LOS ANGELES (KNX) – Emotions ran high Tuesday as Los Angeles City Council held its first meeting since audio containing racist remarks by then-Council President Nury Martinez during a conversation with Councilmembers Kevin de León and Gil Cedillo and a labor union leader leaked Sunday.
It's also the first meeting since Martinez announced she would take a leave of absence while still holding onto her Council seat. On Monday, she stepped down from her leadership position as Council president.
Attendees greeted Councilmembers Kevin De León and Gil Cedillo with boos and condemnation inside the council chambers, prompting each of the men to leave the council chambers instead of boldly facing and answering to their constituents.
Councilmember Mike Bonin, a white represenative whose 2-year-old Black son was the topic of conversation in that leaked tape, delivered an emotional speech.
“My husband and I are both raw and angry and heartbroken and sick for our family and for Los Angeles," he said, fighting back tears.
"And as an Angeleno — like most Angelenos — I am reeling from the revelations of what these people said. Trusted servants who voiced hate and bile," Bonin continued. "These people stabbed us and shot us and cut the spirit of Los Angeles. It gave a beatdown to the heart and the soul of the city. But before anything else in the world, I'm a dad ... who loves his son in ways that words cannot capture. And I take a lot of hits, and I know I practically invite a bunch of them. But my son? Man, that makes my soul bleed and it makes by temper burn."
“I know the fire that you feel when someone tries to destroy Black boy joy. It’s a rage,” Councilmember Bonin lamenteds.
Bonin said although he has heard from those involved in the recorded conversation, he is not the person they should ask for forgiveness, adding that any mea culpa should be secondary to their actions to right this egregious wrong.
"First you must resign, then ask forgiveness,” he said.
Although the crowd of attendees allowed Bonin to speak, they were less interested in the council's standard order of business. Interim council president Mitch O’Farrell, elected president pro tempore last fall, attempted to calm the spirited audience before eventually calling for a recess. The meeting continued early Tuesday afternoon.
Mike Bonin specifically thanked Rep. Karen Bass (D-Calif.) and Councilmember Marqueece Harris-Dawson for their support. Both Bass and developer Rick Caruso are running for mayor of Los Angeles and condemned the councilmembers' remarks, calling for their resignations.
City News Service and CBS L.A. contributed to this article.
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