https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2022-10-09/city-council-leaked-audio-nury-martinez-kevin-de-leon-gil-cedillo
L.A. Council racist comments
Martinez steps down
Listen: 4 key moments
Tape origins
California
Racist remarks in leaked audio of L.A. council members spark outrage,
disgust
L.A. City Council President Nury Martinez
L.A. City Council President Nury Martinez, shown in 2019, made racist
comments in a 2021 meeting, according to a recording reviewed by The Times.
(Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)
By David Zahniser, Julia Wick, Benjamin Oreskes, Dakota Smith, Gustavo
Arellano
Oct. 9, 2022 Updated 9:29 PM PT
Behind closed doors, Los Angeles City Council President Nury Martinez
made openly racist remarks, derided some of her council colleagues and
spoke in unusually crass terms about how the city should be carved up
politically.
The conversation remained private for nearly a year, until a leaked
recording reverberated explosively Sunday and turned the focus of a
sprawling metropolis toward Los Angeles City Hall.
By Sunday evening, three of Martinez’s council colleagues had called for
her to resign. The leak had quickly become a new and incendiary issue in
the coming Nov. 8 election, with candidates — some of them endorsed by
Martinez — having to stake out positions.
Martinez and the other Latino leaders present during the taped
conversation were seemingly unaware they were being recorded as Martinez
said a white councilmember handled his young Black son as though he were
an “accessory” and described Councilman Mike Bonin’s son as “Parece
changuito,” or “like a monkey.”
VIDEO | 03:12
City Council leader makes racist comments about colleague’s young son
Council President Nury Martinez makes racist remarks about Councilmember
Mike Bonin’s young son while others chime in during this section of the
conversation. The group was discussing a dispute between Councilmembers
Curren Price and Marqueece Harris-Dawson, who were at odds last year
over whose district would represent USC and Exposition Park once the new
maps were finalized. The clip begins with Martinez recounting a
conversation she allegedly had with businessman Danny Bakewell.
During the conversation with Councilmembers Gil Cedillo and Kevin de
León and Los Angeles County Federation of Labor President Ron Herrera,
Martinez described Bonin at one point as a “little bitch,” according to
a recording of the meeting reviewed by The Times.
Martinez also mocked Oaxacans and said “F— that guy … He’s with the
Blacks” while speaking about Los Angeles County Dist. Atty. George Gascón.
De León appeared to compare Bonin’s handling of his child to Martinez
holding a Louis Vuitton handbag.
The conversation took place in October 2021 and focused heavily on
councilmembers’ frustration with maps that had been proposed by the
city’s 21-member redistricting commission.
Along with revealing cruel and racist comments, the leaked audio offered
a rare window into the behind-the-scenes machinations of the
redistricting process and the bare-knuckled fighting between various
groups trying to secure political power.
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On Sunday, after this article was published online, Martinez issued a
statement apologizing for her comments, saying: “In a moment of intense
frustration and anger, I let the situation get the best of me and I hold
myself accountable for these comments. For that I am sorry.”
“The context of this conversation was concern over the redistricting
process and concern about the potential negative impact it might have on
communities of color,” she added. “My work speaks for itself. I’ve
worked hard to lead this city through its most difficult time.”
Los Angeles city councilmen Curren Price and Marqueece Harris-Dawson
California
L.A. approves its redistricting map, setting political boundaries for
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Dec. 7, 2021
Also on Sunday, De León called the comments “wholly inappropriate” and
said he had fallen “short of the expectations we set for our leaders.”
“I regret appearing to condone and even contribute to certain
insensitive comments made about a colleague and his family in private,”
he said in a statement. “I’ve reached out to that colleague personally.”
Cedillo, contacted by The Times Saturday night, said, “I don’t have a
recollection of this conversation.”
On Sunday night, Herrera apologized and asked for forgiveness, saying
there is “no justification and no excuse for the vile remarks made in
that room.”
“And I didn’t step up to stop them and I will have to bear the burden of
that cross moving forward,” he said.
Julie Gutman Dickinson, a lawyer representing the L.A. County Federation
of Labor, sent a letter saying the conversation was “recorded in
violation of California’s privacy and recording laws on LA County
Federation of Labor property.” If The Times published information from
it, “it is condoning this illegal conduct,” she added.
Times General Counsel Jeffrey Glasser responded to Gutman Dickinson in a
letter Sunday morning, defending the newspaper’s right to publish the
material.
Audio of the wide-ranging, roughly hourlong conversation was posted on
Reddit by a now-suspended user. It is unclear who recorded the audio,
who uploaded it to Reddit and whether anyone else was present.
“It is a fundamental principle in the United States that we do not
prohibit or punish the receipt and publication of newsworthy
information,” Glasser wrote.
The leak comes a month before a consequential city election in which the
mayor and several council seats are being contested. Martinez has
endorsed several council candidates in the Nov. 8 election, and their
fate could determine whether she retains the powerful council presidency.
Focus on the leak spread far beyond the typical milieu of municipal
government. The words “Nury” and “resign” both briefly trended locally
on Twitter Sunday, as ordinary Angelenos and political insiders alike
expressed their shock over its content.
photo illustration of Los Angeles City Hall with a ballot in the background
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“Wow, you know it happens, but when you actually hear it, it’s
unbelievable,” the now-suspended Reddit user said in text accompanying
the audio, according to a screenshot reviewed by The Times. “The labor
movement is in bed with City Hall.”
The group discussed the city’s once-a-decade process of redrawing
council district boundaries, which was underway at the time, as well as
the need to reelect Latino council members and ensure that heavily
Latino districts did not lose economic assets, such as USC and Van Nuys
Airport.
Latino residents make up roughly half of L.A.'s population but represent
less than a third of the council’s 15 districts — a fact that has led to
complaints that the population is not being fairly represented.
At one point in the conversation, De León referred to Bonin as the
council’s “fourth Black member.”
“Mike Bonin won’t f—ing ever say peep about Latinos. He’ll never say a
f—ing word about us,” he said.
Bonin’s son was brought into the conversation as the group discussed a
dispute between Councilmembers Curren Price and Marqueece Harris-Dawson,
who were at odds last year over whose district would represent USC and
Exposition Park once the new maps were finalized. Both men are Black and
represent parts of South Los Angeles.
Martinez told the group she had a conversation with businessman Danny
Bakewell about the situation, and argued that if Harris-Dawson was
seeking an economic asset for his district that he should seek to move
Los Angeles International Airport out of Bonin’s Westside district and
into his.
“Go get the airport from his little brother — that little bitch Bonin,”
Martinez recalled advising Bakewell.
Martinez said that Bonin appeared with his son on a float in a Martin
Luther King Jr. Day parade that featured a number of politicians. She
also said the child was “an accessory.”
Los Angeles city councilmen Curren Price and Marqueece Harris-Dawson
California
L.A. City Council finalizes draft redistricting map, keeps USC with
Curren Price
Nov. 9, 2021
De León seemed to compare Bonin’s handling of the child to “when Nury
brings her Goyard bag or the Louis Vuitton bag.”
“Su negrito, like on the side,” Martinez said, using a Spanish
diminutive term for a Black person that can be considered demeaning.
Martinez suggested the child was misbehaving on the float and might have
tipped over the float 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.”
Martinez’s reference to Bonin’s child as changuito occurred during that
part of the conversation.
In an interview Saturday night, Bonin said he attended the MLK parade in
2017 with his young son and was “angry and heartsick” over the remarks.
On Sunday, Bonin and his husband, Sean Arian, called on Martinez, De
León and Herrera to resign.
“The entirety of the recorded conversation ... displayed a repeated and
vulgar anti-Black sentiment, and a coordinated effort to weaken Black
political representation in Los Angeles,” they said in a statement.
“Any parent reading her comments will know she is unfit for public
office,” they said of Martinez. “No child should ever be subjected to
such racist, mean and dehumanizing comments, especially from a public
official. It is painful to know he will someday read these comments.”
Bonin was joined by two of his council colleagues — Nithya Raman and
Paul Koretz — in calling for Martinez to resign. Eunisses Hernandez, who
beat Cedillo in the June primary and will take office later this year,
also said she should quit.
Mayor Eric Garcetti did not say if any of the elected leaders should
step down, keeping his remarks broad. “There is no place in our city
family for attacks on colleagues and their loved ones, and there is no
place for racism anywhere in L.A.,” he said.
The secretly recorded conversation also dealt with the future of
Councilmember Mark Ridley-Thomas, who had just been indicted, and
whether he would step down or fight to hold onto his seat.
LOS ANGELES, CA - NOVEMBER 03: Los Angeles County Supervisor Mark
Ridley-Thomas speaks to the press after casting his vote at Hot and Cool
Cafe in Leimert Park on Tuesday, Nov. 3, 2020 in Los Angeles, CA. Mark
Ridley-Thomas is running against attorney Grace Yoo for a seat on the
Los Angeles City Council that is vacated by Councilman Herb Wesson.
(Dania Maxwell / Los Angeles Times)
California
L.A. Councilman Mark Ridley-Thomas and ex-USC dean indicted on bribery
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Oct. 13, 2021
Martinez said she explained to another councilmember that if
Ridley-Thomas were to be suspended, City Controller Ron Galperin would
decide whether he still gets paid.
“You need to go talk to that white guy,” she says. “It’s not us. It’s
the white members on this council that will motherf— you in a heartbeat.”
VIDEO | 01:12
Nury Martinez comments on Mark Ridley-Thomas’ suspension
City Council Nury Martinez discusses City Councilman Mark Ridley-Thomas’
relationship with the city after his indictment on bribery charges. It’s
up to City Controller Ron Galperin to decide whether he will still get
paid, Martinez said. She then goes on to state that it’s “white”
politicians that will motherf— you in a heartbeat.”
The council later suspended Ridley-Thomas, who is awaiting trial on
bribery and other federal charges. Galperin ultimately terminated
Ridley-Thomas’ pay and health benefits.
Still, much of the conversation focused on the maps that had been
proposed by the city’s redistricting commission. Martinez voiced
frustration that the panel had proposed removing a number of economic
assets from her San Fernando Valley district, including the Van Nuys
Airport and the Anheuser-Busch brewery.
“If you’re going to talk about Latino districts, what kind of districts
are you trying to create?” she asked. “Because you’re taking away our
assets. You’re just going to create poor Latino districts with nothing?”
At one point, Cedillo said there were certain councilmembers who do not
merit “rescuing” during the redistricting process. He then made clear
that he was referring to Nithya Raman, who had been fighting to ensure
her Hollywood Hills district was not moved to the west Valley.
“She is not our ally. She is not going to help us,” he said.
Later in the conversation, the group talked about how Koreatown — a
largely Latino neighborhood — should be handled in redistricting.
Martinez said the area was in Council District 10, which was
Ridley-Thomas’ district. Martinez then noted that Raman “wants a play
for K-Town” but said that would not happen because she didn’t want
“beef” with Ridley-Thomas.
Martinez said that giving Raman what could amount to a safer council
district would not be good for Martinez and her allies.
“It serves us to not give her all of K-Town,” Martinez said, referring
to Raman. “Because if you do, that solidifies her renters’ district and
that is not a good thing for any of us. You have to keep her on the fence.”
The group then questioned whether Shatto Place, a small street, and
Lafayette Park are in Koreatown.
“I see a lot of little short dark people,” Martinez said of that section
of Koreatown, employing stereotypes long used against Oaxacans in Mexico
and in the United States.
“I was like, I don’t know where these people are from, I don’t know what
village they came [from], how they got here,” Martinez said, before
adding “Tan feos” — “They’re ugly.”
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Herrera then interjected to bring the group back to their broader strategy.
“I get what we have to do, right? Just massage to create districts that
benefit you all. And the future. But we got to figure out Mark’s seat
too,” Herrera said, referring to Ridley-Thomas.
“If he resigns and the African Americans look at this as a hostile
takeover because he’s gone, we’ll have to figure that s— out,” Martinez
said of Ridley-Thomas. “Because politically, they’re going to come after
us.”
Herrera, the labor official, later said that removing Ridley-Thomas was
necessary regardless of potential political blowback, arguing the
scandal would hurt all incumbents and make people think “that the
council’s corrupt.” If they do put someone in, “that person has to
support the three of you,” Herrera said.
“The one who will support us is Heather Hutt,” Cedillo said.
De León then floated nonprofit director Irma R. Muñoz as a possible
replacement for Ridley-Thomas, noting that she’s “married to an African
American and she lives up in Baldwin Hills.”
Last month, the council voted to install Hutt as Ridley-Thomas’ interim
replacement.
Times staff writer Brittny Mejia contributed to this report.
CaliforniaL.A. Politics
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L.A. Council racist comments
Martinez steps down
Listen: 4 key moments
Tape origins
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California
Breaking down crucial moments in the racist leaked recording of L.A.
councilmembers
Nury Martinez
Los Angeles City Councilmember Nury Martinez is under fire.
(Michael Owen Baker / For The Times)
By Julia Wick, Robert Meeks, J.R. Lizarraga
Oct. 10, 2022 Updated 4:04 PM PT
In what they thought was a private conversation, some of the most
powerful people in Los Angeles politics gathered to discuss the city’s
once-every-decade redistricting process. Council President Nury
Martinez, Councilmembers Gil Cedillo and Kevin de León and Los Angeles
County Federation of Labor President Ron Herrera were all present.
Martinez is now facing calls for her resignation.
The far-ranging conversation, which focused heavily on council members’
frustration with maps that had been proposed by the city’s 21-member
redistricting commission, included racist remarks, crude comments about
some of their council colleagues and discussion of how to consolidate
and preserve political power.
LOS ANGELES, CA - DECEMBER 03, 2019 Los Angeles City Councilwoman Nury
Martinez listens as fellow Council members vote to elect her as City
Council President which makes her the first Latina president in Los
Angeles City Council history. (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)
California
Racist remarks in leaked audio of L.A. council members spark outrage,
disgust
Oct. 9, 2022
Martinez and the other Latino leaders present during the taped
conversation were seemingly unaware they were being recorded as Martinez
said a white councilmember handled his young Black son as though he were
an “accessory” and said that Councilman Mike Bonin’s son “parece
changuito,” or is “like a monkey.”
Martinez also mocked Oaxacans and said “F— that guy … He’s with the
Blacks” while speaking about Los Angeles County Dist. Atty. George Gascón.
The conversation, which took place in mid-October 2021, remained private
for nearly a year until an audio leak exploded into public view Sunday.
Here are some of the key moments.
This is a developing story and will be updated.
Laughter and racist comments about Mike Bonin’s young son
VIDEO | 03:12
City Council leader makes racist comments about colleague’s young son
Council President Nury Martinez makes racist remarks about Councilmember
Mike Bonin’s young son while others chime in during this section of the
conversation. The group was discussing a dispute between Councilmembers
Curren Price and Marqueece Harris-Dawson, who were at odds last year
over whose district would represent USC and Exposition Park once the new
maps were finalized. The clip begins with Martinez recounting a
conversation she allegedly had with businessman Danny Bakewell.
Bonin’s son was brought into the conversation as the group discussed a
dispute between Councilmembers Curren Price and Marqueece Harris-Dawson,
who were at odds last year over whose district would represent USC and
Exposition Park once the new maps were finalized. Both men are Black and
represent parts of South Los Angeles.
Martinez told the group she had a conversation with businessman Danny
Bakewell about the situation, and argued that if Harris-Dawson was
seeking an economic asset for his district that he should seek to move
Los Angeles International Airport out of Bonin’s Westside district and
into his.
“Go get the airport from his little brother — that little bitch Bonin,”
Martinez recalled advising Bakewell.
Martinez said that Bonin appeared with his son on a float in a Martin
Luther King Jr. Day parade that featured a number of politicians. She
also said the child was “an accessory.”
L.A. Councilman Kevin de Leon Council President Nury Martinez confer at
a meeting on Oct. 4, 2022.
California
What we know about the explosive leaked audio roiling L.A. City Hall and
its origins
Oct. 10, 2022
De León seemed to compare Bonin’s handling of the child to “when Nury
brings her Goyard bag or the Louis Vuitton bag.”
“Su negrito, like on the side,” Martinez said, using a Spanish
diminutive term for a Black person that can be considered demeaning.
Martinez suggested the child was misbehaving on the float and might have
tipped over the float if she and the other women on the float hadn’t
stepped 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.”
Attacking Oaxacans in Koreatown
VIDEO | 02:31
Martinez makes racist comments about Oaxacans in Koreatown
In a recorded conversation on Koreatown and redistricting, Nury Martinez
makes racist comments on Oaxacans and talks of limiting Councilmember
Nithya Raman.
The discussion later turns to how Koreatown should be handled in the
redistricting process. Martinez speaks openly about not wanting to give
the area to Councilmember Nithya Raman, or give her a renter-heavy
district that might be more politically favorable for the progressive
councilmembers.
“It serves us to not give her all of K-Town,” Martinez said. “Because if
you do, that solidifies her renters’ district and that is not a good
thing for any of us. You have to keep her on the fence.”
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)
California
Column: Nury Martinez’s rant reveals the worst enemy of Latino political
power: ourselves
Oct. 9, 2022
The group then questioned whether Shatto Place, a small street, and
Lafayette Park are in Koreatown.
“I see a lot of little short dark people,” Martinez said of that section
of Koreatown, employing stereotypes long used against Oaxacans in Mexico
and in the United States.
“I was like, I don’t know where these people are from, I don’t know what
village they came [from], how they got here,” Martinez said, before
adding “Tan feos” — “They’re ugly.”
Martinez on George Gascón
VIDEO | 00:36
Nury Martinez slams Dist. Atty. George Gascón as being ‘with the Blacks’
The topic of conversation moved to Dist. Atty. George Gascón, who was
facing growing political opposition.
Martinez says “F— that guy … He’s with the Blacks” while speaking about
Los Angeles County Dist. Atty. George Gascón.
Discussing Mark Ridley Thomas’s fate
VIDEO | 01:12
Nury Martinez comments on Mark Ridley-Thomas’ suspension
City Council Nury Martinez discusses City Councilman Mark Ridley-Thomas’
relationship with the city after his indictment on bribery charges. It’s
up to City Controller Ron Galperin to decide whether he will still get
paid, Martinez said. She then goes on to state that it’s “white”
politicians that will motherf— you in a heartbeat.”
Martinez said she explained to another councilmember that if Councilman
Mark Ridley-Thomas, who had been indicted on corruption charges, were to
be suspended from the council, City Controller Ron Galperin would decide
whether he still gets paid.
“You need to go talk to that white guy,” she says. “It’s not us. It’s
the white members on this council that will motherf— you in a heartbeat.”
The council later suspended Ridley-Thomas, who is awaiting trial on
bribery and other federal charges. Galperin ultimately terminated
Ridley-Thomas’ pay and health benefits.
“Protect Mitch”
VIDEO | 00:46
Working together to protect Mitch O’Farrell
Ron Herrera brings up City Council candidate Hugo Soto-Martínez, who is
running against incumbent Mitch O’Farrell. Herrera explains the group
needs to ‘protect Mitch.’
Herrera — head of the city’s top labor organization — brings up City
Council candidate and labor organizer Hugo Soto-Martínez, who is running
against incumbent Councilmember Mitch O’Farrell. Herrera then explains
the group needs to “ protect Mitch.”
CaliforniaPoliticsL.A. Mayor ElectionL.A. Politics
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Julia Wick
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Julia Wick is a Metro reporter for the Los Angeles Times covering City
Hall and the 2022 Los Angeles mayoral election. She was part of the team
that was a 2022 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 2019, Wick was the editor in chief of LAist and a senior
editor at Longreads. She is a native Angeleno.
Robert Meeks
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Robert Meeks is an award-winning senior director of video for news,
business and politics at the Los Angeles Times. A native Angeleno, Meeks
cut his journalism teeth as a reporter for the Orange County Register,
the Compton Bulletin and the Inglewood Tribune. Since joining The Times
in 2014, he has been instrumental in some of the newsroom’s biggest
stories, including breaking news video coverage of the San Bernardino
shooting, which won the 2016 Pulitzer Prize. Meeks also assisted in the
making of the podcast sensation “Dirty John.” His work has earned him
three Los Angeles-area Emmy nominations, among other honors. Meeks is a
graduate of Cal State Long Beach and an adjunct professor at USC. He
makes it to Sunday dinner at his parents’ house in Los Angeles every
weekend.
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