LA councilwoman quits as president

Los Angeles City Councilwoman Nury Martinez announced Monday that she would resign as the council’s president after audio was leaked in which she made racially derogatory remarks about a colleague’s son as part of a discussion of the city’s redistricting process.

“I take responsibility for what I said and there are no excuses for those comments,” Martinez said in a statement. “As a mother I know better and I am sorry. I am truly ashamed.”

Martinez, a Democrat, made no mention of leaving her seat on the 15-member legislative body representing the city’s 6th District.

According to an account by the Los Angeles Times, Martinez, during a recorded conversation last fall with three other council members and a labor leader, said Councilman Mike Bonin, a Democrat who is white, handled his young Black son as though he were an accessory and described his son as “parece changuito,” which translates to “like a monkey.”

The Times also reported that Martinez appeared to discuss Bonin’s child’s behavior during a 2017 parade. She is alleged to have said on the call: “Let me take him around the corner and then I’ll bring him back.”

During the call, Martinez could also be heard disparaging other politicians, according to the Times. Bonin called for Martinez’s removal as president and resignation from office.

In a statement Sunday, Martinez issued an apology for the comments, which she apparently did not know had been recorded.

“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,” she said.

Martinez served as the council’s president since late 2019 and was the first Hispanic woman to hold the position.