David Ryu

David E. Ryu (born 1975) is a former Los Angeles City Councilman for District 4.[2] He is the first Korean-American to hold a council seat in Los Angeles, California,[2] and the first Asian-American to serve on Los Angeles City Council Leadership.[3] He was defeated by Nithya Raman in the November 3rd, 2020 general election.[4]

David E. Ryu
Ryu at the Los Angeles 2019 Women's March
Member of the Los Angeles City Council from the 4th district
In office July 1, 2015 – December 14, 2020
Preceded by	Tom LaBonge
Succeeded by	Nithya Raman
Personal details
Born	Ryu Eun-seok 1975 (age 45–46) Seoul, South Korea
Political party	Democratic
Alma mater	UCLA (B.A.) Rutgers University (M.P.P.)
Occupation	Politician

David Ryu
Hangul	유은석[1]
Revised Romanization	Yu Eun-seok
McCune–Reischauer	Yu Ǔnsŏk

Early life

Ryu was born Ryu Eun-seok in Seoul, South Korea, in 1975, the oldest of three children.[5] His father, Eul Chul Ryu, and mother, Michelle Won Chung Ryu, moved the family to Los Angeles, California in 1980, when Ryu was 5 years old.[5] Ryu's father was editor in chief of the Korean Street Journal newspaper based in Los Angeles, and his mother worked as a nurse.[5]

Ryu holds a Bachelor of Arts in Economics from UCLA and a Masters of Public Policy & Administration from Rutgers University.[6]

2002 assault charge

In August 2002, Ryu faced a charge of attempted rape, to which he pleaded not guilty. The case was dismissed before reaching a preliminary hearing when the district attorney's office said it was unable to proceed.[7]

Career

After graduating from UCLA, Ryu became a Deputy to Los Angeles County Supervisor Yvonne Burke. He later worked as a special investigator for Los Angeles County's Auditor-Controller.

Ryu later served as Director of Development and Public Affairs for Kedren Acute Psychiatric Hospital and Community Health Center.[8]

Los Angeles City Council

Elections

Ryu was one of over a dozen candidates to replace Councilmember Tom LaBonge, who was term-limited. Ryu and Carolyn Ramsay advanced past the March 2015 primary. Ryu defeated Ramsay in the general election, on May 19, 2015.[9] He was ceremonially sworn in June 29, 2015, and took office on July 1.[2]

In the March 3, 2020 primary, Ryu faced urban planner Nithya Raman and screenwriter Sarah Kate Levy.[10] Ryu received 32,298 votes (44.4%), Raman received 31,502 votes (40.8%), and Sarah Kate Levy received 10,860 votes (14.1%).[11] Because no candidate received over fifty percent of the vote, Raman and Ryu advanced to the runoff election, scheduled for November 3, 2020.

Los Angeles City Council District 4 primary (March 3, 2020)[12]

Candidate		Votes	%
David Ryu		34,298	44.74
Nithya Raman		31,502	41.09
Sarah Kate Levy		10,860	14.17

In January 2020, Ryu was appointed Assistant City Council President Pro Tempore, becoming the first Asian American to serve on Los Angeles City Council leadership.[13] Ryu also chairs the Health, Education and Neighborhood Councils, Parks, Arts, Entertainment and River Committee, and serves as a member on the Public Safety Committee, the Public Works & Gang Reduction Committee, and Immigrant Affairs, Civil Rights and Equity Committee, as well as Vice Chair of the Arts, Entertainment Parks & River Committee.[14]

Anti-corruption efforts

In January 2017, Ryu, along with Councilmembers Joe Buscaino and Paul Krekorian, introduced a motion to ban contributions to city elected officials and candidates for city office from developers and their principals with development projects currently or recently before the city, as well as increase matching funds to 6:1 in primary and general elections.[15] In December 2019, the law passed with a unanimous vote from the City Council.[16] Critics of the measure argued that the final language contained loopholes, with groups such as the California Clean Money Campaign and California Common Cause arguing that passing it would be “worse than not passing anything at all."[16] Ryu has also introduced legislation to establish an independent Inspector General's office over City Hall, similar to the City of Chicago.[17]

COVID-19 pandemic

Early on in the COVID-19 pandemic, Ryu negotiated a $1.25 million international deal to bring COVID-19 tests to Los Angeles from South Korean company Seegene, when the United States faced a national testing shortage.[18]

Ryu authored a ban on storage unit evictions during the pandemic, which was passed into law with an urgency clause in June 2020. The law protects storage unit leasees from losing their belongings even if they can't make monthly payments during the pandemic.[19]

In April 2020, the Los Angeles City Council passed Ryu's proposed rent increase freeze on LA's rent-stabilized units into law, but Ryu's sweeping rent freeze on all LA apartments was narrowly voted down.[20] On April 1, Ryu joined leaders from nine U.S. cities to demand national rent and mortgage forgiveness.[21]

Controversies

In November 2019, the Los Angeles Times reported that despite a campaign pledge not to take money from real estate developers, Ryu's campaign had accepted campaign contributions from multiple developers. His campaign later said that it would return some of the donations.[22]

In August 2020, the Los Feliz Ledger filed an ethics complaint with the Los Angeles City Ethics Commission after Ryu's campaign sent an email to 30,000 voters with a misleading "From:" field that implied the email was sent by the Ledger itself. The campaign declined to issue a correction.[23]

References

1. "한인역사박물관 – 데이빗 유 David E. Ryu 유은석". kahistorymuseum.org.
2. Daily News: "David Ryu’s City Council District 4 win a victory for Korean Americans", 05/20/2015.
3. Larchmont Buzz: "Councilmember David Ryu Named Assistant Council President Pro Tempore", 01/15/2020.
4. "https://twitter.com/davidzahniser/status/1324879193906180098". Twitter. Retrieved 2020-11-07. External link in |title= (help)
5. Los Feliz Ledger: "Council member's father dies of heart attack", 10/17/2016.
6. "David Ryu '99". UCLA Alumni. August 24, 2015. Retrieved September 12, 2020.
7. Reyes, Emily Alpert. "L.A. council candidate faced attempted rape charge that was dismissed". latimes.com. Retrieved 2017-11-22.
8. "Meet David". Councilmember David Ryu. Retrieved 2017-11-22.
9. Alpert Reyes, Emily; Karlamangla, Soumya; Nelson, Laura J. (May 20, 2015). "L.A. City Hall outsider Ryu wins City Council race". Los Angeles Times.
10. Los Feliz Ledger - "Who's Running Against David Ryu? Profile on Challenger Sarah Kate Levy"
11. "Official LA County vote tally" (PDF). Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder / County Clerk. Retrieved 29 October 2020.
12. LAVote - Los Angeles County city election results for March 3, 2020
13. "Council President Taps Ryu to Help with Families First Agenda". Los Feliz Ledger. January 17, 2020.
14. The Council of the City of Los Angeles (PDF), The City of Los Angeles
15. Ledger, Los Feliz (January 10, 2017). "[UPDATE] Ryu, Krekorian and Buscaino Seek to Stop Developer Donations | Los Feliz Ledger".
16. Reyes, Emily Alpert (4 December 2019). "L.A. limits campaign donations from real estate developers. Critics say it falls short". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 11 September 2020.
17. Regardie, Jon (May 27, 2020). "Councilman David Ryu Sets His Sights on City Hall Corruption—but Will He Get Any Traction?". Los Angeles Magazine.
18. Fadel, Leila; Hersher, Rebecca (March 29, 2020). "Local Governments Race To Administer Coronavirus Tests, Secure Supplies". National Public Radio.
19. Seidman, Lila (June 2, 2020). "L.A. halts storage-unit evictions during the coronavirus". Los Angeles Times.
20. "L.A. City Council moves ahead with halting rent hikes on some units but rejects a broader ban". The Eastsider LA. April 23, 2020.
21. "LA City Councilmen Push Congress On Rent, Mortgage Forgiveness Legislation". CBS Los Angeles. April 1, 2020.
22. Reyes, Emily Alpert (10 November 2020). "An L.A. councilman swore off developer money. Rivals argue he's broken that promise". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 10 September 2020.
23. Hickey, Erin (29 August 2020). "Ledger Files Ethics Complaint vs. Ryu Campaign for Misleading Email". Los Feliz Ledger. Retrieved 8 September 2020.

External links

• Official Councilmember David Ryu—Los Angeles City Council District 4 website
• Campaign website