Silence Is No Virtue

Los Angeles City Council members Laura Chick and Mike Feuer are right to seek changes in the city charter that would force the removal of anyone on the council who admits to committing a felony.

Currently, the charter requires a council member to leave office upon conviction of a felony. But a member need not leave if he or she is first charged with a felony and then pleads guilty to a misdemeanor. Feuer and Chick would toughen the standard.

Justification for the change arises from the case of Councilman Mike Hernandez, who was charged with felony cocaine possession last August. Hernandez is expected to plead guilty in court today and enter a drug diversion program. Successful completion of the program would allow him to avoid jail time and a felony conviction. The outcome of a standard court process is not the issue here, however. By his own admission, Hernandez was high on cocaine during sessions of the City Council. “I would be lying if I said I wasn’t under the influence” during some meetings, he has conceded.

The proposed charter change should be approved by the council and then put before voters to prevent a council member from remaining in office under similar circumstances in the future. The Hernandez matter would not be affected.

Hernandez says that his cocaine addiction and concurrent alcohol abuse did not affect his work or his decision-making powers. Whom is he kidding? Just try to imagine the same words from your surgeon or your lawyer or from the bus driver who takes your children to school in the morning. Would you buy it?

On Friday, members of the council lashed out against each other on the issue. Councilman Nate Holden’s characterization of Chick and Feuer as “Westside Ku Klux Klansmen” only exacerbates racial tensions and seems to be an attempt to intimidate colleagues into silence. This is a case in which silence by the councilman’s colleagues can be mistaken for tacit support of unacceptable behavior that includes a serious crime. Hernandez’s contention that his enemies are out to get him will continue to resonate until a clear majority on the City Council openly proclaims that what Hernandez has done makes him unfit for office and he should step down.

Let’s see who else among the council members has the courage to stand up and say publicly what many of them are all too eager to say in private.