Nury Martinez Resigns as LA City Council President in Wake of Recording That Included Racist Slurs

[BumRushDaShow]

Source: NBC4 Los Angeles

Nury Martinez announced Monday that she has resigned immediately as Los Angeles City Council President.

The announcement made in an email sent from her office comes after the release of a recorded October 2021 conversation involving Martinez and Councilman Kevin de León. They apologized Sunday for an attack on colleague Mike Bonin during the recorded conversation that included racist slurs by Martinez directed at Bonin's young son.

It was not immediately clear who recorded audio of the conversation, which was first reported by the Los Angeles Times, about council redistricting that involved three members of the council and a county labor official. The audio -- it appeared on Reddit, but was later removed from the site -- also includes discussion of efforts to replace Councilman Mark Ridley-Thomas, who's been indicted on federal corruption charges.

Martinez issued the following statement Monday morning.

"I take responsibility for what I said and there are no excuses for those comments. I’m so sorry.

"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."

Read more: https://www.nbclosangeles.com/news/local/nury-martinez-to-resign-as-la-city-council-president-in-wake-of-recording-that-included-racist-slurs/3003509/

[irisblue]

1. Well then

[CurtEastPoint]

2. Wow. Look what she said:

Among other comments, Martinez belittled Bonin, who is white and has a Black son, and criticized the child for his behavior at a Martin Luther King Day parade, saying Bonin's son was misbehaving on a float, which might have tipped over if she and the other women on the float didn't step in to "parent this kid".

"They're raising him like a little white kid,'' Martinez said. "I was like, 'this kid needs a beatdown. Let me take him around the corner and then I'll bring him back.'"

[spudspud]

3. She also called the kid a monkey.

Glad her racist ass is gone.

[brush]

4. That's not all, she said he was acting like a monkey.

Last edited Mon Oct 10, 2022, 03:57 PM - Edit history (1)

Thank God, she had the sense to resign. She wouldn't have if this year-old conversation hadn't been uncovered.

[Cha]

8. omg.. I was wondering what she

said... that is bad.

TY

[dalton99a]

37. A summary:

In the meeting, the participants were discussing gerrymandering when Martinez stated, "Fuck that guy ... He's with the Blacks", referring to District Attorney George Gascón.

Martinez also insulted fellow Councilmember Mike Bonin's black adopted child. Referring to the behavior of the then-three-year-old child during a 2017 parade,[3] she said, "This kid needs a beatdown. Let me take him around the corner, I’ll bring him right back."[4] Martinez also called the child a "changuito" according to the Los Angeles Times, a racial slur for a black child meaning "monkey" or "ape" in Spanish.[5]

In the course of the discussion on redistricting, she commented, "I see a lot of little short dark people there" in reference to Los Angeles Koreatown. "Oaxacan Koreans. Not even like Kevin. Little ones," Cedillo replied. She continued, "I was like, I don't know what village they came from, how they got here, but whatever." She can also be heard to remark, "tan feos" or "they're so ugly" in Spanish.[6]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2022_Los_Angeles_City_Council_controversy

[Cha]

38. TY.. she should Resign from

the whole Council.. not just the president.

[ripcord]

22. If these council members won't step down

Bonin needs to confront them during the public portion of the next council meeting and call them racists directly to their faces in front of the public.

[Lunabell]

5. If she were a republican,

she would have doubled down and refused to resign. And the GQP would still support her. The difference between us and them.

[Jose Garcia]

7. She only resigned as Council President, she didn't resign her Council seat

[The Unmitigated Gall]

12. This.

[HeartachesNhangovers]

6. She hasn't resigned her council seat - just the council presidency.

It takes a lot to outrage me, but after reading the transcripts, it's obvious to me that Nury Martinez is a bigot to the core. She needs to be out of politics, along with the others in that recorded meeting.

[brush]

9. Oh, she's still on the council? She's going to have to be...

face-to-face with the boy's parent, with other LGBTQ+ government employees, Black employees...she's going to go through some things, as they say.

I think she's going to find some cold shoulders to her obvious racism.

[Sucha NastyWoman]

10. I'm glad she apologized

But people who think like she does don’t belong in public service.

[ripcord]

11. All three council members who took part in this conversation need to step down

[Hekate]

13. When 2 of the LA Times top columnists, 1 Black and 1 Latino, come out with an extended condemn-

… -nation on the first page of the California section, you know this is a scandal that will shake the whole Los Angeles political establishment & rip apart alliances.

Recommend the articles by Erika D. Smith and Gustavo Arellano — sorry about my inability to give you a viable link to the exact article despite subscribing to the desktop version.

Arellano in particular calls out the divisions within the Latino community along lines of color and region of origin. “We have met the enemy and he is us,” he says at the end, quoting Pogo.

I won’t accept both-siderism, though — you notice Nury Martinez had to resign when found out. If she were a Republican she’d be celebrated.

This is awful.

[BumRushDaShow]

16. Here are links (which is what I use twitter for despite not having a twitter account)!

Link to column
No paywalll

Link to tweet

Erika D. Smith 🦅
@Erika_D_Smith
·
Follow
Four Latino "leaders" — Nury Martinez, Gil Cedillo, Kevin de León and Ron Herrera — have been exposed making racist comments and plotting to dilute Black political power in L.A.

It's only renewed a deep fear. That it's us vs. them.

My take on this mess.
Los Angeles, CA - October 04: Councilman Kevin de Leon, left, and Los Angeles City Council President Nury Martinez confer at city council meeting on Tuesday, Oct. 4, 2022 in Los Angeles, CA. (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times)
latimes.com
Column: Nury Martinez's racism feeds into Black Angelenos' worst fear. It's us versus them
So much for solidarity. Leaked audio of L.A.'s Latino leaders plotting to dilute Black political power is sure to lead to new fears and new divisions.
11:12 PM · Oct 9, 2022

Link to column
No paywall

Link to tweet

Col. Gustavo Arellano
@GustavoArellano
MY LATEST ⁦@latimes
COLUMNA:⁩ Nury Martinez reveals the enemy of Latino political power. RT, porfas!
LOS ANGELES, CA - JANUARY 14, 2020 Los Angeles City Council 6th district representative Nury Martinez addresses the crowded city council chambers Tuesday for the first time as President of the City Council. A daughter of Mexican immigrants she becomes the first Latina to presided over Los Angeles City Council meetings as President chosen unanimously by the City Council last December. (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)
latimes.com
Column: Nury Martinez's rant reveals the worst enemy of Latino political power: ourselves
Instead of taking responsibility for the underwhelming state of Latino political power, the council members just whined about their predicament and blamed everyone else — in racist terms.
8:25 PM · Oct 9, 2022
·Twitter for iPhone

LA Times gives you one free view before the paywall but got some no paywall ones.

[Hekate]

17. Thanks! I get by with a little help from my friends.

[BumRushDaShow]

18. You're welcome!!

[cstanleytech]

14. Yaaaa, I am not buying the apology at all and views like this become

deeply ingrained and almost no honestly changes them.
So, changes them? Unlikely.
Tries to hide them better? Yes.

[aggiesal]

15. She's apologizing for getting caught. ...

If the recording had never seen the light of day, she would have never apologized.

[IcyPeas]

19. and it has leaked into the LA mayor race. Caruso is attempting to connect Bass to the scandal

Congresswoman Bass issued a statement that read, in part: "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."

Caruso, her opponent in the race for city mayor, also issued a statement attempting to connect Bass to the scandal.

"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."

https://abc7.com/nury-martinez-los-angeles-city-council-leaked-audio-karen-bass/12310863/


the audio of some of the clips are here: they are appalling.

https://knock-la.com/nury-martinez-city-council-president-leaked-racist-audio/

Statements by Bass and Caruso:

Link to tweet

Link to tweet

[oldsoftie]

20. Just in case there are still people who think only whites can be racist.

Any person of any race can sink to that level

[The Protagonist]

21. Racism requires institutional power which neither of these groups has.

This is bigotry and prejudice.

[StormKing]

23. Are you reading your own statements?

These people ARE the institutional power.

And I am Latino. These are my people from near where I was born THEY ARE RACIST.

Thank you.

[The Protagonist]

24. White people are in the majority in this country and hold the institutional power

Latinos are the majority in certain areas, but from a macro perspective they do not hold Institutional Power.

https://truthout.org/articles/no-black-people-cant-be-racists/

As this article illustrates, Black people cannot be racist in Baltimore (for instance) even though they hold localized power. The same goes for Latinos in Los Angeles.

Educate yourself.

[oldsoftie]

29. Educate YOURself. "Truthout" is hardly the definer of racism.

If you don't think Louis Farrakhan is a racist and try to differentiate by calling him "bigoted" then you need to take a good look at YOURSELF. "bigoted" doesn't have race in its definition. Sure, he's a convenient go-to, but still accurate. I think the SPLC is a better arbiter of racists in America than "Truthout"

[The Protagonist]

30. Its not just Truthout; is Merriam Webster good enough for you?

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/opinion-can-black-people-be-racist_n_5c3e5e8be4b01c93e00e8764

The money quote

"This is where I’m going to lose some of you: I don’t believe that people of color can be racist in America.

Racism is completely different from prejudice, because it’s systemic, as the -ism suffix connotes. I’d define racism as a political, economic or social system in which a dominant race uses its power to oppress others of different races. And because I know people will pull a hamstring running to look up a dictionary definition of racism, I’ll link to one here: https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/racism. (It’s not far off from mine.)"

And Merriam Webster recently changed the definition to reflect the prevailing opinion. In other words, racism requires systemic oppression: https://www.vox.com/identities/2020/6/10/21286656/merriam-webster-racism-definition

[oldsoftie]

33. Ah yes, the "new" definition. Sorry that doesnt fly. I posted the real definition already.

"the belief that different races possess distinct characteristics, abilities, or qualities, especially so as to distinguish them as inferior or superior to one another"

Thats it. Yes, Webster bowed to pressure to CHANGE the definition; fine. I'm not buying it & most people wont. How you treat people is all that matters. If you treat them differently because of their race you are a RACIST whether you're white, black, asian, etc. Whether you're a janitor or a CEO.
And this new push to try to excuse it BY race is just as bad as the offense of BEING racist.

[StormKing]

40. Two things

First, the first definition undermines you and SPECIFICALLY mentions Latinos practicing racism. Yes, they spelled it Ladino. Whatever.

Second, you're making this about White people.

Dear white person, not everything is about you.

They're racist.

[Dorian Gray]

25. President of the city council

has institutional power and is trying to prevent other groups from increasing their power.

[oldsoftie]

28. Wrong. More bullshit excuses. Racism requires a BELIEF. Nothing else.

A belief that another race is inferior to YOUR race. But you can keep trying to excuse racist behavior of some POC all you like.

"the belief that different races possess distinct characteristics, abilities, or qualities, especially so as to distinguish them as inferior or superior to one another"

[catsudon]

31. incorrect

i prefer my definition of racism from a dictionary than a site with agenda.

if you pluck a white racist and move him to china. he is still a racist.

not that china is a shining beacon of racial equality. i should know, as Han chinese myself, i know a lot of racist chinese people in america.

[The Protagonist]

32. I'm glad you brought up the dictionary....

https://www.vox.com/identities/2020/6/10/21286656/merriam-webster-racism-definition

[OtterDave]

26. Anyone can be a racist

The color does not matter. Some people tend to be tribal in their thinking. Groups that are racist and in power should worry everyone!!!

[SunSeeker]

27. There is a LOT of racism in the Latino community against black and indigenous people.

Many Latinos in Central and South America who trace their ancestry to Spain consider themselves European, and look down on the darker, shorter indigenous people as subhuman.

[oldsoftie]

34. Apparently thats not possible......

according to the above posts.

[StormKing]

41. Ignore them

How can I say it? Racism from Latinos towards Black people is documented. Racism from Asians towards Black people. Latinos against Natives. All of these examples don't involve White people.

This BS re-definition if racism has been brewing in academia since the 1970s and it doss nothing to aid in dismantling racism in America.

[oldsoftie]

42. Totally accurate. And don't forget the hate crimes against Asians.

Are those not racist? "Oh I cant be a racist, I'm just a bigot"? Like there's REALLY a difference?
I refuse to participate in the idiotic watering down of terms just to appease the loudest screamers.

[StormKing]

43. That's it too

All these attempts to change the definition are just attempts to win an argument. It's not a good thing.

[haele]

35. Many of the old Spanish land grant families referred to themselves as White in the late 1800's.

The descendants of those families still pretty much only consider themselves Hispanic on festival days when it's convenient or 'historical'.
Those are not families that have members on both sides of the Border. Those are families that have established generational homes and businesses in more upscale areas like Brentwood, La Jolla, Glendale.
It's not unusual to find a Californian with a surname of, say, Yberra, Martinez, Rodriguez or other Spanish surname who marks the Caucasian box on their forms.

Haele

[dalton99a]

36. Vile trash

Nury Martinez

[Samrob]

39. Blacks get demeaned from everywhere. Even from other minorities. Sad.

Last edited Wed Oct 12, 2022, 04:00 PM - Edit history (1)