L.A. City Councilman Mitch Englander apologizes for causing meeting to be canceled

Los Angeles City Councilman Mitch Englander has issued an apology, both in writing and in public, for causing the cancellation of Tuesday’s council meeting.

Englander was in charge of Tuesday’s 8:30 a.m. Public Safety Committee meeting, which went so late that Council President Herb Wesson had to cancel the council’s regularly scheduled 10 a.m. meeting.

At the time, Englander said his five-member panel would discuss the issue of rising crime rates “no matter how long it takes.” But on Wednesday, he was contrite, issuing an apology on the council floor and promising such an incident wouldn’t happen again.

Englander, who represents the northwest San Fernando Valley, also sent a written apology to Wesson and his colleagues.

“The council president is 100% correct in that we need to start council meetings with a quorum on time in order to do the people’s work,” he wrote.

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The 15-member council needs 10 members for a quorum. When Tuesday’s council meeting was scheduled to begin, five council members were in Englander’s committee. Councilman Jose Huizar had an excused absence and Councilman Paul Krekorian was excused to arrive late, according to Wesson spokeswoman Vanessa Rodriguez.

Wesson tried without success to have members of Englander’s committee brought to the council floor.

After the council meeting was canceled, Wesson told The Times: “No single issue is more important than the regularly scheduled business of the City Council.” Wesson also sent his colleagues a memo reminding them of the rules regarding absences and late arrivals to meetings.

Once Englander gave his apology on the council floor, Wesson responded: “Stuff happens.”

Times staff writer Emily Alpert Reyes contributed to this report.

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