EL SEGUNDO, Calif. — Marqueece Harris-Dawson was sworn in as LA City Council’s 27th president last month, succeeding Councilman Paul Krekorian.

Harris-Dawson joined “Inside the Issues” host Amrit Singh to share his priorities for the city. 

He also weighed in on an LA Times report that says Attorney General Rob Bonta wants city leaders to redraw boundaries for the 15 council districts in time for the 2026 primary election. 

Bonta’s legal team expressed concerns that the current map doesn’t provide sufficient representation for Latinos in parts of the city.

“The Voting Rights Act is absolutely sacred,” Harris-Dawson said. “First and foremost, in drawing any lines, we want to make sure that representation, especially from previously marginalized groups — like Latinos, like African Americans — make sure that’s taken care of. What we’ve asked the Attorney General to do is show us analysis that leads him to this conclusion that there’s underrepresentation. Some of the best redistricting experts actually work for the city of LA. I’m eager to see what he has to present to us and from there we can see how we engage and how we work together to bring it to conclusion.”

Harris-Dawson added, “If we just accept and say we’re going to do redistricting, that costs about nine million dollars — the city cannot afford an extra expense like that. We also can’t afford the distraction. We’ve got homelessness to deal with, we’ve got a new police chief to integrate, we’ve got a crime situation we need to get in front of. It’s a big undertaking, redistricting. I will say of the nine years that I’ve been in elected office, the time period during redistricting is by far the most difficult — relationships fray. The idea that we go through that again, I’m definitely hesitant.”

“Also, there’s an independent redistricting commission on the ballot. That’s the other thing we want to make sure the AG knows. We’ve already put in front of the voters the opportunity to change that system from one where elected officials pick their districts to one where a truly independent body picks the districts. That helps avoid a lot of the challenges.”