Wave Wire Services
LOS ANGELES — The City Council has renamed the Slauson Connect Center in honor of outgoing City Councilman Curren Price.
In a unanimous vote Nov. 6, the council changed the name of the center to “Curren D. Price Jr. Youth and Community Center.”
The effort was part of a celebration to honor Price’s legacy and 13 years on the City Council, as he prepares to step down in December due to term limits.
Price’s family, friends and colleagues filled the City Council Chamber for the nearly two-hour presentation celebrating the councilman’s accomplishments serving the city and the Ninth Council District. Councilman Hugo Soto-Martinez led the presentation and presented Price with a resolution.
“Thank you for your kind words and for your nice comments,” Price said. “I’m grateful for the friendship and I’m grateful for the work that you all do in the community — that you continue in the community.
“I spent so much of my time working alongside many of you here fighting the same fights and sharing the same hopes for improving South L.A. Through it all, I’ve always said that the greatest strength of the New Ninth has always been its people.”
Soto-Martinez explained that South Los Angeles was redlined from having all sorts of economic opportunities. Residents there faced challenges from police harassment, racism and discrimination, and changing demographics led to deep tensions and uncertainty between the Black and brown communities.
“Because of those circumstances, you started to see powerful organizing from the community,” Soto-Martinez said. “But we know that organizing in the community has its challenges when you don’t have a partner in City Hall. There’s only so much that you can do. There [are] limits to your ability.
“But that evolution from what I call from protest to politics, something that we talk a lot about in the movement, really started to change when Councilmember Curren Price was elected to the Ninth District,” Soto-Martinez added.
Soto-Martinez described Price as someone in City Hall who “knows the community, fights for community and leads with love and a sense of group-centered leadership.”
Shep Crawford, senior pastor of the Experience Christian Ministries, thanked Price for his work all these years.
“We know that when one chapter ends, another one begins,” Crawford said. “We know that when the sun sets on any given day, it’s going to rise again. So we pray now for Curren Price Jr. and the next door that’s going to open, the next chapter that’s going to begin, and the next sunrise.”
While it was a festive moment at City Hall, not everybody agrees the city should name the Slauson Connect Center after Price.
Jennifer Clark, a resident of North Hollywood and vice president of the North Hollywood North East Neighborhood Council, criticized the renaming effort given the alleged corruption charges Price is facing. Other residents expressed similar concerns.
No City Council member or city officials, or guests, at City Hall’s celebration mentioned Price’s legal troubles. Price, himself, did allude to them.
“I’ll be the first to tell you that these years have not always been easy,” Price said in his remarks. “You face some setbacks, difficult decisions and face some criticism or share criticism. I learned that in public service, there’s going to be people who disagree with you.
“Unfortunately, there will sometimes be misinformation and attempts to stain or tarnish your name. But I’ve always reminded myself and Team Price of why we are here. We are here to serve. We’re to make a difference. We’re here to impact the lives of the constituents that we represent,” Price added.
Price faces 12 counts of public corruption charges, alleging embezzlement and conflict of interest. The case is ongoing. The councilman has vehemently denied any wrongdoing and has maintained his innocence.
From 1993 to 1997, Price served as a member of the Inglewood City Council. He attempted a run for Inglewood mayor but did not succeed, and later reclaimed a seat on the Inglewood City Council in 2001.
In 2006, Price was elected as the representative for the 51st District in the state Assembly. He later served as a member of the state Senate, representing the 26th District from 2009 to 2013.
In 2013, Price succeeded then-Councilwoman Jan Perry to represent the 9th District on the City Council, encompassing portions of downtown and South L.A. communities such as Vermont Square, Central-Alameda, and Green Meadows, and notable places such as the University of Southern California, Exposition Park, L.A. Live and the Los Angeles Convention Center, among others.
