For 17 long months, Ridley-Thomas had been in a kind of limbo — suspended from the City Council but not permanently removed. But after five days of deliberation, jurors found Ridley-Thomas guilty of federal corruption charges on Thursday — an outcome that dictates his removal from council, per the City Charter.
Ridley-Thomas’ permanent ouster means that the city’s 10th Council District will once again be without a voting representative, at least for the time being.
If Ridley-Thomas had been acquitted, he would have returned to his seat at the completion of the trial, supplanting interim appointed Councilmember Heather Hutt. But Hutt was appointed only to fill a “temporary vacancy” — a status that no longer applies since Ridley-Thomas’ conviction renders the vacancy no longer temporary.
The City Council will likely reappoint Hutt to serve as a voting member of council through the remainder of Ridley-Thomas’ term, which runs through December 2024. It could also opt to hold a special election and put the decision back into the hands of voters.
If someone isn’t appointed to serve as a voting member of council, Council President Paul Krekorian could still appoint Hutt or someone else to serve as a non-voting caretaker of the seat, as Hutt did briefly last summer before her appointment to council.
The 10th District seat had already been subject to something of a roller coaster in the year and a half since Ridley-Thomas was suspended.
Prior to Hutt’s appointment, the council appointed termed-out former council President Herb Wesson to return as Ridley-Thomas’ interim replacement in early 2022. Legal objections prevailed and Wesson was sidelined by a judge in July, leading to a contentious council fight over the district’s immediate future before Hutt was ultimately appointed.
Hutt launched her campaign earlier this month to represent the 10th District following the 2024 election, though it remains unclear whether she’ll be able to run as an unelected incumbent.
Ridley-Thomas’ conviction — which stems from actions taken while he served on the County Board of Supervisors, not the City Council — follows that of two other recent members of the council, Jose Huizar and Mitchell Englander.
Huizar pleaded guilty in January to charges of racketeering and tax evasion, admitting that he extorted at least $1.5 million in bribes from real estate developers.
Englander was convicted in a sprawling City Hall corruption case in 2020, admitting he schemed to prevent federal investigators from learning about cash and other freebies he received from a Southern California businessman.
Times staff writer David Zahniser contributed to this report.