Los Angeles City Council member Curren Price called on his colleague Wednesday to reject a proposal to suspend him from the council.

prosecutor

.

Price said that until he has had an opportunity to respond, it would be “inappropriate” for the council’s Rules of Procedure, Elections and Intergovernmental Relations Committee to recommend his suspension, a move that would strip him of all duties, including his ability to cast votes.

“While I respect that Council President Krekorian should take seriously all allegations against a member of the Council, I am presumed innocent, and I am,” Price said in a statement. “And the best way to protect the voices and concerns of those in my district is to enable me and my dedicated staff to continue serving the needs of District 9.

The price statement comes more than a week after the

district a

The attorney’s office filed a case indicting Price on 10 felony counts.

Prosecutors have charged Price with perjury and say he failed to disclose his wife’s business dealings with developers whose projects he voted for. They also say Price violated conflict of interest laws by endorsing two of those developers’ affordable housing projects between 2019 and 2021.

In addition, prosecutors have charged Price with misappropriation of public funds, saying he allowed his now-wife to receive city health benefits at a time when their marriage was not legally valid.

The city charter gives the council the power to suspend any city elected official charged with a crime, whether or not he or she has declared their innocence.

The rules committee will meet on Friday to consider her suspension proposal, which will ultimately require the board’s full approval. However, it’s not clear if that three-member panel will decide the issue with just one meeting.

Suspension would have huge ramifications for both Price and his South LA district, which includes some of the city’s poorest neighborhoods. If Price were suspended, Krekorian and his colleagues would have to decide whether to choose a non-voting janitor or

to a

temporary member of the voting board to oversee the district. That arrangement may take some time, as Price began his third term in January and has three and a half years to go.

If the board votes to adjourn, city manager Kenneth Mejia would likely take steps to strip him of his wages, potentially leaving Price unable to pay lawyers. In December Mejia made clear that he would stop paying the salary of any suspended council member, and said such action is enshrined in the city charter.

“Once the city council releases a councilor from his duties, it is the responsibility of the inspectors to stop paying them for not working,” Mejia wrote last year on Twitter.

The council has suspended two colleagues since 2020: Jose Huizar and Mark Ridley-Thomas, both of whom were charged in federal corruption cases. Huizar later pleaded guilty, while Ridley-Thomas was convicted by a seven-point jury.

Krekorian did not immediately respond to questions from The Times about Price’s statement. But in recent days he has promised to move more slowly with the suspension process than the council did with Huizar and Ridley-Thomas.

During a Wednesday appearance on Tavis Smiley’s talk show on KBLA

-AT THE

1580, Krekorian said the public should not assume that Price will be suspended simply because a motion to suspend is being considered.

“This is just to get the conversation started,” Krekorian said. “It’s not the end of the conversation. It’s the beginning of the conversation.”

Councilman Marqueece Harris-Dawson, who sits on the rules committee, has begun asking questions about the seriousness of the charges against Price, saying the district attorney’s case is “scratching their heads” for him and others. Harris-Dawson said earlier this week that he wants residents of Price’s 9th precinct to have the opportunity to weigh in on any suspension proposal.

“I am determined to cooperate with the [council] president to hold official hearings in the 9th district, this process must move forward,” Harris-Dawson said.

Harris-Dawson declined to say earlier this week whether he thinks Price’s suspension is justified. Meanwhile, Price said he would like to comment on both the “misguided accusations” made by the district attorney and the “unfair allegations” against his wife, Del Richardson Price.

“I am confident that the court, and all honest observers, will recognize that these allegations are baseless,” Price said.

Price was a member of the rules committee before the charges were filed last week. Krekorian has appointed Council member Hugo Soto-Martinez, representing a neighborhood near Hollywood, to fill

the

Price

‘s

seat on the committee.

Soto-Martinez said last week he would vote in favor

the suspension of suspension

Price. He did not immediately comment on Price’s statement on Wednesday afternoon.