Green Party of Los Angeles County calls for resignation of Los Angeles City Councilmember John Lee

The Green Party of Los Angeles County (GPLAC) believes that all people are presumed legally innocent until proven guilty.

However the GPLAC believes that Los Angeles City Councilmember John Lee should immediately resign his Distsrict 12 City Council seat.

Lee’s direct involvement in affairs leading up to the federal indictment of former Los Angeles City Councilmember Mitch Englander, as referenced as 'City Staffer B' in that indictment — and his role in a possible cover-up of it -- means he can not govern with the confidence of the residents of his district, nor of the City of Los Angeles overall.

The remainder of Lee’s current term runs only through November 2020, a relatively short time for the seat to remain vacant (unless it is filled by a special election, which under the current public heath emergency, it is not clear it would occur.)

Lee also chose to run for City Council in a 2019 special election knowing that he had already been questioned regarding this affair by the FBI in 2018. The GPLAC sees this as an unethical choice, revealing Lee's disdain for the public’s right to know, and demonstrating he does not deserve the public trust.

As of March 17, with many uncounted ballots still outstanding in Los Angeles County from a two-way March 3 primary election, Lee is ahead of his opponent Loraine Lundquist 50.68% to 49.32% to fill the seat for the 2020-2024 term https://results.lavote.net/text-results/4085#contest-10.

While it is not clear whether Lee will remain ahead after all the votes are counted, should he prevail, that 2020-2024 term does not begin until new City Councilmembers are seated after the November 2020 general elections.  During Englander’s trial, Lee will have an opportunity to clear his name before it would be time to assume the new seat.

If Lee is unable to clear his name, he must decline to assume the seat, and allow CD12 residents to chose a different representative. This would be preferable to Lee facing an almost certain recall effort in early 2021, should he fail to clear his name before assuming the seat.