Nury Martinez, the head of the Los Angeles City Council, resigned on Monday after being caught on tape insulting a council member’s Black kid in a racist joke she made while speaking with other council members.
In a statement posted early on Monday, Martinez stated, “As a mother, I know better and I’m sorry.” “I’m really embarrassed. I am aware that my own activities are what led to this.”
In the message, Martinez apologised to Councilmember Mike Bonin’s family for putting them through this and addressed him and his husband.
According to the Los Angeles Times, Martinez’s remarks were the result of an hour-long chat regarding the redistricting process that took place in or around October 2021.
According to the newspaper, the call included a discussion of Councilmember Mark Ridley-Thomas, who had been charged with federal corruption, as well as Councilmen Gil Cedillo, Kevin de León, and Ron Herrera, president of the L.A. County Federation of Labor.
According to The Times, Martinez and the other Latino leaders on the call reportedly had no idea that it was being taped. It is still unknown who made the audio recording and leaked it.
Martinez referred to Bonin’s son, a Black man, as “Parece changuito” during the chat, which translates from Spanish to English as “that little monkey,” according to the publication.
The Times also said that Martinez seemed to be discussing the conduct of Bonin’s young child during a procession. The procession mentioned seems to have happened around 2017. On the phone, she reportedly said: “He is being raised much like a young White child. I thought, “This kid deserves a beating.” I’ll bring him back when I take him around the corner.”
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The Times reported that De León also compared Bonin’s treatment of the youngster to “when Nury takes her little yard bag or the Louis Vuitton bag.”
After the Times’ piece was published on Sunday, Martinez sent the following comment to CBS Los Angeles:
“I am responsible for these remarks because they were spoken in an instance of extreme rage and frustration. I apologise for it. Concerns about the redistricting process and the possible harm it would do to communities of colour were the background of this conversation. My work is self-evident. I’ve put in a lot of effort to guide our city through its darkest hour.”
De León expressed a similar sorrow, adding, “I regret appearing to support and even to have contributed to some insensitive remarks made about a colleague and his family in private that were spoken over the course of this discussion. I’ve personally gotten in touch with that colleague. I failed to live up to the standards we have for our leaders on that particular day, and I will do better moving forward.”
The Times reports that Bonin expressed his “disgust” in an interview after learning about the leaked recording.
“Later, when I have had time to fully process everything, I will say more. I feel heartbroken, disgusted, and outraged “he stated. “I’m fair game for assault, but why not my son? Attacking a youngster requires a lot of pettiness, insecurity, and poison. He wasn’t even three yet. But aside from that, I’m speechless.”
A few hours later, in a statement, Bonin and his family demanded that Martinez quit and urged the City Council to do so:
Both Martinez and de León have come under fire from influential legal and political figures in Los Angeles since the Times report’s publication.
“The racial slurs that were said in the conversation amongst the council members sadden and disappoint me. Mike Bonin and the African American community are both outraged, and I share their fury. In Los Angeles, anti-Blackness has no place “George Gascón, the district attorney for Los Angeles County, told CBS L.A.
While denouncing Martinez and de León’s remarks, Rep. Jimmy Gomez did not demand Martinez’s resignation.
My statement on leaked comments by LA City Councilmembers pic.twitter.com/IBJdwxmmQM
— Rep. Jimmy Gomez (@RepJimmyGomez) October 9, 2022
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Regarding Martinez’s remarks, Cedillo released a response late Sunday night.
“First, let me express my regret. I wasn’t part of the conversation in question, although I was there occasionally at this meeting last year. When someone uses offensive or ethnically divisive words, I automatically want to hold them responsible. I should have stepped in, without a doubt. I wasn’t successful in upholding the greatest standards for myself and others. It was just inappropriate to make such offensive remarks about my colleague’s son. Our families should never be discussed in public or included in political debates since we chose to live public lives, “Cedillo stated in a statement that CBSLA acquired.
On Sunday night, a line of protesters gathered in front of Martinez’s house to demand that she step down as the City Council’s president.
The group of demonstrators eventually left the house, but not before speaking out against Martinez’s racially offensive remarks.
After the group of protestors left, LAPD police were spotted gathering up signs from the protest site.
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