sought and won his third and last term without any serious opposition. Los Angeles City Council (1991–2002; 2020–2022) Ridley-Thomas served the first of three terms on the Los Angeles City Council, beginning in 1991, representing the city's 8th Council District. During his tenure on the council, he created the Eighth District Empowerment Congress. He founded the African American Voter Registration, Education, and Participation (AAVREP) in 2002, the largest organized effort to register African American and urban voters in the state of California in more than a decade. He was also the president pro tem of the council. Thomas was elected to a fourth 4-year term on the Los Angeles City Council in Council District 10 in the November 3, 2020 election. On October 18, 2021 Ridley-Thomas announced his intention to step back from his duties in order to fight charges of corruption; two days later, the Los Angeles city council formally voted to suspend him from his duties. Four months later, he was expelled from the council and replaced by Herb Wesson, who was appointed by City Council President Nury Martinez in 2022. Controversies Korean store alcohol ban In the aftermath of the 1992 L.A. riots, Ridley-Thomas sought to prevent convenience stores in South Central from selling alcohol. Many of these stores were Korean owned. He said at the time "We are going to use every means at our disposal to rid our community of these god-awful places of business, the kind of business they do is not good for the community." Korean owners took issue with his stance, claiming this was a case of the city punishing the victims. $707,000 proposed office remodeling In 2009 Ridley-Thomas was criticized, most notably by radio talk show hosts John and Ken, for his proposal and personal defense of plans to remodel his office through the spending of $707,000 in discretionary funds. Amidst the state budget crisis in California, John and Ken criticized MRT on December 21, 2009, saying that the discretionary funds, "[are] our money and we say no." As of March 12, 2010 the Los Angeles Times reported that Ridley-Thomas' renovation plans for his eighth-floor office were on hold. $25,000 "Who's Who" listing In 2010 Ridley-Thomas spent $25,000 in public funds to place himself and fourteen other county officials in the Who's Who edition of black Los Angeles. $25,000 LACMA pay to play In 2014, while county supervisor, Ridley-Thomas provided a