New Councilman Cancels Spending Planned By Predecessor, Tom LaBonge
LOS ANGELES (CBSLA.com) — Newly elected Los Angeles City Councilman David Ryu has succeeded in canceling various projects planned and funded by his predecessor, Tom LaBonge.
At its Tuesday meeting, the City Council voted unanimously to rescind the spending of $600,000 of discretionary funds earmarked for about 40 projects by LaBonge in the final weeks of his 14-year term. Ryu took over the council's 4th District seat from LaBonge on July 1.
LaBonge's projects included $50,000 to remove dead trees in Griffith Park and $50,000 for sidewalk repairs along Larchmont Boulevard.
Ryu told CBS2/KCAL9's Dave Lopez that he still intends to spend the $600,000, but before he does, he hopes to gather more community input. Ryu said he has begun to hold community meetings to discuss how the money should be spent.
"A lot of these projects – we don't even know what they're for," Ryu said. "I need to be accountable to my constituents and the taxpayers."
LaBonge, for his part, defended his spending plan.
"I work with community groups all the time," he said.
