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Calls for the resignation of three Los Angeles city council members who were caught on tape making racist comments in a meeting last year persisted on Tuesday, as the revelations sparked an intense debate about racial rivalries and the sometimes hidden fight to seize and hold political power in America’s second largest city.
Los Angeles city council president, Nury Martinez, stepped down from the job and apologized on Monday, saying she was ashamed of her racially offensive language in the recording of the meeting.
But pressure is mounting for her to resign from the council entirely, with some of the state’s top politicians, including the governor, Gavin Newsom, US senator Alex Padilla, and the outgoing LA mayor, Eric Garcetti, encouraging her to “take responsibility”.
Politicians, Indigenous groups and the state Democratic party also called for the resignation of two other council members who participated in the meeting: Gil Cedillo and Kevin de León, a powerful player in California politics who unsuccessfully ran for LA mayor and the Senate. Both men apologized on Monday, but did not vacate their seats.
The president of the Los Angeles County Federation of Labor, Ron Herrera, who also took part, stepped down from his position on Monday evening.
The profanity-laced audio recording of the October 2021 meeting documents the Latino politicians and labor leader discussing the city’s redrawing of council district boundaries amid the redistricting process, as well as the need to re-elect Latino members and protect economic interests within Latino districts.
