Hundreds of speakers urge Los Angeles City Council to restore South and South Central representation on key committees

Dozens of clergy, neighborhood leaders and residents told the Los Angeles City Council on Tuesday that the council’s new committee assignments excluded elected representatives of South and South‑Central Los Angeles from major committees that control housing, economic development and employment resources.

The public comment period at the Aug. 7 meeting drew repeated appeals from community groups and clergy that Councilmember Jan Perry, Councilmember Mark Ridley‑Thomas and Councilmember Nate Holden be given seats on the Economic Development and Employment Committee and the Housing and Community Development Committee. “I pledge to support all the constituents that I represent, and I am seeking to allocate resources for economic development and grant funds for housing in my underserved communities,” Councilmember Jan Perry said in remarks entered into the record during public comment.

The speakers said the absence of representatives from the 8th, 9th and 10th districts effectively sidelines roughly “750,000 constituents,” a figure repeated by several speakers, and risks marginalizing neighborhoods that advocates say have the greatest need for city housing and social‑service investments. Karen Bass, executive director of the Community Coalition, called the assignments “a mistake” and said the council president should correct them, while clergy from multiple denominations urged a rapid remedy.

Council President Alex Padilla responded near the end of the public comment period, saying he had begun discussions with the affected members and welcomed further meetings. “I want you to know that I have heard you,” Padilla said, and he said conversations began the previous week with Councilmembers Perry, Holden and Ridley‑Thomas. Padilla offered to meet with community members and said he would continue talks after the meeting.

Speakers requested specific remedies: some asked that Councilman Joel Wachs (referred to in public remarks) voluntarily step down from committee slots he holds, enabling immediate appointment of representatives from the affected districts; others proposed adding members to the committees or postponing assignments pending further review. Several speakers warned that symbolic gestures alone would not suffice and asked for an explicit, public timeline for correction.

Councilmember Nick Pacheco, who said he chairs the Housing and Community Redevelopment Committee, told the public the committee has long considered projects from the affected districts and reassured speakers that “no resources are gonna be at risk.” Pacheco listed several housing projects he said had been advanced that affect South Los Angeles, and he said committee chairs had worked to move projects from those districts forward.

The meeting record shows no formal vote changing committee assignments at Tuesday’s session. Padilla said he and the council members had met and pledged to continue discussions; several speakers asked for a public follow‑up within one to two weeks. The council did not adopt specific remedial legislation or reassign seats during the Aug. 7 meeting.

Community leaders and clergy present included representatives of the Los Angeles NAACP, Faith‑based organizations, the Community Coalition and neighborhood economic development corporations. Several speakers framed their request as a matter of representational equity tied to recent charter changes and to precedent on neighborhood participation in city decision‑making.

The council’s next steps were not recorded as formal action in the Aug. 7 minutes; Padilla’s pledge to continue talks and the participants’ demand for a prompt public remedy were the principal outcomes of the day’s public comment period.