Los Angeles City Council President Nury Martinez announced Thursday that she has ruled out a run for mayor, saying the city needs stable political leadership as it emerges from the pandemic and the economic downturn that accompanied it. To run for mayor, “I’d have to give up the presidency, which is the most powerful position in the city,” Martinez told The Times last week. Martinez, first elected to the council in 2013, has spent nearly two years as council president, a period dominated by the COVID-19 pandemic and the economic fallout that followed. Under the City Charter, Martinez would become acting mayor if Garcetti departs ahead of schedule. Martinez said she has not ruled out the idea of serving as interim mayor.

Source: Los Angeles Times September 16, 2021 22:57 UTC