'Well the career of an elected official is dependent on winning elections,' said LMU political science professor Fernando Guerra after leaked audio captured several councilmembers, including Nury Martinez, saying racist remarks.
Following any wrongdoing or political scandal, the Los Angeles City Council and the people they represent have few options to hold elected officials accountable.
"Most people realize these remarks, as terrible as they were, were actually directed at a [2]-year-old child," said Guerra."As bad as the remarks were, the context is even more horrible." "It is difficult for colleagues to oust a member of the City Council unless they just bow to political pressure," said Loyola Law School professor Jessica Levinson."But one of the routes to try and remove somebody who the voters think is simply not fit to serve an office is to start a recall election."
Another option the City Council can do is to censure the offending members. Censure is a formal statement of disapproval approved and adopted by the majority of a political body. If the council members resigned, someone would be appointed to their seats or officials would hold a special election to elect someone else to represent their districts.