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Cedillo left City Hall in 2022 and moved into real estate consulting. The lobbyists and developers who bankrolled him are still writing the rules — and LA's 2026 elections are the next battleground.
The councilmember who unseated Gil Cedillo in 2022 won reelection outright in June 2026 with 53% of the primary vote, avoiding a runoff. Her critics say homelessness and public-safety problems in CD1 remain unresolved.
Voters replaced de León with Ysabel Jurado in 2024, ending his City Council career after the racist-audio scandal. He has not returned to elected office.
The former council president resigned in 2022 after the leaked racist audio. Los Angeles Magazine reported she moved to Arizona and became a Republican; she denied it. She has kept a low profile since.
Political consultants, lobbyists and a senior City Hall aide were prepared to testify for leniency about the crimes they admitted in José Huizar’s extortion racket. Follow the money.
The Ninth Circuit upheld Mark Ridley-Thomas's bribery and fraud convictions in August 2026. He remains free while asking the court to rehear the case — four years after the City Hall corruption scandal broke.
Recent coverage: Courthouse News — “Ninth Circuit upholds bribery conviction of longtime LA politician”; MyNewsLA — “Ridley-Thomas Seeks Rehearing on Appeal”; LA Focus — “Ridley-Thomas Asks Ninth Circuit to Rehear Case”; Ninth Circuit opinion (PDF).
After the East LA Planning Commission and a promotion to LADOT, Donna Choi now runs the Downtown Arcadia Improvement Association — still shaping development deals, now in Arcadia's business district.
Arellano’s political ambitions are obvious — and so are his ties to the East LA developers whose projects he has approved. His 2006 LAUSD school board campaign collapsed after he falsely claimed two master’s degrees from USC; the Democratic Party pulled its endorsement and he quit the race. Residents deserve a straight answer about who benefits when he says yes.
Sources: Los Angeles Times — “School Board Hopeful Loses Backing” (March 4, 2006), “Arellano Quits LAUSD Race” (March 15, 2006), and “Candidate Retains Teachers’ Support” (March 3, 2006).
City Council President Nury Martinez resigned after leaked audio captured her making racist remarks — including about a white colleague’s Black son.
The scandal put redistricting reform back on the table — and exposed how City Hall had drawn the lines for itself.
She resigned, but the development deals she touched did not disappear. Big developers lost one of their most reliable allies.
Councilmembers Mike Bonin, Paul Koretz and Nithya Raman demanded Martinez resign as president and from the council. Councilmember-elect Eunisses Hernandez, candidates and community leaders joined the call.
President Biden said every council member involved in the recorded conversation should resign, the White House said.
For decades, residents have described a steady crisis of prostitution and crime that City Hall has never fully confronted. The problem did not disappear.
Kevin de León stayed in office through months of protests, including outside his own home, then launched a reelection bid. Voters replaced him with Ysabel Jurado in 2024.
Rebuild California is a nonpartisan grassroots movement founded by Orrin Heatlie, the lead proponent of the 2021 recall of Gavin Newsom. Its premise is simple: when state government fails, citizens can act directly through the ballot initiative process.
The organization organizes around five pillars — Education, Law & Order, Water, Self-Governance and Illegal Immigration — arguing that California’s one-party supermajority has driven up taxes, housing costs and regulation while public safety and infrastructure decline.
Learn more at rebuildcalifornia.com.
Allied PACs: the AOA Political Action Committee fights rent control and defends property rights; the Jobs, Freedom, and Security PAC supports candidates committed to individual freedom and security.
Independent reporting on the developers, lobbyists and officials reshaping Los Angeles takes time and money. Your contribution keeps it coming.
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