LOS ANGELES (CNS) - Nury Martinez, the Los Angeles City Councilwoman facing a flood of calls for her resignation over a recording of her making racially charged remarks in a conversation last year, announced today she will be taking a "leave of absence."
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In a statement Martinez said, "This has been one of the most difficult times of my life and I recognize this is entirely of my own making." She goes on to say the time away from the council will be spent having "honest and heartfelt conversations" with her family, and community leaders.
Martinez made the announcement one hour before the council planed to meet for the first time after the recording leaked of Martinez and two other council members -- Kevin de Leon and Gil Cedillo.
On Monday, Martinez resigned as council president, but has resisted calls to resign altogether.
A protest and vigil was organized Monday night on the steps of City Hall demanding the resignations of all three council members.
More activists gathered outside City Hall Tuesday, hours before the council's meeting. Those activists protesting Martinez's decision to take a leave of absence rather than resign.
Martinez came under fire following the release of the recorded conversation in which she made racist comments about Councilman Mike Bonin's 2-year-old Black adopted son and other ethnic groups during a conversation about the politically sensitive process of redrawing council district boundaries.
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