Los Angeles, CA - August 30: Council President Nury Martinez motion to appoint Heather Hutt as an interim council member for the 10th District, failed to receive the 10 votes required for a public hearing at City Hall on Tuesday, Aug. 30, 2022 in Los Angeles, CA. (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)
<p><a href="https://dev.theshaderoom.com/?s=los+angeles&;post_type=post" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Los Angeles</strong></a> City Council President Nury Martinez has resigned effective immediately after an audio recording was leaked where she could be heard calling a fellow council member&#8217;s Black son a &#8220;little monkey.&#8221;</p>
<p>Martinez has since profusely apologized amidst widespread outrage over the racist comments, which were reportedly made about colleague Mike Bonin&#8217;s young son in audio obtained by the <a href="https://twitter.com/latimes/status/1579279295335104512" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>LA Times</strong></a>.</p>
<p>The announcement of Martinez&#8217; resignation, which was revealed in an email from the councilwoman&#8217;s office on Monday, comes on the heels of a recorded conversation from October 2021 between Martinez and Councilman Kevin de León among other city officials.</p>
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<h3 style="text-align: center;">L.A City Council President Nury Martinez Resigns, Apologizes After Leaked Racist Audio While Speaking With Other Latino Leaders</h3>
<p>The pair were forced to apologize Sunday for the disparaging remarks.</p>
<p>The 49-year-old now-former councilwoman and several other Latino leaders could be heard criticizing Bonin, who is white, and his adopted Black son, saying &#8220;they&#8217;re raising him like a little while kid,&#8221; and &#8220;this kid needs a beatdown.&#8221;</p>
<p>Martinez also described the councilman&#8217;s son as &#8220;parece changuito,&#8221; or &#8220;like a monkey,&#8221; while calling his adopted father, who is also gay, a &#8220;little b****.&#8221;</p>
<p>The hourlong leaked racist audio clip surfaced Sunday when the recording was posted anonymously on Reddit.</p>
<figure id="attachment_99856" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-99856" style="width: 1024px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img class="size-full wp-image-99856" src="https://dev.theshaderoom.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/GettyImages-1243183281.jpg" alt="" width="1024" height="688" /><figcaption id="caption-attachment-99856" class="wp-caption-text">(Mel Melcon / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)</figcaption></figure>
<p>The October 2021 conversation in question between Martinez, de León, council members Gil Cedillo and de León, and county Labor President Ron Herrera, was initially about council members&#8217; discussing maps that had been put forward by the city&#8217;s redistricting commission.</p>
<h3 style="text-align: center;">Leaked Audio Caused Widespread And Immediate Backlash, Protests At Martinez&#8217;s Home</h3>
<p>The <a href="https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2022-10-09/city-council-leaked-audio-nury-martinez-kevin-de-leon-gil-cedillo" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Los Angeles Times</strong></a> quickly obtained and published it, causing an immediate backlash as protesters flocked to the now ex-presidents home and called for her resignation.</p>
<p>The protesters were there flouting a law that Martinez herself championed in 2021 that banned protests in residential areas.</p>
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<p>In a statement released Monday morning, the potential mayoral candidate issued a groveling apology where she said she was ashamed of the comments, and announced she was resigning in response to public backlash over her racist remarks.</p>
<blockquote><p>&#8220;I take responsibility for what I said and there are no excuses for those comments,&#8221; Martinez wrote in the emailed statement, which was shared amidst calling for her firing. &#8220;I&#8217;m so sorry.&#8221;</p></blockquote>
<h3 style="text-align: center;">Martinez &#8220;Knows Better&#8221; And Is &#8220;Truly Ashamed&#8221; Of Racist Remarks Caught On Tape</h3>
<p>Martinez tried to appeal to her sense of motherhood, and said she &#8220;knows better&#8221; and &#8220;am truly ashamed.&#8221;</p>
<figure id="attachment_99862" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-99862" style="width: 1140px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img class="size-full wp-image-99862" src="https://dev.theshaderoom.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/GettyImages-1432344621-scaled.jpg" alt="" width="1140" height="803" /><figcaption id="caption-attachment-99862" class="wp-caption-text">Rev. K.W. Tulloss speaks at a press conference at Southside Bethel Baptist Church, after audio surfaced on Sunday of Los Angeles City Council President Nury Martinez making racist slurs about colleague Mike Bonins young son during a conversation in October 2021, in Los Angeles on Monday, October 10, 2022. (Photo by Brittany Murray/MediaNews Group/Long Beach Press-Telegram via Getty Images)</figcaption></figure>
<blockquote><p>&#8220;As a mother, I know better and I am sorry. I am truly ashamed,&#8221; Martinez wrote. &#8220;I know this is the result of my own actions. I&#8217;m sorry to your entire family for putting you through this.&#8221;</p></blockquote>
<p>While she will be stepping down as president of the City Council, Martinez will keep her seat on the board and will continue to work for the city.</p>
<p>She went on to directly apologize to Bonin, 55, and his partner, Sean Arian, as well as their son.</p>
<h3 style="text-align: center;">Council Member Who&#8217;s Son Was Target Of Racist Remarks &#8220;Disgusted, Angry, Heartsick&#8221; Over Leaked Audio</h3>
<p>In her public apology, the official pointed out that she had spearheaded numerous efforts to help minorities in her district, including a 2020 initiative she launched to assist school-aged homeless children.</p>
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<blockquote><p>&#8220;As someone who believes deeply in the empowerment of communities of color, I recognize my comments undercut that goal,&#8221; Martinez said. &#8220;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.&#8221;</p></blockquote>
<p>In response, Bonin told the <a href="https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2022-10-09/city-council-leaked-audio-nury-martinez-kevin-de-leon-gil-cedillo" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Los Angeles Times</strong></a> that he was &#8220;disgusted and angry and heartsick&#8221; over the leaked audio clip.</p>
<blockquote><p>&#8220;It&#8217;s fair game to attack me but my son?&#8221; he added, calling for the resignation of all three city Latino council members. &#8220;You have to be pretty petty and insecure and venomous to attack a child. He wasn&#8217;t even 3 years old.</p></blockquote>
<p>Bonin went on to add that &#8220;other than that, I&#8217;m speechless.&#8221;</p>
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