Nury Martinez’s motion was filmed at City Hall in August. Los Angeles, California, February 30, 2022. Photo: Irfan Khan/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images
Nury Martinez resigned from the Los Angeles City Council on Wednesday after she and two other council members made racist remarks.
Newest: The council has struggled to carry out its duties in the wake of the scandal, as angry protesters disrupted a meeting at City Hall for the second day in a row on Wednesday.
- The New York Times noted that Acting City Council President Mitch O’Farrell emphasized that none of the city council members who participated in the taped conversation were in attendance, but the meeting adjourned after more than an hour without any discussion or formal action being completed.
What is she saying“It is with a broken heart that I resign my seat on District 6 Council, the community I grew up in and my home,” Martinez said in a statement.
- The committee’s former chair has previously said she will take time off after stepping down from her leadership role.
big picture: The announcement follows a reaction to the audio — from last year’s conversation about redistricting — obtained and published by the Los Angeles Times over the weekend.
- City Council colleagues, community activists, and even President Biden, Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti, mayoral candidates Karen Bass and Rick Caruso, and U.S. senators have called for Martinez to step down. Alex Padilla (D-Calif.).
at the same timeCouncillors Gil Zedillo and Kevin De Leon, also heard on the call, have apologized but not resigned.
background: Three Latino council members used derogatory language in secretly recorded conversations.
- In the audio, Martinez can be heard saying that a white congressman treats his black son as an “attachment.” She also used a Spanish term meaning “little monkey” to describe the child.
or notes: California Attorney General Rob Bonta (D) announced earlier Wednesday that his office will launch an investigation into the redistricting of Los Angeles over an audio leak.
zoom out: The nation’s second-largest city is in the midst of a mayoral election with rising crime, homelessness and a dominant economy, according to Axios’ Russell Contreras.
- Experts say the racism heard in the recordings underscores the anti-Black and anti-Indigenous attitudes that prevail in many Latino communities.
What’s next: The crisis is unlikely to affect the upcoming mayoral election, but tensions could rise if all council members refuse to resign and protests continue. The new mayor will have to address these problems — and heal the new ones.
Editor’s Note: This is a breaking news story. Please check for updates.