The Los Angeles City Council has approved up to $350,000 to settle a lawsuit brought against it by groups who claimed the council violated the city charter by appointing Herb Wesson in 2022 to replace then-suspended Councilmember Mark Ridley-Thomas.
The Southern Christian Leadership Conference of Southern California and a group of individuals calling themselves the League of Registered Voters of District 10 sued, claiming the council denied 10th District voters their chosen representative, Ridley-Thomas.
Ivor Pine, a spokesperson for the City Attorney’s Office, said on Wednesday, July 5, that the $350,000 payment is for attorney fees and costs to the plaintiffs and their counsels. No party admitted any liability as part of the settlement, he said.
Ridley-Thomas was suspended by the City Council in October 2021 after he was indicted on charges of bribery and conspiracy for actions he took while serving on the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors, before he joined the City Council.
Ridley-Thomas was convicted this year, accused of steering county contracts to the USC School of Social Work in exchange for monetary benefits to his son, former state Assemblymember Sebastian Ridley-Thomas.
In February 2022, the City Council made a controversial decision to appoint Wesson as a temporary fill-in while Ridley-Thomas’ corruption case was making its way through court.
The Southern Christian Leadership Conference of Southern California and the League of Registered Voters of District 10 sued the city ahead of the February 2022 City Council decision.
Questions were raised about whether Wesson, who served on the City Council from 2005 to 2020, had been termed out and therefore was ineligible to serve again. Wesson resigned in August 2022 after a judge prevented him from performing any council functions.
In October, a judge decided that the lawsuit was moot, but the parties involved still had to settle on the awarding of attorney and court fees.
On Wednesday,…
Read the full article here