Nury Martinez announces resignation from L.A. City Council in wake of audio leak scandal

[Just A Box Of Rain]

Nury Martinez resigned her seat on the Los Angeles City Council on Wednesday, days after the release of an explosive leaked audio of a racist, crude conversation.

The move came amid mounting pressures from all corners of politics, from President Biden to many community activists and council colleagues.

In this surreptitiously recorded conversation from October 2021, Martinez — while speaking with Councilmembers Kevin de León and Gil Cedillo as well as Los Angeles County Federation of Labor President Ron Herrera — made racist remarks and insults about various elected officials.

https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2022-10-12/la-me-nury-martinez-resigns

[crickets]

1. No paywall link:

https://archive.ph/KZIvQ


Good. There's one gone.

[Tickle]

2. I think I heard while driving

that all the people on that phone call need to resign. They were all latinos not that it makes a difference but that was also said.

[Just A Box Of Rain]

3. I expect that Gil Cedillo and Kevin De Leon will be next.

As a native of Los Angeles and a Democrat I'm finding this a sad moment.

I listened to the entirety of the leaked tape hoping it might provide some context that mitigated against some of the worst comments that were extracted in the initial reports I saw online.

Instead of making it better, listening to the entire tape only made it worse.

These were major figures in Democratic politics locally and in CA generally. Kevin De Leon is not my cup of tea (full disclosure), but I would not have wished this scandal on any of them.

The words and attitudes capture on that tape, however, are inexcusable.

[LeftInTX]

7. After spending a bit of time in this rabbit hole, sounds like they were trying to hold on or expand

power on the city council via redistricting. Ugly. There is no need to be racist. They were gonna break up Koreatown (which is likely a Latino majority area) so Raman would lose her seat. Sounds like what the Texas lege does, except the Texas lege are pros and know how to do kneecap everyone and know they don't need to say a single word. Nobody wins here. I hope in the end, the maps were fair. They may not be.

[Just A Box Of Rain]

17. Yes, they were involved in a little horse-trading to improve their districts,

not just their electoral prospects but also the inclusion of contract-generating public facilities.

Plus attempting to kneecap rivals to power.

All this I'm assuming is illegal under the Brown Act, which demands transparency by statue here in California.

I'm not so naive about "politics" that a little "brokering" of districts offends me. But when Nury Martinez disparaged the indigenous Oaxacan people who live in Korea town as short and ugly, in addition to calling Mike Bonin (a gay Democratic Councilperson) a "bitch" and his adopted 3 year old African American son a monkey in Spanish, I was done.

And the more one listens to, the worse it gets. Nothing remotely redeeming on the whole damn tape.

[ripcord]

28. Attorney General Rob Bonta has said he is going to investigate the redistricting process in L.A.

Going back as far as he has to find out what has been happening and will not rule out criminal charges if that is where the investigation leads. Mitch O'Farrell has said he would like to see an independent redistricting committee set up to deal with it from here on out.

[tishaLA]

9. It's been kind of a gut punch for me too

I remember wrestling with whether to vote for de Leon or Feinstein for senate just a few years ago....then this. And my congressman, Jimmy Gomez, initially put out the most bland statement that didn't even bother to condemn them, much less ask for their resignation because I'm sure they're longtime allies.....

He changed it later and asked for them to resign when it became clear which way the wind was blowing, but that his initial response was so weak told me all I need to know about him, so I'm going to help get his opponent (another progressive albeit one I have questions about) elected in his stead.

I'm pretty cynical about politics, but I hadn't been this cynical before.

[Just A Box Of Rain]

18. Yeah, sorry. I feel similar a unhappiness.

Personally, I was 100% supportive of Diane Feinstein (I love her) and none too keen on De Leon's run, but I would not have wished this scandal on him.

A sad day in LA.

I hope the impact on the mayoral race doesn't flip the race due to the fallout.

[Treefrog]

5. All Dems too, I think. Sad situation.

Resignation was the only way to go.

[Just A Box Of Rain]

10. Yes, all Democrats and major figures in LA politics.

And yes, it is a sad situation.

[Hortensis]

12. But are they all liberals or have il-liberal types run as Democrats

in a city Democrats have "controlled" for decades because it was the way to power? I'm not saying any are, I don't know, but it's a normal pattern that's come out many times in the past when long-established "Democratic" governments got in trouble for behaviors that seemed increasingly similar to Republican. Infiltrate, weaken, help bring in others who'll ally with them, etc.

When a government's been Democratic for a long time I always wonder about that possibility. Especially when something doesn't really sound like us. Especially when significant demographic groups are conservative-dominant.

And "voting blue" is not synonymous with voting liberal. Lots of minority conservatives vote Democratic against Republican abuse but that doesn't mean they adopt liberal ideals and goals. And Los Angeles has a bunch of groups competing for big power.

[Just A Box Of Rain]

14. Gil Cedillo is certainly positioned as a liberal.

I know people who have worked with him. Gil has always seems solid to me.

I'm less familiar with Nury Martinez, but her reputation prior to the leaked tape did not suggest crypto-conservative.

Kevin De Leon has positioned himself as a "progressive" in the Bernie Sanders' endorsed mold, and I'll leave you to draw your own conclusions there.

The presence of ethnic coalitions is nothing new in LA politics. I witnessed such coalitions my entire life and I understand some of the discontentments expressed on the tape, as the Latino population of LA has been subject to efforts to diminish their political power in my honest estimation.

As I said earlier, I listened to the tape hoping it would provide some mitigation for the worst sorts of comments. But it did the opposite.

I don't feel good about it.

[ChazII]

15. +1

It was painful.

[BlueCheeseAgain]

16. Kevin de Leon has positioned himself as a progressive.

He was certainly considered the "progressive" option when he and Dianne Feinstein were the two finalists in the 2018 Senate race.

[Hortensis]

24. My husband still reads the LATimes daily and has a good opinion

of some of these people and things they've done, including the one who just resigned. I should have also mentioned that being conservative by nature does not have to mean cons running as Democrats have to be far-right MAGAs or highly corrupt wealth tools. There are still moderate conservatives around who believe in the value of progressive government, especially to help suppressed groups, albeit typically more limited, but who also are naturally more socially conservative than liberals in general.

[Treefrog]

25. Good point.

I know very little about LA's political structure.

[Demovictory9]

4. Good..take Tuberville with you

[jimfields33]

11. If he were running this November he'd be toast. People forget we just had a Democratic senator from

Alabama due to nastiness of the republican candidate. Who knows what the election in 2026 will look like. Hopefully they’ll bring this up. His opponent in the primary must. And the Democratic candidate in the general had better.

[SoCalDavidS]

6. If They Were repubs, The Entire Party Would Be Rallying Around Them

Democrats actually have standards and respect for the feelings of others. This was a bridge too far for even President Biden.

[Sneederbunk]

8. Minority vs Minority.

[MichMan]

13. They should all be prohibited from ever holding any government job

Elected or hired/appointed

[Cha]

19. You just Never know when

Karma's goinna come back to bite you in the ass!

What she said needed accountability and this is it.

[Just A Box Of Rain]

20. You're right.

Nevertheless, I'm feeling rather heartsick over this whole affair.

[Hekate]

21. "Various elected officials"? She was really comprehensive. The woman seethes with anger...

Someone was quoting her from something she’d said in her early political life about growing up in Pacoima and how bad it was that (politically) everything was being “run by the Jews.”

The resentment just steamed off the page. The office holders she mentioned were elected by her district.

Part of the complaint she now has is that Black Angelenos somehow have more political clout than Latinos in what is becoming a majority-Latino city. Excuse me, lady, they have worked for their voice for generations.

If she were a youngster I would say what I generally do: run for office yourself. But she did, and she rose to City Council, which is carries a lot of clout and is no mean feat.

But this woman cannot let go of anything. It’s not just Jews and Blacks. She’s got it in for dark indigenous Mexicans, Central Americans, you-name-it. What she said about Councilmember Bonin’s adopted son I won’t repeat, but he was brought to tears before he could speak about it. She did call Bonin, who is gay, “a little bitch.” She got in a dig at Armenians.

What a piece of work.

[Just A Box Of Rain]

22. Martinez was not just on the City Council, she was the Los Angeles City Council President.

She had arrived.

I understand the history of ethnic coalitions in LA politics. I saw thrilled, for example, when a Black-Jewish coalition emerged that finally helped to oust crypto-Republican Sam Yorty in 1973, when Tom Bradley became mayor.

I could have accepted a little ethic politics and--to be fair--Latino power has lagged due in part to the success of other blocs. Some sense of "resentment" would have gotten a pass from me.

I wanted an "out" prior to listening. But not afterwards.

Hubris, I guess, is an essential aspect of tragedy. And this seems like a tragedy to me.

Bill

[Hekate]

26. Did you read LZ Granderson's column today? Of all of the comments I've read, his has been ...

… the most measured. This has nothing to do with forgiving her (and DeLeon and the rest) — but in drawing a much bigger, even national, picture of Democratic politics, and how our leaders do or do not do outreach to the Latino community. Martinez was working on redistricting in an effort to not lose ground, to not end up with deflated districts with no resources.

Granderson could have been forgiven for picking up on the gay and black slurs, but instead he broadened his focus in a way that taught me more. Recommended.

Do you live in LA? I don’t. All I remember about Pacoima, where I was born, ends in 1957, when my family followed my dad’s job with Lockheed Aircraft out of state. As an adult, LA has always been the gargantuan neighbor to the south of where I was living on the Central Coast — a massive gravitational pull in California. My friends and I used to dive into LA to go to LACMA or see the Taiko Drummers and the like, but alas our best driver has had 2 strokes this year, our next best has gotten terribly distractible, and I, who hate freeways anyway, need cataract surgery. (At least we are all still above ground, knock wood.)

Except for the years I lived out of state, the Los Angeles Times has been my newspaper of choice. Dr Soon-Shiong’s ownership has revitalized it, and they’ve got a slew of tremendous columnists. I wish someone with better skills than I would take up the task at DU of posting from the LAT, because after all, the NY Times and the Wa Po make it seem like theirs is the only viable perspective — and there’s a lot more to the country than that.

[LeftInTX]

30. Here is his column

https://archive.ph/U3ii3

Yikes, I did not know 1/3 of Latinos went for Trump in 2020!

Yes, redistricting brings out the worst in people. Those particular members of the Los Angeles City Council did not have the prior "privilege" (aka history) of being called "racist". People who have been accused of being racist (aka Republicans in Texas) are racist as hell, but know to keep their mouths shut. They are racist in their actions. And actions are where it hurts. People like Greg Abbott and Ted Cruz use dog whistles such as "crime", "drugs" etc etc etc...
And their gerrymandering? Good God, the Texas GOP is horrific, but no one stops them anymore. They're response, "We did not take race into consideration when we drew these maps".

[Hekate]

32. Thanks!

[Just A Box Of Rain]

31. Yes to living in Los Angeles. Born and raised here.

And I very much agree about the positive direction of the LA Times under Dr Soon-Shiong’s ownership.

I was a weird kid, who was fascinated by internal affairs and politics from a very early age. I read the LA Times daily from the time I was able to read. Every morning, before school.

Over the years, I witnessed the paper develop into what I considered one of the world's great newspapers. I was very proud of my hometown paper. Then I watched its decline.

It kind of broke my heart when I finally cancelled my subscription.

But now? I'm back. This is a tough time to revitalize a newspaper, but kudos to Soon-Shiong for what he's been able to achieve. Remarkable.

I have not read LZ Granderson's article yet. Thanks for the heads up. I will do so.

[Just A Box Of Rain]

33. So I just read the article and feel it was generally fair-minded.

I do think--having lived through it--that there is even greater context that can explain where Los Angeles is at the present.

When I was a young child this city was largely in the grips of white conservatives.

For example, Sam Yorty while technically a "Democrat" during his tenure in the officially non-partisan as mayor (after which he switched to being an official Republican) was a hard-core conservative and a racist. The LAPD is still desperately in need of reform, but the LAPD of the 1960s was an entirely different matter.

It took a lot of struggle and hard work to break the conservative hold on power. Much of this work was done by what's often called a "Black/Jewish coalition."

I have been part of that coalition. My family has been involved with a cultural non-profit in Watts since I was was born, and today I head that non-profit. Despite being a white kid from the suburbs, Watts was like a second home to me. Weekends were typically spent in the community.

And while I'm not Jewish, I do have deep ties to that community and have chosen to live in a significantly Jewish neighborhood, and have been named "honorary" by rabbis in 3 different branches of Judaism.

In 1969 it looked like we'd finally break the conservative hold on the mayor's office by supporting a Black former-LAPD officer (one of the few). I volunteered on Bradley's campaign. I was 11. At the last minute Yorty (or groups working with him) sent out mailers falsely charging that Tom Bradley was a communist. The charge was ridiculous, but it turned the race. Bradley lost. I was crushed.

In 1973 there was a re-run. This time Bradley defeated Yorty. During this time a liberal coalition developed that remade the political landscape here in Los Angeles. It was a coalition of Blacks, Jews, and other liberals worked to transform the direction of the city's politics.

I think it would be fair to say that Latinos have been unrepresented on the City Council for a long time. A look at the numbers and it is undeniable, based on demographics.

One could argue that groups who are over-represented on the City Council "earned" their positions through decades of hard work and political activism, and it would be hard to deny some truth in that as well.

Politics can get complicated.

As I mentioned previously, due to the history in LA, I was prepared to give Martinez, Cedillo, and De Leon a little grace if the totality of the tape revealed some resentments over the underrepresentation of Latinos in LA politics. I could understand it. I do understand it.

Unfortunately, to my ears--and I flatter myself in think I'm fair-minded--the words spoken by these Councilpersons were grotesque and inexcusable.

Are there larger concerns about representation, as Granderson suggests? You bet.

The way this had played out makes me sad.

[Hekate]

34. It makes me sad, too. The way this is playing out on the front pages is just catastrophic...

From afar, I have had such hopes for LA. I am a great believer in alliances and coalitions — I believe it’s the only way forward.

[tishaLA]

23. I finally read her entire statement. It's appalling.

she thanks her mother, her family, and everyone except her manicurist. She hopes she's inspired little Latina girls (maybe as a negative example), but she can't be bothered to apologize to the black boys of LA she thinks are monkeys or the LGBTQ community or the "short dark" Oaxacans in Koreatown she finds "tan feo."

She's absolutely despicable and I hope the investigation into the redistricting cabal ends with criminal charges against her, Cedillo, and de Leon.

[dalton99a]

27. Nury Martinez is unfit to be dog catcher

[Nixie]

29. +1, neither is Kevin de Leon.

After he joined in the Senator from Vermont’s sucker punches on Dianne Feinstein, I’ve seen his career shrink, and deservedly so. Nails in his political career coffin coming up. What an absolutely immoral creep.