Los Angeles City Council President Nury Martinez is under fire and facing calls to resign after someone leaked audio of her making racist remarks, some of which included remarks targeting the young Black son of a white colleague.
The Los Angeles Times first reported the story, which included the audio recordings of a conversation from October 2021 between Martinez, Councilmembers Gil Cedillo and Kevin de León and L.A. County Federation of Labor President Ron Herrera, who were discussing the redrawing of districts.
Martinez, who is a Democrat and of Mexican ancestry, slammed her colleague, Councilmember Mike Bonin, who is White, over the parenting of his Black son, who she said he treated like an "accessory."
"They're raising him like a little White kid," Martinez says in the audio, which was leaked to Reddit. "I was like, 'This kid needs a beatdown. Let me take him around the corner and then I'll bring him back."'
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Martinez also called Bonin’s son "ese changuito," Spanish for "that little monkey," and "su negrito," which loosely translates to something similar to "little Black slave."
The fallout over the audio has now made its way in the race for Los Angeles mayor, prompting candidates Karen Bass and Rick Caruso to make statements on the matter.
"Let me be clear about what was on those tapes: appalling, anti-Black racism.... The challenges we face already threaten to tear us apart and, now, this hateful and shocking conversation among some of our city's most powerful leaders could divide us even further," Bass' statement read.
"The entire situation shows that city hall is fundamentally broken and dysfunctional. Most of the people involved in this ugly episode have endorsed Karen Bass... I hope she'll do the right thing and demand for their accountability and renounce the endorsement of those who used hate speech," Caruso said, apparently trying to connect Bass to the scandal.
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In a statement along with his partner Sean Arian, Bonin said he and Arian are "appalled, angry and absolutely disgusted that Nury Martinez attacked our son with horrific racist slurs, and talked about her desire to physically harm him."
"It's vile, abhorrent, and utterly disgraceful," Bonin's statement added.
In 2020, Martinez made history as Los Angeles's first Latina City Council president. She resigned on Monday morning. Read her statement below:
"I sincerely apologize to the people I hurt with my words: to my colleagues, their families, especially to Mike, Sean, and your son. As a mother, I know better and I am sorry. I am truly ashamed. I know this is the result of my own actions. I'm sorry to your entire family for putting you through this.
"As someone who believes deeply in the empowerment of communities of color, I recognize my comments undercut that goal. 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.
"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."
(Note: This article has been updated to report that Nury Martinez has resigned.)