Price was absent from a meeting of the Ad Hoc Committee on Los Angeles 2028 that he was supposed to chair on June 13 when he was charged with 10 felony counts.

The 72-year-old Democrat is accused of having a financial interest in development projects that he voted on after receiving thousands in medical benefits from the city for his now wife.

The District Attorney's office has alleged that his spouse, Del Richardson Price, received payments totalling more than $150,000 (£118,000/€137,000) between 2019 and 2021 from developers before he voted to approve projects.

Price claimed that, until he has an opportunity to respond, it would be "inappropriate” for the Council’s Rules, Elections, and Intergovernmental Relations Committee to recommend his suspension - a move that would strip him of all his duties, including his ability to cast votes.

The Los Angeles City Charter gives the Council the power to suspend any city elected official who has been charged with a felony, regardless of whether he or she has declared their innocence.

A decision about whether to suspend Price was due to be taken last Friday (June 23) but was postponed until August 25.

Price in a statement said that he was "pleased" by the Committee’s decision to delay the vote, and that he has not had the opportunity to answer, “the unwarranted charges.”

"I hope that the Committee, and the full Council, will extend to me the same presumption of innocence that the law extends to me, and I look forward to proving my innocence," he said.

The decision followed nearly two hours of public testimony almost entirely in opposition of the motion, as a large group of Price supporters packed the Committee Chambers and an overflow room on the fourth floor of City Hall in Los Angeles.

Price has consistently called for the 2028 Olympics and Paralympics to be used to further equality and opportunities in Los Angeles.

In April, he called for the introduction of a minimum hourly wage of $30 (£24/€27) for hotel workers and staff at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) in time for the Games.

A motion, he introduced together with colleague, Katy Yaroslavsky, would raise the pay of workers at hotels which have more than 60 beds.

In November 2020, he was one of three city councillors who proposed for the Los Angeles Convention Center, which is due to host six sports during the Olympic and Paralympic Games, as be a possible place to help house homeless people during severe weather.