Former L.A. City Council President Nury Martinez Resigns Amid Public Outcry Over Racist Recording

After recordings of a racist rant surfaced, Los Angeles City Councilwoman Nury Martinez has resigned.

Public outcry immediately followed the disturbing audio that was leaked on Sunday. The recording was from October 2021 and featured Martinez and other local Latino political leaders. Martinez can be heard speaking on how Latino leaders can remain in power over their Black counterparts. When the topic of Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascón came up, Martinez slammed him for his support of the Black community.

“F**K that guy. He’s with the Blacks,” Martinez said. She then took aim at white Councilmember Mike Bonin’s adopted son, who is Black. In Spanish, she referred to the child as a “monkey” and said Bonin and his husband were raising him “like a little white kid.” As if her verbal lashing could not get more lethal, Bonin suggested that violence be brought to the young boy, insinuating that the couple let her “take him around the corner” to receive a beatdown.

Shortly after the recording made its way across the internet, community members called for the councilwoman to be fired immediately. Even President Joe Biden called out Martinez and demanded she be removed from her position as city council president. Initially, she stated that she was only stepping down as president before announcing a leave of absence. On Wednesday, she threw in the towel and resigned entirely.

“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 said in a statement. “To my staff, I’m sorry that we’re ending it this way.”

Other council members heard on the tape were Ron Herrera, Kevin de León, and Gil Cedillo. Herrera resigned from the Los Angeles County Federation of Labor on Monday. Cedillo and de León have not yet announced plans to quit, though it is a strong possibility in the coming days.