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On October 9, 2022, an audio recording surfaced of a private meeting involving Los Angeles City Council members and a union leader that involved racist and disparaging comments and led to a local political crisis.

The audio recording captured a conversation between City Council president Nury Martinez, fellow councilmembers Gil Cedillo and Kevin de León, and Los Angeles County Federation of Labor (colloquially referred to as the "Fed") President Ron Herrera.

The next day on October 10, 2022, Martinez resigned her presidency position, but remained in her city council seat, as did the other city council members, despite numerous prominent calls for them to step down. Since none were under indictment, they could only be removed from office by a voter-initiated recall.

After mounting pressure, on October 12, 2022, Martinez announced her resignation from her elected seat in the City Council. However, Cedillo and de León have not stepped down despite numerous calls for their resignations.

Meeting

In a closed door meeting at the Los Angeles County Federation of Labor offices that lasted approximately one hour, Martinez, Cedillo, de León, and Herrera discussed specific councilmembers, redistricting, and how to "consolidate and preserve political power." The audio recording is believed to be from one year prior, roughly mid-October 2021, and was leaked anonymously onto Reddit on September 19, 2022.

Racist language

The audio recording of the meeting gained widespread attention due to the personal attacks, racist/colorist language, and discussion of political goals. The participants were discussing gerrymandering when Martinez stated, "Fuck that guy ... He's with the Blacks", referring to District Attorney George Gascón.

Martinez also insulted fellow councilmember Mike Bonin's black adopted child. Referring to the behavior of the then-three-year-old child during a 2017 parade, she said, "This kid needs a beatdown. Let me take him around the corner, I'll bring him right back." Martinez also called the child a "changuito" according to the Los Angeles Times, meaing "little monkey" in Spanish.

In the course of the discussion on redistricting, she commented, "I see a lot of little short dark people there" in reference to Los Angeles’ Koreatown. "Oaxacan Koreans. Not even like Kevin. Little ones," Cedillo replied. She continued, "I was like, I don't know what village they came from, how they got here, but whatever." She can also be heard to remark, "tan feos" (Spanish for " so ugly"). Oaxaca is a Mexican state that has a high percentage of indigenous population, mostly of Zapotec origin, and Oaxacans are also represented in immigrant communities in Los Angeles.

The audio also revealed council members' remarks about Jews and Armenians, with Martinez saying "The judios cut their deal with South LA. That’s how I see it. And they are gonna screw everyone else", and referred to Areen Ibranossian, an advisor to Paul Krekorian, another Los Angeles City Council member, as "The guy with one eyebrow."; Cedillo replied "It ends in i-a-n, I bet you."

Redistricting

The three councilmembers discussed how to appoint a new councilmember who would work in their interests, and also agreed to gerrymander Councilmember Nithya Raman's district in order to suppress those who had voted for her. Heather Hutt, a former California State Director for then-Senator Kamala Harris, was suggested.

On August 26, 2022, Martinez introduced a motion to appoint Hutt as a councilmember, which was seconded by four other members. The motion was opposed by Marqueece Harris-Dawson and Mike Bonin, who instead proposed instructing the City Attorney to find eligibility requirements for appointments. On August 30, the vote to instate Hutt as a councilmember fell one vote short, with five voting for and five voting against; it was referred to the Rules, Elections and Intergovernmental Relations Committee for further discussion. The Committee cleared her for reconsideration by the Council the next day, and Hutt was confirmed by the Council in the next meeting and sworn in on September 2, 2022.

Subsequent Leaks

As a result of the fallout from the controversy, separate audio recordings of a conversation between Herrera and former Mitch O'Farrell (and later Fed) staffer Hannah Cho leaked on October 15 revealed a plot to "buy" the support of several progressive non-profits and Democratic clubs — including the LA County Young Democrats and Stonewall Democratic Club (which Cho refers to as "the LGBT one") — in an effort to keep O'Farrell in office and city council challenger Hugo Soto-Martínez out. In the recordings, Cho also disparages clubs backing Soto-Martínez — including the East Area Progressive Democrats and Democratic Socialists of America — by saying "they don't actually go outside" and "that's why they're so pale." O'Farrell was previously connected to the scandal after he was referred to as Martinez's "guy" by Cedillo and "my guy" by Herrera during recordings in which the four strategized on how to ensure an O'Farrell re-election over an unnamed opponent representing "Housing Related Entities (HREs)."

In response, Alex Mohajer, president of the Stonewall Democrats, proclaimed that the club is "not for sale" and accused Cho of working to decide the endorsements of the organization by being placed in their endorsement panels. Hugo Soto-Martínez called for O'Farrell to step down as Acting Council President while elections for the position were proceeding.

Reactions

The editorial board of the Los Angeles Times called on all three politicians to resign in an op-ed article published October 10, 2022.

Los Angeles Council District 11 candidate Traci Park rejected the endorsements of Martinez and Cedillo, which had been given before the release of the recording.

Miriham Antonio, a community advocate and law student, wrote an op-ed piece for the LA Times discussing the "racism and colorism my vibrant Oaxacan community endures."

A number of prominent politicians called for all three councilmembers to resign, including Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti, former Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, U.S. Senator Alex Padilla (D-Calif.), Representatives Adam Schiff (D-Burbank), Tony Cárdenas (D-Pacoima) and Jimmy Gomez (D-Los Angeles). Additionally, both candidates for Los Angeles mayor in the runoff election – Rep. Karen Bass (D-Los Angeles) and developer Rick Caruso – as well as the Los Angeles County Democratic Party.

The California/Hawaii and Los Angeles NAACP, and the SAG-AFTRA union called for the resignation of all four individuals involved.

On October 11, President Joe Biden called on all three councilmembers to resign from the council. Press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre stated, "The President is glad to see that one of the participants in that conversation has resigned, but they all should." Martinez resigned as president of the city council and announced that she would take a leave of absence; however, she had not resigned from her city council seat at that time, an action she would take on October 12.

City council protest

Two days after the audio's release, on Tuesday, October 11, a crowd of protestors disrupted the scheduled city council meeting, demanding Gil Cedillo and Kevin de León leave the room. Bonin gave a tearful and emotional speech saying, "My husband and I are both raw and angry and heartbroken, and sick for our family and for Los Angeles.... Public officials are supposed to call us to our highest selves. These people stabbed us and shot us and cut the spirit of Los Angeles."

Since Martinez was not indicted for a crime, she could not be removed by a vote of the city council, and only a voter-initiated recall could remove her from office before her term would have normally ended in 2024.

Aftermath

Nury Martinez

Martinez later provided a statement in the Los Angeles Times apologizing, "In a moment of intense frustration and anger, I let the situation get the best of me. I hold myself accountable for these comments. For that I am sorry." Bonin's family replied in a tweet condemning the racist comments and demanding Martinez's resignation.

On October 9, protesters demonstrated outside of her home in Sun Valley, California, calling for her resignation.

On October 10, Martinez stepped down as president through a released statement that apologized to Bonin and others, saying, "Therefore, effective immediately I am resigning as President of the Los Angeles City Council," though she did not resign from her seat on the City Council.

One day later, Martinez announced she would be taking a leave of absence. In a statement, she said, "At this moment, I need to take a leave of absence and take some time to have an honest and heartfelt conversation with my family, my constituents, and community leaders. I am so sorry to the residents of Council District 6, my colleagues, and the City of Los Angeles." On October 12, she announced her resignation from the city council. Councilman Mitch O'Farrell stepped in as acting president.

Replacement

Acting council president Mitch O'Farrell said he would "immediately begin to explore the logistics of holding a special election" to replace Martinez. The winner of the special election would serve out the remainder of Martinez's term, which expires in 2024. Individuals who have been mentioned as possible candidates in the special election include:

• Angélica Dueñas, member of the Los Angeles County Democratic Party Central Committee, former president of the Sun Valley Neighborhood Council, and candidate for California's 29th congressional district in 2018, 2020, and 2022
• Kelly Gonez, president of the Los Angeles Board of Education
• Cindy Montañez, San Fernando city councillor, former state assemblywoman, and candidate for this district in 2015
• Luz Rivas, state assemblywoman
• Antoinette Schully, organizer and activist

Ron Herrera

After the release of the audio, Herrera faced calls to step down from across the labor movement, including the leaders of eight SEIU California unions with Los Angeles-area members, United Teachers Los Angeles, Unite Here Local 11 and the California Nurses Association. Herrera’s home local union, Teamsters Local 396, joined multiple Teamsters locals in calling for him to leave.

He resigned from the Los Angeles County Federation of Labor on the evening of October 10, with the chair of the federation's executive board, Thom Davis, saying, "The Executive Board of the Los Angeles County Federation of Labor also calls on those elected officials who were present to follow President Herrera’s example by immediately resigning as well."

Kevin de León

De León offered a statement of apology but did not offer to step down from his position. "I regret appearing to condone and even contribute to certain insensitive comments made about a colleague and his family in private... I’ve reached out to that colleague personally."

References

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External links

• Full audio of L.A. council members' remarks - Los Angeles Times

• 2022 in Los Angeles
• 2022 controversies in the United States
• October 2022 events in the United States
• Political scandals in California
• Gerrymandering in the United States
• Multiracial affairs in the United States
• Anti-black racism in the United States
• Anti-Armenianism
• Anti-indigenous racism in the United States
• Antisemitic attacks and incidents in the United States
• History of racism in California
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• African-American history in Los Angeles
• Native American history of California