Los Angeles City Councilman Marquis Harris Dawson, who won his bid for the city council’s top leadership position on Tuesday, said he intends to use his presidency to focus on homelessness.
The council voted 14-0 to select Harris-Dawson to replace Paul Krekorian, who has held the position since October 2022, following an audio leak scandal that led to the resignation of Council President Nuri Martinez. Krekorian).
Harris-Dawson, 54, is scheduled to take over as chairman on September 20. Three” question.
“There’s no issue more important than the tens of thousands of people sleeping on the streets every night, so we need to zero in on that as much as possible,” he said. “I don’t think any other business can take over the responsibilities of the council.”
Krekorian, who must leave city government at the end of the year due to term limits, will remain chairman for the next four months. Councilwoman Monica Rodriguez was absent from Tuesday’s vote.
Harris-Dawson was first elected in 2015 and represents a district in South Los Angeles that includes all or parts of Baldwin Hills, Hyde Park, Park Mesa Heights and several other communities.
As president, he will have the power to determine the composition of parliamentary committees dealing with public safety, homelessness, the city budget and many other high-profile committees. As a close ally of Mayor Karen Bass, he could set the tone for the City Council’s relationship with the mayor, who has worked to move homeless Angelenos into hotels, motels and other types of accommodation. Temporary housing.
Harris-Dawson told The Times earlier this month that he had discussed with each of his colleagues what they expected from the president. In response to a reporter’s question on Tuesday, he declined to say whether he had asked Assemblyman Kevin de Leon, a key figure in the 2022 audio scandal, to support his bid for the leadership position.
“I’m glad it was a unanimous vote,” Harris-Dawson said.
Harris-Dawson sought de León’s resignation nearly two years ago, when the Times reported that de León, Martinez, then-Congressman Gil Cedillo and a high-profile labor leader attended A secretly recorded conversation that contained racist and derogatory remarks. De Leon has since apologized multiple times, saying he’s sorry for what he did and didn’t say during the recording session.
De Leon voted for Harris-Dawson on Tuesday. In an interview before the vote, he said Harris-Dawson had discussed the presidency with him and had indeed sought his support.
“I thought we had a good discussion about various issues affecting the city,” De Leon said.
Harris-Dawson will take over the leadership of the City Council in a year when city leaders have been working to close a major budget gap. Last week, council members voted to eliminate about 1,700 vacant positions in an effort to rein in spending.
City leaders have also begun preparations for the 2028 Olympics. In the coming months, the committee will decide whether to move forward with a costly modernization of the city’s convention center in the run-up to the Olympics.
Harris-Dawson told colleagues he would have more information about his plans once he takes office.
“I’m going to keep my head down until September and study as hard as we can so that we can be as prepared as possible when we lead this committee,” he said.
