Los Angeles City Councilman Marqueece Harris-Dawson won his bid for the council's top leadership position on Tuesday, saying he intends to use the presidency to focus heavily on homelessness.
The council voted 14-0 to select Harris-Dawson to replace Paul Krekorian, who has held the position since October 2022, following the audio leak scandal that led to the resignation of council President Nury Martinez.
Harris-Dawson, 54, is scheduled to take office on September 20. After Tuesday's vote, he said homelessness would be the “no.” 1, 2 and 3” emissions under his leadership.
“There is no problem more important than the tens of thousands of people sleeping on the streets every night, so we must focus on that as much as possible,” he said. “I don't think there's any other issue that will take its place for the council.”
Krekorian, who must leave municipal office at the end of the year due to term limits, will continue as president for the next four months. Councilwoman Mónica Rodríguez was absent from Tuesday's vote.
Harris-Dawson, first elected in 2015, represents a South Los Angeles district consisting of all or part of Baldwin Hills, Hyde Park, Park Mesa Heights and several other neighborhoods.
As president, he will have the power to determine the makeup of council committees dealing with public safety, homelessness, the city budget and many other high-profile issues. A close ally of Mayor Karen Bass, he will likely set the tone for the council's relationship with the mayor, who has focused on moving homeless Angelenos into hotels, motels and other types of temporary housing.
Harris-Dawson told The Times this month that she had spoken to each of her colleagues about what they wanted in a president. On Tuesday, while answering questions from reporters, he declined to say whether he had asked Councilman Kevin de León, a major figure in the 2022 audio scandal, to support his candidacy for the leadership post.
“I'm happy it was a unanimous vote,” Harris-Dawson said.
Harris-Dawson had called for De León to resign nearly two years ago after The Times reported that De León, Martínez, then-Councilman Gil Cedillo and a high-profile union leader participated in a secretly recorded conversation that included racist comments and derogatory. De León has apologized multiple times since then, saying that he regrets what he did and what he did not say during the meeting.
De León voted for Harris-Dawson on Tuesday. In an interview last week, he said Harris-Dawson had spoken to him about the presidency and sought his support.
“I think we had a good discussion about a wide variety of issues that impact the city,” De León said.
Harris-Dawson will take over the council's leadership role in a year in which city leaders have been working to erase a major budget deficit. Last week, council members voted to eliminate about 1,700 vacant positions in an effort to rein in spending.
City leaders have also begun preparations for the 2028 Olympics. In the coming months, the council will decide whether to move forward with a costly modernization of the city's Convention Center in the run-up to the Games.
Harris-Dawson told colleagues she will have more to say about her plans once she takes office.
“Until September, expect to see me with my head down, studying as much as we can to be as prepared as possible when we assume leadership of this council,” he said.
