The Porter Ranch Neighborhood Council will discuss and possibly vote Wednesday, June 24, on a resolution calling on Los Angeles Councilman John Lee to resign after his former boss Mitchell Englander agreed in March to plead guilty to obstructing justice in a case focusing on his acceptance of cash, hotel rooms and lavish meals during trips in 2017.
Lee declined requests for interviews on Monday but said in a statement that his “focus is on working with everyone in the community to address the COVID-19 crisis, the city’s budget crisis, issues that led to the recent civil unrest, homelessness, and other pressing matters the Twelfth District and Los Angeles are presently faced with.”
In his 20 years of service with the City of Los Angeles, Lee added, he has never had a single ethics violation.
Meanwhile, the neighborhood council’s resolution urges City Attorney Mike Feuer “to enforce the city’s own laws against unethical conduct by city employees beginning with an investigation into Mr. Lee’s conduct as a then high-ranking council office employee, and to present his report to City Council in a public meeting.”
In addition, the resolution calls on City Council President Nury Martinez and the entire City Council to “formally affirm their commitment to maintaining the highest legal, ethical, and moral standards when conducting city business.” The resolution also urges all neighborhood councils within Council District 12, represented by Lee, to take a position on the matter.
“It’s unfortunate that the city has been quiet about it,” said Issam Najm, president of the Porter Ranch Neighborhood Council, who authored the resolution. “I don’t think it’s right. I think this is something we should all have a position on as neighborhood councils.”
Lee, who represents neighborhoods in the northwest San Fernando Valley, served as the chief of staff of Englander, who in March pleaded guilty to a single count of scheming to falsify material facts.
The @PorterRanchNC is having a special meeting Wed, June 24, 6:15p to get community input about whether to ask @CD12LA Los Angeles CM John Lee to resign. Public comment via Zoom. https://t.co/5qk8i2IrGw @AlpertReyes @OlgaGrigory @reporterliz @GroundGameLA @SunriseMvmtLA
— Alexandra Nagy (@RealFoodNagy) June 21, 2020
Englander served as a council member from 2011 until he stepped down in 2018, had been under investigation by federal authorities for allegedly accepting gifts, money, hotel rooms and other gifts during a trip to Las Vegas in 2017, according to FBI documents.
Federal prosecutors said Englander admitted to taking $15,000 in cash from a businessman, identified in court documents as Businessman A, during trips to Las Vegas and Palm Springs.
Lee admitted earlier that he accompanied his former boss on his trip to Las Vegas but said he was “unaware of any illegal activities for which Councilmember Englander is being charged.”
Lee has never confirmed whether or not he is the staffer, known as “City Staffer B,” mentioned in federal documents. The unnamed city staffed worked for Englander until June 2017, according to the indictment. Lee left Englander’s office around the same time for a job in the private sector.
“Mr. Lee has lost the privilege of having the trust of the community to serve them at City Council,” the resolution said.
This is not the first time a CD-12 neighborhood council called for the city to investigate Lee’s activities during his 2017 Las Vegas trip. Earlier his month, the Granada Hills South Neighborhood Council green-lit a resolution calling on the City Ethics Commission to begin an investigation into whether Lee violated the city’s ethics rules.
Wednesday’s virtual meeting will start at 6:15 p.m. To join the meeting via the web, visitors can go to https://zoom.us/J/94783511596 or dial (888) 475-4499 and enter the meeting ID: 94783511596#.
