(C) Daily Kos
This story was originally published by Daily Kos and is unaltered.
. . . . . . . . . .
Nury Martinez resigns from L.A. City Council in wake of audio leak scandal [1]
['David Zahniser Covers Los Angeles City Hall For The Los Angeles Times.', 'Julia Wick Is A Metro Reporter For The Los Angeles Times Covering City Hall', 'The Los Angeles Mayoral Election. She Was Part Of The Team That Was A Pulitzer Prize Finalist In Breaking News For Work Covering A Fatal Shooting On The Set Of The Film', 'Rust.', 'Previously', 'She Was The Author Of The Essential California Newsletter. Before Joining The Times In', 'Wick Was The Editor In Chief Of Laist', 'A Senior Editor At Longreads. She Is A Native Angeleno.', 'Dakota Smith Covers Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti', 'City Hall For The Los Angeles Times.']
Date: 2022-10-12
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.
“It is with a broken heart that I resign my seat for Council District 6, the community I grew up in and my home,” Martinez wrote in a lengthy resignation message.
Martinez, who represents such San Fernando Valley communities as Van Nuys, Arleta and Sun Valley, told her constituents that it had been a privilege serving them. “I hope you stay engaged and continue to fight for your fair share of the city’s resources,” she said. “It’s hard to say goodbye, but please know that I was in this fight for you.”
Advertisement
“And last, to all little Latina girls across this city — I hope I’ve inspired you to dream beyond that which you can see,” Martinez said in closing. “While I take the time to look inwards and reflect, I ask that you give me space and privacy.”
Martinez is only the latest in a string of councilmembers to be caught up in scandal. Last year, Councilman Mark Ridley-Thomas was indicted on bribery and conspiracy charges and was suspended by his colleagues.
Before that, Councilman Jose Huizar was charged with racketeering, bribery and fraud — and was suspended six months before leaving office. Councilman Mitchell Englander resigned in 2018, just as he was under federal investigation. Englander was later convicted of scheming to obstruct a federal inquiry into Huizar.
Huizar and Ridley-Thomas have pleaded not guilty and are headed to trial. Also Wednesday, Huizar’s brother, Salvador Huizar, agreed to plead guilty to giving false information to federal investigators.
Dan Halden, spokesperson for acting Council President Mitch O’Farrell, said O’Farrell will designate the office of the chief legislative analyst, which advises the council on policy matters, as the nonvoting caretaker of Martinez’s vacant seat.
That process has been relatively common immediately following a vacancy at City Hall. The council would have to decide whether to appoint a temporary replacement or leave it without a voting member until there is a special election.
Gov. Gavin Newsom called Martinez’s resignation “the right move.”
“Again, these comments have no place in our state, or in our politics, and we must all model better behavior to live the values that so many of us fight every day to protect,” he said in a statement.
Mayor Eric Garcetti said that he recognized how “painful” a decision it was for Martinez, but that it was the right one. He added Councilmember Kevin de León and Gil Cedillo, who were also heard in the audio, should do the same.
“Angelenos deserve a government focused squarely on meeting challenges in their neighborhoods that are too serious to risk a paralyzed City Council,” he said in a statement.
In her resignation letter, Martinez described how her family had been her “biggest cheerleaders” and spoke of the sacrifices it made for her. She also addressed her young daughter, saying, ”I know I have fallen short recently of the expectations we have for our family. I vow to you that I will strive to be a better woman to make you proud.”
The move came amid mounting pressures from all corners of politics, from President Biden to council colleagues and many community activists. Some expressed relief about her departure but also said it wasn’t enough.
Councilman Marqueece Harris-Dawson’s reaction to Martinez’s departure was simple: “Two down. Two to go.”
Harris-Dawson said the council should not pursue any policy changes until all three members have left and the city can begin to move forward. Whether he would actually not show up in person in Friday? He wasn’t sure.
“We shouldn’t do any business until these folks are gone. Rushing to do major pieces of legislation — like the good stuff that was submitted yesterday — is a mistake,” he said, referring to proposals to explore increasing the size of the City Council.
In the surreptitiously recorded conversation from October 2021, Martinez — while speaking with De León and Cedillo as well as Los Angeles County Federation of Labor President Ron Herrera — made racist remarks and insults about various elected officials.
Martinez focused in particular on Councilmember Mike Bonin, who is white, and Bonin’s young son, who is Black. At one point, Martinez called Bonin a “little bitch” and referred to his son as “parece changuito,” or “like a monkey.” She also said Bonin’s son had misbehaved on a parade float and needed a “beatdown.” But that is just one aspect of the leak, which has sent shock waves through City Hall and led to widespread disgust and outrage.
The conversation focused heavily on the three councilmembers’ frustration with maps that had been proposed by the city’s 21-member redistricting commission.
It remained private for nearly a year, until The Times published details of the recording Sunday, just a month before a pivotal city election. It was posted on Reddit, but it remained unclear who recorded the audio, who uploaded it and whether anyone else was present.
Martinez had apologized repeatedly in recent days, and announced she was taking a leave on absence from the council. De León said he regretted his actions and “fell short.” Cedillo said he should have intervened during the conversation, but did not mock his colleagues or make racist statements.
On Tuesday, Biden called on the three to step down.
“The president is glad to see that one of the participants in that conversation has resigned, but they all should,” said Karine Jean-Pierre, the White House press secretary, calling the language recorded during the conversation “unacceptable” and “appalling.”
Some L.A. City Council members responded to the fury by announcing a series of reform proposals. One would ask voters to expand the size of the council in 2024. Another would create a new committee to look at ways of limiting corruption.
O’Farrell, the acting council president, announced his support for those proposals. Earlier this week, he denounced what he called “the casual racism,” the “abhorrent language,” the “dehumanizing racist reference” to Bonin’s son, the “denigration of Indigenous peoples” and “the familiar tropes against LBGTQ+ individuals” uttered during the recorded conversation.
“For Los Angeles to heal, and for its City Council to govern, there must be accountability,” O’Farrell, who took on the role of acting council president after Martinez resigned from her leadership post Monday.
Councilman Curren Price, who has expressed interest in replacing Martinez as president, described her announcement as “the beginning of the end of this nightmare,” saying two more resignations are needed.
“In order for us to govern and handle the people’s business, we will need Kevin and Gil to listen to their conscience, own their mistakes and do what’s morally right,” he said in a statement.
[END]
---
[1] Url:
https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2022-10-12/la-me-nury-martinez-resigns
Published and (C) by Daily Kos
Content appears here under this condition or license: Site content may be used for any purpose without permission unless otherwise specified.
via Magical.Fish Gopher News Feeds:
gopher://magical.fish/1/feeds/news/dailykos/
