LA City Council president resigns in wake of leaked audio featuring racist remarks

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“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,” she said in a statement.

“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,” she added.

Martinez’s remarks came during a conversation with Councilmen Kevin de Leon and Gil Cedillo as well as Los Angeles County Federation of Labor President Ron Herrera in October 2021. Leaked audio from the conversation surfaced on Reddit on Sunday and created a political firestorm.

At one point in the conversation, she was heard bashing Councilman Mike Bonin’s black son in Spanish, insisting that “this kid needs a beat down,” ABC7 reported.

“They’re raising him like a little white kid,” Martinez said in the recording, per ABC7. “I was like, this kid needs a beat down. Let me take him around the corner, and then I’ll bring him back.”

“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,” Martinez said in her statement about the audio tape.

Earlier Monday, Councilwoman Monica Rodriguez announced she planned to introduce a motion calling for the City Council president’s resignation.

Sen. Alex Padilla (D-CA) joined the chorus of California politicians demanding resignations Monday in the wake of the leaked audio.

“I am appalled at the racist, dehumanizing remarks made by Los Angeles City officials and leaders that were made public yesterday. As a father, I am offended that an innocent child was a target of these remarks,” Padilla declared in a statement.

“I call on Los Angeles City Councilmembers Nury Martinez, Kevin DeLeon, and Gil Cedillo to resign and take full responsibility,” he added.

De Leon, who recently apologized for the incident, can also be heard speaking during the tape from October 2021, “Mike Bonin won’t f***ing ever say [a] peep about Latinos. He’ll never say a f***ing word about us,” per the report.

Cedillo, who was not heard rattling off racist remarks, apologized for not intervening. Herrera similarly refrained from making overtly racist remarks, according to the report. But he suggested that his group could support someone for Bonin’s seat who would be more of an ally on Latino interests, NBC reported.

Bonin’s family appeared to concede that Cedillo didn’t make an overtly distasteful remark but chided him for not intervening.

“We are equally angry and disgusted by the ugly racist comments about our son from Kevin de Leon and Ron Herrera, who should also resign their posts, and by the tacit acceptance of those remarks from Gil Cedillo,” the statement said.

“It hurts that one of our son’s earliest encounters with overt racism comes from some of the most powerful public officials in Los Angeles,” the statement added. “The conversation revealed several layers of contempt for the people of Los Angeles, and a cynical, ugly desire to divide the City rather than serve it.”

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All three council members on the audio apologized for their roles in the conversation. Herrera apologized through his labor organization.

Martinez, a Democrat, assumed the mantle of City Council president on Jan. 5, 2020.