I get that discussions over redistricting are frequently heated, but the fact that the LA City Council President was caught on tape hurling racial epithets, including calling the son of another council member a, "Monkey," is something that should have been known, and ended the political career of Nury Martinez years ago.
She has resigned as Council President under threat of removal by the rest of the board, but remains a Councilman:
Nury Martinez announced her resignation this morning from her post as Los Angeles City Council President following the release on Sunday of recordings of racist remarks she made in a meeting last October during a conversation between two other Latino councilmembers and the L.A. Labor Federation president.
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Among the most shocking comments she made during the conversation were directed toward Councilmember Mike Bonin's young son, who is Black. The comments also contained, as Councilmember Nithya Raman described it, "homophobic tropes." Martinez and others present also made derogatory comments about Indigenous Oaxacans.
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Martinez did not say in her statement whether she would resign from office over the remarks. On Monday, prior to Martinez stepping down as president, Councilmember Monica Rodriguez released a statement on Twitter saying she will introduce a motion at Tuesday's council meeting calling for "the removal of the Council President." [We are seeking clarity on whether that mean from the council overall.]
Martinez, who is not up for reelection this election cycle, was speaking with fellow Councilmembers Kevin de León and Gil Cedillo and L.A. County Federation of Labor President Ron Herrera. They were recorded talking about their frustrations with redistricting efforts in the city — a once-in-a-decade process that has an impact on community members’ everyday lives. How those lines are drawn affects who is elected and what assets those districts will have available. [Note: In California, all parties have to consent to being recorded, which is not the case for this recording.]
Audio of the conversation was posted to Reddit earlier this month by an unknown source, and first reported by the Los Angeles Times. Knock LA published audio clips on their website Sunday morning (our newsroom has also since reviewed the tapes.)
I am certain that Martinez feels betrayed that one of her associates recorded and then posted what she said.
This is not a betrayal, ma'am, this is whistle-blowing. Your casual racism shocks the conscience, and someone realized that they had a moral obligation to expose you and your fellow travelers in bigotry.
The group discussed their need to maintain strong Latino representation on the council. About 48% of L.A.’s total population is Latino. Four of the 15 city council members are Latino and three participated in this conversation.
The conversation is a microcosm of a range of historic issues in L.A. politics — who has power and who doesn’t.
When it came to Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascón, Martinez said: “F— that guy, he’s with the Blacks.”
Martinez also said extremely racist, derogatory things about Bonin’s adopted Black son as she recounted being on an MLK Jr. parade float together.
She called his son a “monkey” in Spanish and suggested that his son was being raised “like a little white kid” and needed a beatdown. “Let me take him around the corner, I’ll bring him right back,” she says.
Yeah, she suggested that a black 2-year-old boy needed to be beaten.
There should be a way to keep horrible people out of positions of authority. There isn't, but there should be.
At the very least, campaign finance should be reformed so that kiss-ass sociopaths are not advantaged.
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