Now we know why the making K-town an independent city district was tough last year.
The conversation between LA city councilors and union leaders revealed racist expressions and prejudice, but at the same time, it is shocking that they opposed the redistricting of Koreatown and intended to use the constituency in their favor.
In a conversation with Kevin De Leon and Gil Sedillo in October last year, Nuri Martinez, who resigned as chairman of the city council on the 11th, advised them to secure their votes, stating that there are many Latino voters in the 10th district.
At the same time, when asked who was the front-runner in K-town while Councilman Mark Ridley-Thomas was gone, Martinez said, “Nithya Raman is looking over, but we can’t let it that happen. “Never,” she said.
She clearly expressed his intention that the votes of Koreans in Raman’s district should not be concentrated on her as well as checks. In the end, the three made it clear that they want Latin votes evenly, the K-town constituency must be separated from the nearby constituency. In particular, it seems that they wanted to adjust the owners of apartments and shopping malls in Korean Town so that they did not gather in one district.
At that time, the unified 10-district constituency, which fully included the Korean town, passed the city council on December 7. It was after a year of twists and turns, and it will not be amended for the next 10 years.
“I was surprised to know now that the three councils tried to keep the constituency divided, unlike what they said they would help us,” said Steve Kang, a public relations officer at the Korean Town Redistricting Task Force. He said “it would have been difficult to make it happen if it hadn’t been for the efforts of the TF team members who were effectively able to try to persuade them.”
At the same time, an official who helped the TF activities said, “I realized at the time how important and desperate it was to elect a representative in the city council. As seen in their remarks, growth should be done by themselves, not by anyone.”
Nithya Raman, a city council member mentioned in the transcript, said, “Even if we look at the transcript, the re-election should be carried out through an independent committee, not a vested interest. It is bitter to see that individual power is ahead of the community.”
by Choi In Seong
