In other racist remarks, she can be heard disparaging L.A. District Attorney George Gascón because he is “with the Blacks,” and about Oaxacans in Koreatown, which Martinez referred to as “short, dark people.”
At one point, Councilmember De León joined in and joked that fellow council member Bonin, –who has a black adopted child with his partner — handles their child as an ‘accessory,’ as “when Nury brings her Goyard bag or the Louis Vuitton bag.”
“Su negrito, like on the side,” Martinez said, using a Spanish diminutive term for a Black person that can be considered demeaning.
Leon, Martinez and Bonin.
Martinez resigned as council president on Monday and took a leave of absence Tuesday, but calls are growing or her to be kicked off the Council as well as fellow council members who also made racist remarks, including Councilmembers Kevin de León and Gil Cedillo, to step down.
UPDATED: Mayor Eric Garcetti of Los Angeles and both of the candidates running to replace him, Representative Karen Bass and the developer Rick Caruso, have called for the resignations of Ms. Martinez and the other two council members who attended the meeting, Gil Cedillo and Kevin de León.