — despite continued protests in City Hall chambers, the loss of his committee assignments and his physical altercation with a critic that was captured on videotape. He ran a re-election campaign and scored second place in the March primary. Last month, council President Paul Krekorian announced he would appoint De León to four council committees.
And on Saturday night, the controversial council member was spotted at the downtown event, the most successful Democratic fundraiser ever in Los Angeles. But other elected dignitaries from Southern California, including Mayor Karen Bass and Rep. Robert Garcia (D-Long Beach), mingled with Biden and Obama in the VIP section.
Los Angeles City Councilman Curren Price was also seen arriving at the theater, although he was denied entry near the JW Marriott hotel as protesters sat outside the gates. Some protesters shouted at him, citing his pending criminal charges.
Price was charged last year with embezzlement, perjury and conflict of interest for voting on development projects in which he allegedly had a financial interest. He is also the subject of an LA City Ethics Commission investigation over similar allegations.
Staff writers Liam Dillon and Seema Mehta contributed to this report.
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This story originally appeared in the Los Angeles Times.
