Councilman Price Proclaims Innocence, Says He Should Not Be Suspended

Los Angeles City Councilman Curren Price, who is currently charged with 10 criminal counts by the LA County DA’s office, said in a statement on Wednesday that he is innocent and should not be suspended from his position due to the ‘misguided’ charges.

Last Tuesday, Price was charged by LA County DA George Gascon with five counts of embezzlement of government funds, three counts of perjury and two counts of conflict of interest. The charges were over Price’s wife collecting around $150,000 in payments between 2019 and 2021 from developers before Price was able to vote on approval for their projects, with the money then not being recorded on government disclosure forms. In addition, city funds amounting to $34,000 also went to medical bills for his then soon-to-be wife Del Richardson while Price was still married to another woman.

Faced with the 5th large suspension-level scandal involving an LA City Councilmember in only 4 years, Los Angeles City Council President Paul Krekorian announced on Wednesday that he will be proposing a suspension of Councilman Curren Price due to the 10 criminal charges he is facing. While Price voluntarily removed himself from committee assignments and other leadership roles during this time, he also expressed innocence over the charges. However, with the looming vote on Friday for the Rules Committee to vote on the suspension proposal, which would lead to an entire City Council vote on such a suspension, Price fought back on Wednesday, proclaiming his innocence and that suspending him would be unjust, as he is still currently presumed innocent.

“I’m innocent and deserve the chance to respond to misguided charges filed by the district attorney’s office,” noted Price in a statement on Wednesday. “Until I have an opportunity to respond, it would be inappropriate for the council’s Rules, Elections, and Intergovernmental Relations Committee to recommend my suspension. While I respect that Council President Krekorian has to take any allegations against a member of the council seriously, I am presumed innocent, as indeed I am. And the best way to protect the voices and concerns of those in my district is to allow me and my dedicated staff to continue to serve the needs of District 9.”

While some Councilmembers, such as Marqueece Harris-Dawson, have remained uncommitted so far on a decision and want residents from Price’s district to weigh in first, as a Price suspension would mean that an interim replacement would be selected to represent him, many have also said that they are in favor of a suspension, finding many of the charges against him “troubling.”

“My role is not to cast judgments here,” said Councilman Hugo Soto-Martinez last week. “But when the time comes, I plan to join my colleagues in voting to suspend Mr. Price from his role as council member.”

Should the committees and Council ultimately vote to suspend Price, all Council voting ability would be erased, with his City Council salary also being cut. While a resignation would trigger a special election for his seat, a suspension or conviction removal would lead to a caretaker member to be appointed, which could mean months or even years of no district representation until a new member is agreed to.

“You can see where all these problems are now,” Los Angeles law researcher Jill Rodriguez said to the Globe Wednesday. “Price is not only facing suspension from his duties, which would pretty much mean the end to his political career if it hasn’t been killed by previous scandals already, but is facing his salary being taken away, which means he’ll have trouble paying for legal services, and his district being without a councilmember for who knows how long. Of course he’s fighting it.”

“But he also did it to himself, and to his district. If he is guilty on even one count, it means Price hurt his district when he tried to do something illegal for his own gain. He is still presumed innocent, but even if he beats suspension, he can be found guilty and be removed from the Council anyway. So he’s worrying heavily on two fronts right now. This is going to be a wild ride one way or another.”

The Council Rules Committee is due to vote on the suspension proposal Friday.