A Los Angeles city councilwoman has resigned as council president after an audio recording surfaced.
According to the British news agency Reuters, Nori Martinez made racist and derogatory comments in the audio recording. He also made disparaging remarks about a colleague's black son.
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Martinez came under fire after the Los Angeles Times reported her comments during a recorded October 2021 meeting.
In the recording, he said that Bonan, who is white, treats his black son as if he were an 'extra' and compared him to 'Chinguito', which means 'little monkey'. are Bunin was not there.
The Times reported that Martinez also insulted Oaxaca's Mexican population and expressed his displeasure with Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascon, saying that "he's with the blacks."
"I take responsibility for what I said and there is no excuse for these comments," Martinez said in his statement. I am very sorry.'
Two other Democratic members of the council, Gil Cedillo and Kevin DeLeon, and Labor Leader Ron Herrera were present during the conversation, according to the Times.
According to the report, De Leon accused Bonan of not supporting Latinos and likened him to the council's "fourth black member."
According to the Times, all three gave statements admitting that inappropriate comments were made at the meeting.
Bonan issued a statement Sunday calling on the City Council to remove Martinez as president and resign from the legislature.
"Parents who read his comments will know he is unfit for public office," Bonin said.
The local chapter of the activist group Black Lives Matter said Martinez, Cedillo, DeLeon and Herrera should resign from their positions.
Martinez was the first Latina to become City Council President in January 2020. She was first elected to the city council in 2013.
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