Los Angeles City Council member Nury Martinez has resigned as the legislative body’s president after making racist remarks about a fellow council member and his Black child.
“I take responsibility for what I said and there are no excuses for those comments,” Martinez said in a statement. “I’m so sorry.” Martinez’ resignation as president is effective immediately, according to the statement, though she remains a member of the council. The remarks were part of leaked audio that was posted anonymously on Reddit and obtained by The Los Angeles Times.
” The California/Hawaii State Conference of the NAACP and the Los Angeles Branch of the organization are calling for the resignation of all council members involved in that conversation and asking the city to investigate “how far the racial animus has impacted hiring and other decisions of the City Council,” they said in a joint statement.