De León vows: ‘I will not resign.’ Council president says apology isn’t enough
Voters, activists and political rivals have lashed out at Councilman Luis Rey de León over allegations his wife filed a restraining order against him last week over an affair and a child custody battle between his teenage son and two women.
Councilman Luis Rey de León, 47, called the restraining order an “act of desperation,” and vowed on Friday to stay on as President of the council, the city’s legislative chamber.
The restraining order is over comments Rey made during a radio show where he admitted to having an affair with his wife and said he wanted to divorce her.
The president’s comments were seen by many as hypocritical, given that he was caught on tape telling a friend to “go ahead and do it” with his ex-wife, after the intimate relationship was exposed.
Now, the issue of a restraining order is in the hands of the city’s Civil Court. It’s the final step in the process of forcing the councilman to resign.
De León and his supporters are fighting back, however, using the same arguments they used before he was first elected in 2011.
They say Rey de León has a duty of office to run the council on behalf of the community, and should never have made such derogatory comments about his wife. They also say Rey de León lied to the public about the affair and his son’s custody battle.
“I don’t think he should be allowed to keep his job as a councilman. For someone to say he will not resign, they are making a mistake,” said councilman Arturo Carmona.
In June, Rey de León admitted to his wife, who by then was pregnant, that he had an affair with her. She filed a restraining order against him for allegedly violating her restraining order against him.
The order was obtained by his wife and