Former Los Angeles City Councilman Gil Cedillo is suing the Los Angeles County Federation of Labor for invasion of privacy and damage to his reputation. Cedillo alleges that the union secretly recorded a conversation where racist language was used during discussions about redistricting plans for the city. The Los Angeles Times reported on the lawsuit, which was filed in Los Angeles Superior Court.
Although the court receipt has not been officially processed by the clerk, the Times obtained a copy of it. Cedillo’s complaint also names former Federation employees Santos Leon and Karla Vasquez, claiming negligence on the part of the union. He states that the meeting was surreptitiously recorded without his knowledge or consent, and that this has resulted in him losing employment opportunities.
The lawsuit mentions that others on the recording, not Cedillo, made offensive comments that were taken out of context or inaccurately translated from Spanish slang. The Los Angeles Police Department is currently investigating who recorded the conversation, and no public identification of Leon or Vasquez as suspects has been made.
At the time of the recording, Vasquez worked as an executive assistant to then Federation president Ron Herrera, while Leon served as the organization’s accountant. Both individuals have since resigned from their positions.
The lawsuit claims that Cedillo’s entire career of public service has been disregarded because he did not object to the comments made by his colleagues during the recorded conversation, according to the Times.
The recording emerged on social media on October 9, 2022. It was made during an October 2021 meeting at the union’s headquarters, where Cedillo, former City Council President Nury Martinez, Councilman Kevin de León, and Herrera were discussing ways to protect Latino political influence while revising City Council district boundaries.
In the conversation, Martinez and others can be heard making racially insensitive and derogatory comments about Blacks, Oaxacans, and other groups. This sparked several weeks of protests and calls for the resignation of those implicated in the recording.
Shortly after the release of the recording, Martinez and Herrera stepped down from their positions. Cedillo had already lost his bid for reelection four months prior to the recording, but remained in office until his term ended in December. Currently, only de León remains in office and has announced plans to seek reelection.
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