Nury Martinez has resigned from her position as president of the LA City Council, one that experts say is one of the most powerful in the city.
Two important questions now are what does the president do and what will happen to her pay and benefits.
"The council president position is a very powerful one," said Jan Perry, a former LA City Councilmember.
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The seat given up by Martinez is one of the most powerful in the city of LA. The council president appoints other councilmembers to committees that address issues like homelessness.
The president is also acting mayor when the mayor is put of town. She or he sets the agenda for each City Council meeting.
Former Councilmember Perry says the council president can determine whether any issue moves forward.
"A council president can either be supportive of your efforts or they can hold up your options or not agendize your motions or committee reports so that your matters don't get heard," Perry said.
Martinez has resigned as council president but remains a paid councilmember, unlike Mark Ridley Thomas and Jose Huizar who were both suspended without pay when they were indicted on federal corruption charges.
Fernando Guerra of Loyola Marymount's Center for the Study of Los Angeles says unless Martinez resigns or is recalled from office it is unlikely she will lose her salary at roughly $200,000 a year.
"Huizar and Ridley were indicted on criminal charges. She is not and not likely to be," Guerra said. Therefore the council would be on thin ice trying to do that legally."
The council's acting president is now Councilmember Mitch O'Farrell. With the council now tasked with choosing a new leader that Perry hopes will not just be about accumulating power and is willing to listen to all sides.
"Very powerful and can be powerful for good or powerful for bad," Perry said.
