Curren Price was sworn in for his third term on the Los Angeles City Council last fall with a promise to mend rifts.

After leaked footage exposed Latino councilors plotting to consolidate power in a conversation laced with anti-black tropes, Price was a counterpoint to a veteran black leader who had forged unity in his predominantly Latino district.

To me, he is someone who embodies everything we need right now, said Councilwoman Monica Rodriguez.

Seven months later, Price is charged with perjury for failing to disclose his wife’s business relationships with developers whose projects he voted for.

of

embezzling city funds by allowing his now-wife to receive spousal health benefits when they were not legally married. Price called the allegations “baseless”.

In the Price district and among LA black community leaders, the allegations were a political earthquake, one that was heightened by the recent conviction and demise of Mark Ridley-Thomas, long a power broker in the black community and lingering bitterness over how Ridley-Thomas was pushed. and his constituents were unrepresented for months.

The impact is very clear. Black elected officials are declining exponentially. We will have no representation, no voice, no advocate to speak on our behalf,” said Pastor Xavier Thompson of Southern Missionary Baptist Church on West Adams Boulevard.

It sure is a blow. It’s definitely painful to watch, said Councilman Reggie Jones-Sawyer, whose legislative district is shrouding prices.

Jones-Sawyer recalled not being able to get out of bed after Ridley-Thomas was charged, feeling depressed and now seeing another official being charged. You are looking at individuals who have dedicated their lives to public service. When you look at their body of work and what they’ve contributed, it’s a shame it’s come to this, he said.

It is distressing and heartbreaking that for a city as diverse as Los Angeles, we have only two African-American people on the council, said Claudia Oliveira, CEO of the DTLA Chamber of Commerce, who self-identified as African-Indigenous white.

Awards third term representing the 9th district

expires

in 2026, but Oliveira and others immediately acknowledged that the criminal charges could bring the chair into play sooner. Price could resign or be removed from office if convicted, triggering a special election, or the city council could appoint an interim caretaker or even a temporary voting member.

This is a major turning point, Oliveira said.

Stretching from LA Live and the Convention Center south along the 110 Freeway toward 95th Street, the 9th District has been represented by black politicians since the 1960s.

It is home to the historic heart of the city’s black community along Central Avenue, but the demographics of the area have changed significantly. Today, the district is four-fifths Latino and only 13% black, though with the large number of youth and immigrants

who are not entitled to vote

the share of black voters nearly doubles to 25%.

There is a sense of black loss or erasure in the district, said Manuel Pastor, director of the USC Dornsife Equity Research Institute and co-author of the book “South Central Dreams.”

Price, who was first elected in 2013 and last year beat Dulce Vasquez, a Latina, by a 2-to-1 margin to win his third term, acknowledged those shifting forces. He received strong support from organized workers, had a predominantly Latino staff, and rolled out programs such as a Dia De Los Muertos event and an immigration clinic.

Still, many predicted that Price could be the last black politician to win

in the 9th precinct

. On the leaked audio, Councilman Kevin de Len refers to a future Latino running the precinct as if it were demographically unavoidable with the earliest possible date in 2026.

Now that choice for a successor could well come sooner.

The timing has shifted, Pastor said of the tariffs. This speeds up a conversation that it would be nice to have longer, adding: who’s going to run the district, who’s homegrown, who’s cemented the ties between the black and brown community?

Price has resigned from his commission seats, including his post as second-in-command to President Paul Krekorian, but not completely removed from office. Krekorian has started the process to suspend Price, which would further sideline him while an interim appointee could run his office.

Marilyn Green, an activist and general representative of the Zapata King Neighborhood Council, urged a wait-and-see approach to Price, who she says helped rebuild a nearby park and add more police officers there.

He must be given the chance to prove himself and we will stand behind him, said Green.

But looking for a midterm replacement or another election for the post, Green was blunt: I personally will fight to have him replaced by an African American.

Jones-Sawyer, who is vying to become the next councilor for neighboring District 10, is not saying whether Price should step down. But looking at a process for a janitor to serve in his stead, he called on the city council to listen to Price’s voters.

“We need to start from the top down, not from the top, and talk to the people who live in that district and have an honest discussion about what they want and what they think is best,” Jones-Sawyer said.

It’s a process that

underlined

a challenge for black politicians in this historically black neighborhood and beyond.

Being able to cross over will be key to the power and success of African Americans in the future,” Jones-Sawyer said, noting that he is one of the few officials representing

S

a district where a vast majority of voters are not their race or ethnicity.

Since our numbers aren’t what they used to be,” he said, “we need to represent all of Los Angeles and be that elected official who really understands the needs of the voters they serve.”

Among Price’s voters, associates, and supporters, the allegations against him provoked caution, sadness, and skepticism.

Alberto Tlatoa, who serves on a ward council in the 9th precinct, disagreed, calling for his hasty departure: “I absolutely think Curren Price should resign, because he betrayed our community. It’s not fair that we are the ones paying the price.” .”

Kahllid A. Al-Alim

a parent activist for Students Deserve, said he felt it was “upmost importance” for the city council to allow a black person to hold the 9th district seat in light of the leaked audio.

“This opens the door to losing black leadership. People will lose faith in black leadership within that very diverse municipal district,” Al-Alim said.

the

Rev. Norman Johnson, convener of South LA Clergy for Public Accountability, said he was “deeply concerned” about Price and “how the board will decide to provide representation” to those who put him in office for three terms.

Many expressed doubts about the case against Price, distinguishing the allegations against him from the other council members, such as Jose Huizar, who was indicted by a federal grand jury in an elaborate pay-to-play scheme involving developers and cash bribes.

Johnson

from South LA Clergy for Public Accountability,

called the timing of the charges curious.

Thompson, the minister, said I cannot speak of Curren Price’s innocence or guilt. But it feels fishy. It feels focused. It feels petty.

“We were a bit skeptical about the whole situation,”

said

Edward Garren, who has lived in South LA since 2011, said he and his neighbors hold Price “incredibly high.”

Like when you find out a family member is in trouble, you don’t really care if the allegations are true or not, you feel bad,” said Garren, who sits on the board of the Voices Neighborhood Council.

Many viewed the allegations against Price as a blow to community and confidence in the government.

It won’t just be Curren Price as an individual who will take it on, but the people in our community,” said Ronald Gochez, an Unin del Barrio organizer who was part of the crowded field that ran against Price in 2013. “I sincerely hope the allegations are false.”

For many residents, the feeling is just that it’s happening again,” coupled with fears that the district will be without representation at city hall for an extended period of time, said Azusena Favela, a lifelong resident of the district who works in philanthropy.

Favela also worried about what might happen to neighborhood groups and residents who had built strong relationships with Price and whether anyone could maintain or restore those deep ties.

How do you go back to those people and really reinforce that they need to stay active in their communities, keep actively voting?

She said. Times staff writer Emily Alpert Reyes contributed to this report.