Former LA Councilman Kevin de Leon Faces Major Ethics Violations Fines

According to a Los Angeles city Ethics Commission staff report released over the weekend, former Los Angeles City Councilman Kevin de Leon faces up to $18,750 in fines for ethics violations for failing to say that he was financially tied with groups associated with certain votes in the Los Angeles City Council in 2020 and 2021.

De Leon, who served as an Assemblyman from 2006-2010, state Senator from 2010-2018, and as a Los Angeles City Councilman from 2020 to 2024, specifically failed to say that he received $264,231 in consulting fees from the AIDS Healthcare Foundation and the University of Southern California (USC). These were before two votes on hotel properties operated by the AIDS Healthcare Foundation and one vote on a development while the third was linked to a housing and community development that included USC’s Keck School of Medicine in it.

The Commission, in addition to reporting on the ethics violations, reported that de Leon admitted to the violations and cooperated. Nonetheless, de Leon did show a pattern with his actions and acted willingly. While no ethics violations fines have been given out by the commission as of Monday, it is highly likely that de Leon will have to pay all or at least part of the fines.

“De Leon admitted to four counts of making or participating in a city decision in which he held a financial interest and one count of failing to disclose income,” said the report. “De Leon cooperated with staff and saved Ethics Commission resources by entering into this stipulated settlement before the preparation of a probable cause report; and (2) de Leon has no prior enforcement history with the Ethics Commission.

“However, enforcement staff noted the following aggravating circumstances: (1) the violations in this case are serious; and (2) the violations appear to indicate a pattern of conduct.”

De Leon’s Latest Scandal

In a statement, de Leon’s office clarified that while he violated ethics by not disclosing his ties to those organizations in 2020 and 2021, he didn’t do it for personal financial gain and would have recused himself if he was told to do so.

“This matter centers on disclosure — not personal gain,” said de Leon’s office over the weekend. “The items in question provided homeless housing during a pandemic and health services to vulnerable Angelenos. They passed unanimously, and had Councilmember de Leon been advised that he should recuse himself, he would have done so without hesitation — the outcomes would have been the same.”

For two decades, de Leon’s political career has been rife with controversies, including some with similar organization nondisclosure violations. This has included de Leon illegally ghost voting in the Assembly, voting for bills where companies that backed him before benefited, calling much of the state “Tumbleweeds”, not knowing the pledge of allegiance, and perhaps most infamously, making multiple racist remarks in a scandal that resulted in two Councilmembers having to leave office and de Leon barely staying on.

These scandals have also played a part in him losing major elections in recent years. In 2018, controversies from his time as a Senator helped sink his campaign to be a U.S. Senator, falling to then-incumbent Senator Dianne Feinstein 6,019,422 to 5,093,942 votes, or 54% to 46%. While de Leon bounced back politically in 2020 by being elected to the L.A. City Council, he received a major blow two years later in 2022 when, during the Los Angeles Mayoral primary, he barely received 50,000 votes and garnered under 8% of the total vote, winding up a distant third place.

Last year, the racist remark scandal caused him to lose his Council spot. While first projected as the heavy favorite a year before, the scandal decimated his support, causing him to lose to attorney Ysabel Jurado 46,007 votes to 34,472 votes, or 57% to 43%.

As de Leon has been seen as a viable candidate for several different city, county, and state elections in 2026 and 2028, including being a possible challenger for Mayor once again next year, the ethics violations fines have thrown a possible wrench into those plans. With additional lingering discontent from the racist remarks made in 2023, de Leon may lose out on a higher office once again because of his own actions.