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Los Angeles City Council President Nury Martinez is resigning effective immediately after being recorded making racist remarks toward a fellow council member and his black child, causing widespread outrage and demands for her firing.
The announcement, made in an email from the liberal councilwoman’s office Monday afternoon, comes after the release of a recorded October 2021 conversation between Martinez, Councilman Kevin de León, and other city officials.
The pair were forced to apologize Sunday for the disparaging remarks on colleague Mike Bonin, including racist slurs by Martinez directed at Bonin’s young son.
Martinez and the other Latino leaders present during the taped conversation were seemingly unaware they were being recorded – as Martinez, 49, criticized the white councilmember’s parenting of the adopted child, saying, ‘They’re raising him like a little white kid,’ and ‘This kid needs a beatdown.’
She also described the councilman’s son as ‘Parece changuito’ – or, ‘like a monkey’ – and his father, who is gay, as a ‘little b****.’
Martinez added to that apology Monday morning, issuing a groveling statement in which she said she was ashamed for the comments and announced she was resigning in response to public backlash over the racist remarks.
With that said, despite stepping down as the president of the City Council, the potential mayoral candidate will continue to work for the city, keeping a seat on the board.
Los Angeles City Council President Nury Martinez is resigning effective immediately after being recorded making racist remarks toward a fellow council member and his black child, causing widespread outrage and demands for herfiring
The announcement, made in an email from the liberal councilwoman’s office Monday afternoon, comes after the release of a recorded October 2021 conversation between Martinez and other city officials
‘I take responsibility for what I said and there are no excuses for those comments,’ Martinez wrote in the emailed statement, which was shared just after 1pm amid protests calling for her firing. ‘I’m so sorry,’ the statement reads.
The elected official proceeded to apologize to those affected by the scandal, including Bonin, 55, and his partner, Sean Arian, after it surfaced Sunday when the hourlong recording was posted anonymously on Reddit.
It was shortly thereafter obtained and published by The Los Angeles Times, causing dozens of protesters to besieged the LA home of the now ex-president, calling for her resignation.
‘I sincerely apologize to the people I hurt with my words: to my colleagues, their families, especially to Mike, Sean, and your son,’ Martinez continued, in a statement sent out minutes after her primary opponent in the race for city mayor took to Twitter to personally ask the official to leave her post.
‘As a mother, I know better and I am sorry. I am truly ashamed,’ Martinez wrote.
‘I know this is the result of my own actions. I’m sorry to your entire family for putting you through this.’
The was statement sent out minutes after her primary opponent in the race for city mayor, billionaire real estate mogul Rick Caruso, took to Twitter to ask the official to leave her post
The official then pleaded for forgiveness, pointing out that during her nearly three years in office she spearheaded efforts to help minorities in her communities, including an initiative launched in 2020 to assist school-aged homeless children.
‘As someone who believes deeply in the empowerment of communities of color, I recognize my comments undercut that goal,’ Martinez said.
‘Going forward, reconciliation will be my priority. I have already reached out to many of my Black colleagues and other black leaders to express my regret in order for us to heal.’
She went on: ‘I ask for forgiveness from my colleagues and from the residents of this city that I love so much. In the end, it is not my apologies that matter most; it will be the actions I take from this day forward. I hope that you will give me the opportunity to make amends.
‘Therefore, effective immediately I am resigning as President of the Los Angeles City Council.’
LA City Council member Mike Bonin (pictured) and his adoptive son (left) were unknowingly subjected to derogatory remarks from Martinez and two other city council members in an October 2021 conversation
Bonin and his husband Sean Arian said in a statement on Sunday that they felt ‘disgusted and angry and heartsick’ by the leaked audio
Despite stepping down as the president of the City Council, the Democrat will continue to work for the city, keeping a seat on the board, her statement Monday revealed
Shortly earlier, Martinez’s political rival, billionaire real estate mogul Caruso, 63 took to Twitter to chide the disgraced councilwoman, asking that she ‘do the right thing and immediately resign from office.’
‘The entire situation shows that city hall is fundamentally broken and dysfunctional,’ the real estate mogul, who has a reported net worth of $4billion, wrote.
‘Most of the people involved in this ugly episode have endorsed Karen Bass,’ the political newcomer went on, referring to another Democrat rep running for office.
‘I hope she’ll do the right thing and demand for their accountability and renounce the endorsement of those who used hate speech,’ the aspiring politician remarked.
The October 2021 conversation between Martinez, de León, councilmembers Gil Cedillo and de León, and county Labor President Ron Herrera, was initially about council members’ remarks over maps that had been put forward by the city’s redistricting commission.
The clip originally leaked on Reddit earlier in October but was picked more widely when it was reported by the Times on Sunday
By nightfall, protesters laid siege to Martinez’s home in Sun Valley chanting: ‘Hey hey, ho ho, Nury Martinez has got to go.’
The protesters were there flouting a law that Martinez herself championed in 2021 that effectively banned protests in residential areas.
The clip originally leaked on Reddit earlier in October but was picked more widely when it was reported by the Times on Sunday By nightfall, protesters laid siege to Martinez’s home in Sun Valley chanting: ‘Hey hey, ho ho, Nury Martinez has got to go.’
Protesters also blasted audio of the recordings through a loudspeaker outside of Martinez’s home, shown here
One protester, Jacky Rodarte, told CBS Los Angeles: ‘We can’t keep allowing these people to do whatever they want. It’s just blatantly disrespectful, it’s honestly just evil.’
Other protesters told the station that they will continue their campaign at her home, her office and her church until she resigns.
She added: ‘That’s why we’re out here. We want to let her know that she will not be sitting there for much longer and we will get her out of office.’
Protesters also blasted audio of the recordings through a loudspeaker.
Coincidentally, in August 2021, Martinez proposed a law forbidding protesters from coming within 300 feet of a target’s home, reports the Los Angeles Times.
The law passed in a 13-1 vote. Martinez was quoted by the Times as saying: ‘I’m just completely done.’ She went on to complain that protesters had previously shouted obscenities at her daughter and said her car was vandalized.
The group leading the most recent protest, People’s City Council – Los Angeles, tweeted: ‘LAPD is telling us that we cannot protest outside Nury Martinez’s house. They are citing a law that we cannot engage in a targeted protest.’
The group’s message went on: ‘This is bulls**t! We will leave when Nury Martinez resigns!’
In the audio, Martinez can be heard criticizing fellow colleague and council member Mike Bonin several times, first referring to him as a ‘little b****,’ before sensationally saying that he brings his adopted son around town with him like ‘an accessory.’
De León seemed to agree with his colleague’s comments, as he compared Bonin bringing his kid around LA to ‘when Nury brings her little yard bag or the Louis Vuitton bag,’ according to the leaked audio.
Further into the dialogue, Martinez described the minor as ‘su negrito’, a derogatory expression in Spanish for a black person, and ‘ese changuito,’ which translates to ‘that little monkey.’
The Democrat, who is Latina, also said Bonin had been raising his son ‘like a little white kid,’ who needs a ‘beatdown’.
‘Let me take him around the corner and then I’ll bring him back,’ the city council president added.
On Sunday, she apologized for the comments: ‘In a moment of intense frustration and anger, I let the situation get the best of me and I hold myself accountable for these comments. For that I am sorry.’
‘The context of this conversation was concern over the redistricting process and concern about the potential negative impact it might have on communities of color,’ she added. ‘My work speaks for itself. I’ve worked hard to lead this city through its most difficult time.’
In reaction, Bonin told the LA Times that he felt ‘disgusted and angry and heartsick’ by the leaked audio.
‘It’s fair game to attack me but my son?’ he added, calling for the resignation of all three city Latino council members. ‘You have to be pretty petty and insecure and venomous to attack a child. He wasn’t even 3 years old.
‘Other than that, I’m speechless.’
Council members Kevin de Leon and Gil Cedillo were also part of the leaked conversation, in which Leon agreed that Bonin carried his son ‘like an accessory’, comparing it to Martinez wandering around with her Louis Vuitton bag
Ron Herrera – Los Angeles County Federation of Labor President – was also forced to apologize after being present in the 30-minute conversation from last year
The audio was first shared on Reddit, though it remains unclear who recorded it and how.
‘Wow, you know it happens, but when you actually hear it, it’s unbelievable,’ a now-suspended Reddit user wrote as a caption along with the leaked audio. ‘The labor movement is in bed with City Hall.’
Martinez was also caught on tape using profanity when talking about LA District Attorney George Gascón.
‘F*** that guy, he’s with the Blacks,’ said the former member of the Los Angeles Unified School District Board of Education.
On Sunday, De León, apologized for his comments, calling them ‘wholly inappropriate,’ adding that he fell ‘short of the expectations we set for our leaders.’
‘I regret appearing to condone and even contribute to certain insensitive comments made about a colleague and his family in private,’ he added in a statement. ‘I’ve reached out to that colleague personally.’
Cedillo, however, told the LA Times that he didn’t ‘have a recollection of this conversation.’
Incoming Councilmember Eunisses Hernandez, who beat Cedillo in an election this past June, has called on Martinez to resign.
She tweeted: ‘Council President Nury Martinez needs to resign, councilmembers Kevin De Leon and Gil Cedillo should be removed from committees.’
She added: ‘This is the reason why Angelenos voted out CM Gil Cedillo. We cannot have people in leadership who hold racist views, and employ them to negatively impact the lives of Angelenos.’
Mike Bonin (left) and his partner Sean Arian (far right) with their adoptive son (center)
Martinez was also caught on tape saying ‘F***’ that guy, he’s with the black,’ when talking about LA District Attorney George Gascón
Herrera didn’t respond to request for comment on behalf of the LA Times. His lawyer, Julie Gutman Dickinson, who also represents the LA County Federation of Labor, stated that the conversation was ‘recorded in violation of California’s privacy and recording laws on LA County Federation of Labor property.’
However, the LA Times countered, as its General Counsel Jeffrey Glasser said ‘it is a fundamental principle in the United States that we do not prohibit or punish the receipt and publication of newsworthy information.’
LA Mayor Eric Garcetti remained tight lipped over whether the three city council members should stay in position or resign.
‘There is no place in our city family for attacks on colleagues and their loved ones, and there is no place for racism anywhere in LA,’ he told the LA Times.
Los Angeles Police Department Chief Michael Moore said of the leaked audio: ‘Today’s revelation of the remarks by our members of our council leaders hurts me to my core. This is not the Los Angeles I know or reflective of the beliefs of the women and men of LAPD. Such remarks are unacceptable in any setting. A dark day for our City of Angels.’
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