To the editor: Gustavo Arellano's column on the 13-year prison sentence of former Los Angeles City Councilman José Huizar resonated deeply with me. Although Arellano's owner claims that he has lost empathy for Huizar, it is clear that this is not the case. Me neither.
When I was principal at Eastside, Huizar supported our school and my leadership efforts. First as a school board member and then as a member of the City Council, Huizar helped me make several important projects come to fruition when others lost interest.
Like Arellano, I feel disappointed, saddened and even a little deceived by our compadre's decisions. But Arellano shows us that we can empathize with Huizar and at the same time agree that he must be held accountable.
Beth Bythrow, Los Angeles
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To the editor: The biggest City Hall corruption scandal in nearly 100 years came to a grim and anticlimactic end with Huizar's prison sentence.
Huizar's lawyers stated that he denied that his dealings were criminal and described his activity as commonplace at City Hall, a claim that Council President Paul Krekorian called “complete garbage.”
In recent years, four council members have been arrested for corruption and three were recorded making racist statements in a discussion about redistricting. It appears that Krekorian denies that it is business as usual at City Hall.
The City Council has not implemented new reforms or ethics standards for its members since Huizar's arrest in 2020, and Los Angeles is paralyzed by a homelessness and affordable housing crisis.
In his pre-sentencing letter to the judge, Huizar wrote: “Do it the right way within the rules.” This is exactly why we need a more effective and clearly defined set of rules for council members so that another scandal is avoided and we can ethically solve the homelessness and affordable housing crisis. Only in this way will confidence in the City Council be recovered.
Ken Walsh, Los Angeles
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To the editor: Arellano takes readers into the courtroom at the moment when Huizar realizes things are not going well. Huizer takes the time to approach Arellano to offer him a greetings — you will see, Their families are from the same area of Zacatecas, Mexico.
Arellano's knowledge of shared history and informed cultural perspective add a human dimension to an otherwise forgettable judicial process. As his legal team pushes Huizar toward the elevator, he searches the crowd for Arellano for one last look. greetings bumps fists.
Stories like these written by generations of journalists like Arellano are not easily found on the Internet. Greeting to the Los Angeles Times.
Karen Neville, Palm Desert
