CA's Racist City Council Debacle: 5 Things To Know

LOS ANGELES, CA — The scandal triggered by an audio recording that exposed multiple Los Angeles City Council members for their racist conversation threatens to topple the careers of some of California's most prominent Latino leaders.

The story of slurs made and names tarnished in the conversation from last year has made headlines well beyond state lines.

The city leaders were gaming out the redistricting process during the recorded conversation. As a result, California's top prosecutor has stepped in to investigate the city's redistricting while both Gov. Gavin Newsom and President Joe Biden have called for the council members in question to step down over the taped hate speech.

The effects of the recording's shocking contents enraged Angelenos, some of whom swarmed City Hall this week shutting down City Council meetings indefinitely. And the consequences of the conversation may be felt across the state as it is now the subject of a state investigation.

Here are five things to know about the situation.

1. Racist Slurs Were Clearly Audible In The Recording

Three Los Angeles City Council members, who have all had long and influential careers in state and local politics are at the epicenter of the scandal.

Kevin de León, Nury Martinez and Gil Cedillo face enormous backlash to the conversation that took place nearly a year ago but was first published this week.

On the recording, Martinez made racist remarks about the Black son of a white councilman and other crude comments.

In the recorded conversation, Martinez called council member Mike Bonin a “little B****.” She described the behavior of his Black son on a parade float when he was 2 as “parece changuito,” or “like a monkey,” the Los Angeles Times first reported Sunday.

De León then likened Bonin's handling of the child to Martinez holding a Louis Vuitton handbag, an accessory.

At another point on the hourlong recording, Martinez also called indigenous immigrants from the Mexican state of Oaxaca ugly, called them "little short dark people," and made crass remarks about Jews and Armenians.

Then, of Dist. Atty. George Gascón, she said "F— that guy, he's with the Blacks."

While Cedillo himself was not heard making the same remarks, the recording indicated that he was laughing along with them.

"While I did not engage in the conversation in question, I was present at times," he said in a statement, the Los Angeles Times reported. "It is my instinct to hold others accountable when they use derogatory or racially divisive language."

2. A State Probe Has Been Launched

The state's investigation comes amid "deeply concerning" comments that surfaced in regard to the state's largest city's 2021 redistricting, Attorney General Rob Bonta said in a statement.

"It’s clear an investigation is sorely needed to help restore confidence in the redistricting process for the people of LA," he said.

The recording called into question whether the council members were drawing lines on the basis of race.

A probe could ultimately force the redrawing of council districts despite the fact that current maps are being used to appoint new council members in the November election.

"If, in the end, we determine these lines were illegally drawn, there needs to be a remedy for that, even though practically ... it’s a disaster," Jessica Levinson, a Loyola Law School professor who previously was a member of the Los Angeles City Ethics Commission, said.

Los Angeles City Attorney Mike Feuer has also called for creating an independent commission to draw redistricting maps.

"It should be clear to everyone by now that if you leave in the hands of elected officials the power to determine their own political districts, this is a recipe for conflict of interest and it is an invitation to backroom deals," Feuer said.

Cedillo, de León and Martinez were reportedly part of the discussion last year with a powerful Latino labor leader, who has since resigned.

The conversation centered on protecting Latino political power while redrawing council district boundaries. The once-a-decade redistricting process can pit one group against another to gain political advantage in elections.

Other council members weren’t informed of the meeting, acting council President Mitch O’Farrell said.

READ MORE: Meet The LA Leaders Behind LA City Hall's Racist Scandal

3. Just One Of The Three Members Have Resigned

Martinez, the former president of the Los Angeles City Council resigned from public office Wednesday, three days after the recorded meeting was leaked.

Nury Martinez, the first Latina to hold the top post on the council, announced her decision in a press release following a landslide of outrage and calls for the resignations of her and two other council members from the community and top government officials.

Her resignation statement did not address any racist comments, but in words directed at her daughter she said she had fallen short of expectations recently.

"I vow to you that I will strive to be a better woman to make you proud," she said.

READ MORE: Nury Martinez Resigns Under Cloud Of Scandal

4. Two Councilmen Resist Resignation

Cedillo and de León have not issued official statements since Martinez stepped down as council president Monday before resigning her seat Wednesday.

Cedillo was set to leave office in January, but many have called on him to resign immediately following the recording of the racist comments.

Meanwhile, de León will likely meet a difficult ending to a storied career. He was the first Latino in 131 years to lead the California Senate.

"But no matter the past contributions from each of these figures, there’s no room for this kind of bigoted collusion among elected officials," Adriana Sanchez-Ochoa, co-president of the California Latino Political Action Committee told the Los Angeles Times.

Mitch O’Farrell said he had spoken to Cedillo and “I sense that he is making some progress toward that decision.”

The recordings this week spurred calls for the resignations of all three council members by fellow Democrats across California and all the way up to the White House.

The panel can only request Cedillo and de Leon to voluntarily step aside. It cannot expel members, only suspend them when criminal charges are pending. Members can be censured but that doesn't result in suspension or removal from office.

5. This Isn't The Council's First Scandal

America’s second-largest city was already tainted by corruption scandals when the racist comments were leaked this week, shedding a harsh spotlight on behind-the-scenes political power plays.

Much of the recorded conversation involved the power dynamics in appointing a fill-in for the seat of Councilman Mark Ridley-Thomas, who is suspended as he awaits trial on federal corruption charges. Ridley-Thomas and the former dean of the School of Social Work at a university in Southern California are accused of a pay-to-play bribery scheme.

According to a 20-count indictment, Ridley-Thomas’ son received substantial benefits from the university in exchange for Ridley-Thomas supporting county contracts and lucrative contract amendments with the university while he served on the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors.

Ridley-Thomas has declared his innocence.

Ridley-Thomas is one of two LA City Councilmen who has had to step down in the last two years to face federal corruption charges.

Then Councilman José Huizar was arrested in 2020, on federal corruption charges. Huizar and former Los Angeles Deputy Mayor Raymond Chan are scheduled to go to trial next year on charges alleging they conspired to violate the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act.

Prosecutors allege Huizar agreed to accept at least $1.5 million in illicit financial benefits. He faces dozens of additional federal criminal charges. Real estate developer Dae Yong Lee and one of his companies were convicted in June of federal criminal charges for providing $500,000 in cash to the ex-councilman and his special assistant in exchange for their help in resolving a labor organization's appeal of their downtown Los Angeles development project and obstructing justice by falsifying financial documents.

Huizar has also maintained his innocence.

Earlier this year, the former general manager of the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power was sentenced to federal prison for another pay-to-play scheme. The former DWP head, David H. Wright accepted bribes from a lawyer in exchange for his official action to secure a three-year, $30 million no-bid LADWP contract.

Patch editor Paige Austin, Associated Press and City News Service contributed to this report.