LOS ANGELES, Calif.–For the third time this year the Los Angeles City Council today was forced to cancel its meeting because not enough members showed up.
Another meeting was canceled less than a month ago on Sept. 29.
Council President Pro Tem Jan Perry apologized to the public for not having enough members to legally hold a council meeting and said the items on today’s agenda would be added to Tuesday’s agenda.
Council President Eric Garcetti was scheduled to arrive to the meeting at about 11:15 a.m. but did not make it in time.
“There was a miscommunication between us and the City Clerk,” Garcetti spokeswoman Julie Wong said. “We thought he had been excused, but he was not.”
Garcetti was speaking at a meeting of the Urban Land Institute.
Councilman Ed Reyes was in Washington, D.C. for a meeting Thursday with President Barack Obama. He is scheduled to return to Los Angeles today.
Reyes’ spokeswoman Monica Valencia said Reyes had requested that he be excused from council today and “did make President Garcetti aware of the councilman’s important meeting with Obama.”
Councilmen Bernard Parks, Bill Rosendahl, and Paul Krekorian were officially excused from the meeting.
At least 10 members are necessary to constitute a quorum, and only nine were present today: Jose Huizar, Richard Alarcon, Paul Koretz, Tom LaBonge, Jan Perry, Mitchell Englander, Tony Cardenas, Herb Wesson and Dennis Zine.
“It’s the public and people having to come all the way to downtown that makes things unfortunate,” Councilman Mitchell Englander said.
