Nury Martinez
President of the Los Angeles City Council
In office
January 5, 2020 – October 10, 2022
Preceded byHerb Wesson
Succeeded byMitch O'Farrell (acting)
President pro tempore of the Los Angeles City Council
In office
January 22, 2019 – January 5, 2020
Preceded byMitchell Englander
Succeeded byJoe Buscaino
Assistant President pro tempore of the Los Angeles City Council
In office
July 28, 2015 – January 22, 2019
Preceded byTom LaBonge
Succeeded byJoe Buscaino
Member of the Los Angeles City Council
from the 6th district
In office
August 9, 2013 – October 12, 2022
Preceded byTony Cardenas
Succeeded byImelda Padilla
Member of the Los Angeles Unified School District Board of Education
from the 6th district
In office
July 1, 2009 – June 30, 2013
Preceded byJulie Korenstein
Succeeded byMónica Ratliff
Personal details
Born (1973-07-09) July 9, 1973
San Fernando Valley, California, U.S.
Political partyRepublican (since 2023, disputed)[1]
Democratic (before 2023)
EducationCalifornia State University, Northridge (BA)

Nury Martinez (born July 9, 1973) is an American politician who served as a member of the Los Angeles City Council for the 6th district from 2013 until her forced resignation in 2022. A former member of the Democratic Party, Martinez became president of the Los Angeles City Council in December 2019, after serving as the council's president pro tempore.[2] Martinez was the first Latina to become council president.[2] She was a member of the Los Angeles Unified School District Board of Education from 2009 to 2013.

On October 10, 2022, Martinez stepped down from her post as council president following the release of an audio recording where she disparaged fellow council members and their children and used racist language. She remained a member of the city council, but announced that she would be taking a paid leave of absence.[3] On October 12, facing loud protests and demands to step down from community members and politicians including U.S. president Joe Biden, she resigned her seat on the council.[4]

Early life and education

Born and raised in the San Fernando Valley, she was the child of a dishwasher and a factory worker from Zacatecas.[5] Martinez graduated from San Fernando High School in 1991 and from California State University, Northridge in 1996.[6] Early in her career, she ran a support group for women living with AIDS at the Northeast Valley Health Corp.[7] and worked as a special assistant to then-State Senator Alex Padilla.[8]

Career

Martinez served as the Executive Director of the environmental justice organization Pacoima Beautiful and was elected to the City of San Fernando City Council in 2003 and 2007, where she also served as Mayor.[9] In 2009, she was elected as a member of the Board of Education of the Los Angeles Unified School District, representing Board District 6 with the endorsement of Los Angeles Teacher's Union.

Los Angeles City Council

Martinez speaking at the nomination of Kristin Crowley as the next fire chief, 2022.
Martinez with Mayor Eric Garcetti and councilmembers Mike Bonin and Curren Price, 2015.

Martinez was elected to the Los Angeles City Council in a special election on July 23, 2013, to succeed Tony Cárdenas,[10] who vacated his seat once elected to the U.S. House of Representatives for California's 29th congressional district. Martinez defeated former Assemblywoman Cindy Montañez in that election[11] and again in a 2015 rematch when she won her first full term.[12] Martinez was the only woman serving on the City Council for four years, until the election of Councilwoman Monica Rodriguez in July 2017 and was the first Latina member in a quarter century.[11]

COVID-19 response

As City Council President during the COVID-19 pandemic, Martinez used her role to allocate hundreds of millions of dollars in federal CARES Act funding as part of her Families First agenda, supporting impacted Angelenos with rent, child care, and utility bills, as well as assistance to small businesses to stay afloat. In July 2020, she launched the Emergency Renters Assistance Program, which provided $103 million in subsidies of up to $2,000 per household for renters who could demonstrate how they were impacted by COVID-19 and who earned less than 80% of the area median income.[13]

She also allocated $50 million to provide two weeks pay to those who were infected and could not work,[14] $40 million for a regional COVID-19 Relief and Recovery Fund to provide grants to small businesses, which included specific allocations for micro-entrepreneurs like street vendors and for victims of domestic violence,[15] and $30 million to assist low-income families access child care, which included $10 million to establish 50 Alternative Learning Centers at city parks, and $20 million to help child care facilities stay open and offer vouchers to families. In October 2020, she announced a $50 million program to provide one-time grants of $500 to help Angelenos who lost work because of the pandemic pay their utility bills over the holidays.[16][17]

Minimum wage

Along with Councilmembers Curren Price and Mike Bonin, Martinez passed a law in 2014 boosting the minimum wage to $15.37 for employees at large hotels in Los Angeles.[18][19] The following year, Martinez was one of six Councilmembers that led the successful push to raise the minimum wage from $9 to $15 for all workers in Los Angeles, to be gradually phased in over five years.[20][21]

Human trafficking

Martinez had focused on domestic violence and human trafficking in her district and throughout the city. In 2014, Martinez passed an ordinance that temporarily prohibited strip clubs, massage parlors and other types of adult businesses from getting city permits along four streets in her district to crack down on prostitution.[22]

In 2015, the Councilwoman led the creation of the Valley Bureau Human Trafficking Task Force, which targets the criminal enterprise behind prostitution and the "johns" that support this activity, as well as provides services to those who are sexually exploited. Within three years, the model had been expanded to a second task force in South Los Angeles.[23]

In 2017, Martinez designated the first city-sponsored shelters for victims of human trafficking to be included in an expansion of the city's shelters for domestic violence victims.[24] In 2019, Martinez supported a successful law authored by California State Senator Henry Stern,[25] which clarified that local governments could adopt local ordinances to prevent slavery or human trafficking and allow for certain businesses and entities to post notices about resources available to victims of slavery and human trafficking.[26]

Homelessness

In 2020, Councilwoman Martinez opened a temporary trailer shelter in Van Nuys as part of Mayor Eric Garcetti's "A Bridge Home" shelter program that provides shelter and services to homeless individuals before being placed in permanent housing.[27] She also launched a program called Kids First to provide tutoring and other support services to homeless students living in three motels in her district, with particular support to address the challenges of distance learning caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.[28]

Immigration

Councilwoman Martinez had also been an advocate for the undocumented community in the San Fernando Valley. In January 2020, she placed a ban on migrant centers within Los Angeles city limits after a children's migrant center was proposed in the community of Arleta in her district. [29]

While President Trump was in office, Martinez called on the City of Los Angeles to sue the Trump Administration over its decision to implement a "public charge" rule, which would restrict public benefits such as medical care and housing for undocumented immigrants, as well as challenge the Trump Administration's policies related to detaining immigrant children and separating them from their families at U.S. borders.[30]

Environmental justice

As the former Executive Director of Pacoima Beautiful, Martinez began working on a policy that she ultimately helped pass on the City Council in 2016 called the Clean Up, Green Up Initiative, which designated "green zones" in Pacoima, Sun Valley, Wilmington and Boyle Heights, some of Los Angeles's most polluted communities. The initiative consisted of special land-use restrictions, the creation of a citywide office to support environmental compliance, and citywide protections for new developments near freeways.[31][32]

In early 2019, she joined several of her colleagues to introduce a local Green New Deal for the City of Los Angeles.[33]

In August 2020, the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power revealed that there had been methane gas leaks at the Valley Generating Station in Martinez's district for over a year. Martinez subsequently called for the plant to be shut down, which was formalized by a vote of the City Council in November 2020 directing the department to develop a timeline for the plant's closure.[34]

The Councilwoman employed two dedicated staffers to pick up trash and deal with illegal dumping in her district to supplement service provided by the city's Sanitation Department.[35]

Fraud accusation

In 2015, Martinez's reelection campaign was accused of submitting fraudulent donor information in order to receive $65,360 in taxpayer-matched funds.[36] In 2019, the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office ended its investigation into Martinez's 2015 campaign, citing insufficient evidence to pursue a fraud case.[37]

Racist comments and resignation

On October 9, 2022, an audio recording of a conversation involving Martinez, fellow council members Gil Cedillo and Kevin de León and Los Angeles County Federation of Labor President Ron Herrera regarding redistricting was leaked anonymously onto Reddit. In the meeting, Martinez stated, "Fuck that guy ... He's with the blacks", referring to District Attorney George Gascón.

Martinez also insulted fellow council member Mike Bonin's black adopted child, saying "They're raising him like a little white kid ... I was like, 'This kid needs a beatdown. Let me take him around the corner, I'll bring him right back.' "[38] Martinez also called the child a "changuito" according to the Los Angeles Times, a racial slur for a black person meaning "little monkey" or "little ape" in Spanish.[39]

In the course of the discussion on redistricting, she commented, "I see a lot of little short dark people there" in reference to Koreatown. "Oaxacan Koreans. Not even like Kevin. Little ones," Cedillo replied. She then continued, "I was like, I don't know what village they came from, how they got here, but whatever." She can also be heard to remark, "tan feos" or "they're so ugly" in Spanish.[40]

The three council members discussed how to appoint a new council member who would work in their interests, and also agreed to gerrymander Nithya Raman's district in order to suppress those who had voted for her. Heather Hutt, a former California State Director for then-Senator Kamala Harris was suggested. On August 26, 2022, Martinez introduced a motion to appoint Hutt as a council member, which was seconded by four other members.[41][42] The motion was opposed by Marqueece Harris-Dawson and Mike Bonin, who instead proposed instructing the City Attorney to find eligibility requirements for appointments.[43][44] On August 30, the vote to instate Hutt as a councilmember fell one vote short, with five voting for and five voting against; it was referred to the Rules, Elections and Intergovernmental Relations Committee for further discussion.[45] The Committee cleared her for reconsideration by the Council the next day, and Hutt was confirmed by the Council in the next meeting and sworn in on September 2, 2022.[46][47]

In addition, in the same leaked audio clips posted to Reddit in which former Los Angeles City Council President Nury Martinez made racist remarks about black people and Oaxacans, she also made crude remarks about Jewish people and Armenians.[48] Martinez can be heard saying the “judíos” — which means Jews in Spanish — “cut their deal with South L.A.” Martinez was responding to former Los Angeles County Federation of Labor President Ron Herrera, who had concluded, “I’m sure Katz and his crew have an agenda,” referring to former state Assemblymember Richard Katz. “They are gonna screw everybody else,” Martinez said in the recording.

Martinez later provided a statement in the Los Angeles Times apologizing, "In a moment of intense frustration and anger, I let the situation get the best of me. I hold myself accountable for these comments. For that I am sorry."[49] Bonin's family replied in a tweet condemning the racist comments and demanding Martinez's resignation.[50]

On October 10, Martinez stepped down as president through a released statement that apologized to Bonin and others, saying, "Therefore, effective immediately I am resigning as President of the Los Angeles City Council," though she did not also resign from her seat on the city council.[51]

One day later, Martinez announced she would be taking a leave of absence. In a statement, she said, "At this moment, I need to take a leave of absence and take some time to have an honest and heartfelt conversation with my family, my constituents, and community leaders. I am so sorry to the residents of Council District 6, my colleagues, and the City of Los Angeles."[52] Martinez could only have been forced to leave office via a voter-led recall, as rules for removal by other city council members would not apply in this situation.[53] On October 11, 2022, numerous calls for the three councilpersons to step down, which included that of President Joe Biden, as well as a contentious City Council meeting with a heated public comment session combined to put additional pressure on Martinez.[54] She resigned her Council seat the following day.[4]

Personal life

Martinez is married to Gerry Guzman. Los Angeles magazine reported that, per unnamed sources, after resigning her seat on the Los Angeles city council, Martinez moved to Arizona with her husband and she has also changed her party affiliation from Democrat to Republican. The magazine later added a postscript saying that Martinez denied the move to Arizona and the party affiliation switch. However, the magazine noted that its sources stood by their original statements. [1]

References

  1. 1 2 McPhee, Michele (November 6, 2023). "Where in the World Is Nury Martinez? (Updated)". Los Angeles. Retrieved November 6, 2023.
  2. 1 2 "Nury Martinez chosen as first Latina president of the L.A. City Council". Los Angeles Times. December 3, 2019. Retrieved December 29, 2019.
  3. ↑ "Uncertainty Remains Following Nury Martinez's Resignation as LA City Council President".
  4. 1 2 "Nury Martinez resigns Los Angeles City Council seat amid leaked recording of racist remarks". KABC-TV. October 12, 2022.
  5. ↑ https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2019-12-03/nury-martinez-first-latina-president-city-council
  6. ↑ "CSUN Alumna Nury Martinez Takes Her Seat at the Table | CSUN Today". March 9, 2015.
  7. ↑ "Outreach planned for gay Latinos". Los Angeles Daily News. Los Angeles Daily News. May 27, 2006. Retrieved May 27, 2006.
  8. ↑ "Martinez, Ruelas, Veres retain seats". Los Angeles Daily News. Los Angeles Daily News. March 7, 2007. Retrieved March 7, 2007.
  9. ↑ "Full Biography for Nury Martinez". www.smartvoter.org.
  10. ↑ "Los Angeles City Elections". Retrieved July 30, 2013.
  11. 1 2 "Nury Martinez wins Los Angeles City Council 6th District seat". KABC-TV. July 24, 2013.
  12. ↑ Smith, Dakota (March 4, 2015). "Election 2015: Incumbent Nury Martinez wins re-election in Council District 6 race". Los Angeles Daily News. Los Angeles Daily News. Retrieved March 4, 2015.
  13. ↑ Chang, Alisa. "Los Angeles Launches $103 Million Program to Offer Relief to Renters". NPR. KQED. Retrieved November 30, 2020.
  14. ↑ City News Service. "LA City Council Commits $50 Million to Aid Workers Afflicted by COVID-19". KNBC4. Retrieved November 30, 2020.
  15. ↑ City News Service (August 27, 2020). "LA City Council approves $30M for free child care, programs at parks amid COVID-19". ABC7. Retrieved November 30, 2020.
  16. ↑ LADWP. "LADWP and LA City Council President Nury Martinez Announce $50 Million In Emergency Relief for Low-Income Households Impacted by COVID-19". LADWP. Retrieved November 30, 2020.
  17. ↑ Sentinel News Service (November 5, 2020). "LADWP and LA City Council President Nury Martinez Announce $50 Million In Emergency Relief for Low-Income Households Impacted by COVID-19". Los Angeles Sentinel. Retrieved November 30, 2020.
  18. ↑ Rainey, James (February 18, 2014). "L.A. Council to consider hiking minimum wage to $15.37 at big hotels". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved February 18, 2014.
  19. ↑ Alpert Reyes, Emily; Zahniser, David. "L.A. City Council approves minimum-wage hike for hotel workers". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved September 24, 2014.
  20. ↑ Alpert Reyes, Emily; Zahniser, David (October 7, 2014). "L.A. lawmakers lay out path to $15.25 minimum wage by 2019". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved October 7, 2014.
  21. ↑ Jamison, Peter; Zahniser, David; Walton, Alice (May 19, 2015). "Los Angeles' minimum wage on track to go up to $15 by 2020". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved May 19, 2015.
  22. ↑ Alpert Reyes, Emily (May 13, 2014). "L.A. Council seeks to curb new adult businesses in parts of Valley". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved May 13, 2014.
  23. ↑ "Councilwoman Martinez Recognizes Three-Year Anniversary of the LAPD Operations-Valley Bureau Human Trafficking Task Force". Los Angeles Sentinel. Sentinel News Service. October 25, 2018. Retrieved October 25, 2018.
  24. ↑ Chou, Elizabeth (October 24, 2017). "A new LA program would provide shelter to victims of human trafficking". Los Angeles Daily News. Los Angeles Daily News. Retrieved October 24, 2017.
  25. ↑ Chavez, Alejandro. "Councilmember Nury Martinez and Journey Out Unite City and County for Human Trafficking Awareness Campaign". San Fernando Sun. San Fernando Sun. Retrieved March 12, 2020.
  26. ↑ "SB-630 Human trafficking". Legislate CA. California Legislature. Retrieved March 12, 2020.
  27. ↑ Chou, Elizabeth (August 10, 2020). "Van Nuys shelters bring more 'bridge' beds to San Fernando Valley". Los Angeles Daily News. Retrieved August 10, 2020.
  28. ↑ Chou, Elizabeth (August 24, 2020). "Amid pandemic, education comes first for families sheltered at LA-area motels". Los Angeles Daily News. Retrieved August 24, 2020.
  29. ↑ "LA City Council Passes Ban On Private Migrant Detention Centers". CBS Los Angeles. CBS. Retrieved March 12, 2020.
  30. ↑ "L.A. city councilwoman wants to sue Trump administration over 'unconstitutional' immigration policies". Los Angeles Daily News. Los Angeles Daily News. September 3, 2019. Retrieved September 3, 2019.
  31. ↑ Barboza, Tony. "L.A. City Council adopts rules to ease health hazards in polluted neighborhoods". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved April 13, 2016.
  32. ↑ Olney, Warren (April 14, 2016). "Clean Up Green Up: Why Now?". KCRW. Retrieved April 14, 2016.
  33. ↑ City News Service. "City Council Committee Looks to Develop Green New Deal for LA". KNBC4. Retrieved November 30, 2020.
  34. ↑ "L.A. Council Votes to Request Timeline on Closure of Valley Generating Station". mynewsLA.com. November 25, 2020. Retrieved November 30, 2020.
  35. ↑ Chou, Elizabeth (September 19, 2019). "An east San Fernando Valley councilwoman wants to send a message about the messes in her district". Los Angeles Daily News. Retrieved September 19, 2019.
  36. ↑ Zahniser, David (January 21, 2016). "Federal investigators focus on small campaign donations to L.A. Councilwoman Nury Martinez". Los Angeles Times.
  37. ↑ Stimson, Brie (September 21, 2019). "Probe of Los Angeles Democrat's campaign donations ends over 'insufficient' evidence". Fox News.
  38. ↑ "LA Council Members Apologize for Comments in Recording That Included Racist Slurs".
  39. ↑ Von Quednow, Cindy (October 10, 2022). "'I take responsibility for what I said': Nury Martinez resigns as L.A. City Council president amid fallout over racist remarks". KTLA. Retrieved October 10, 2022. Bonin, who is white, has an adopted son who is Black. In the leaked audio, Martinez can be heard describing Bonin's son as a "changuito," or that little monkey, according to the Times.
  40. ↑ Los Angeles city council president and councilmembers leaked audio! Insane!!! They must resign! – via YouTube.
  41. ↑ Powells, Darleene (August 26, 2022). "Motion made to appoint Heather Hutt for Mark Ridley-Thomas' LA City Council seat". CBS News.
  42. ↑ Kevin Andrew, Dolak (August 26, 2022). "L.A. Council President Proposes Heather Hutt Represent District 10". Los Angeles.
  43. ↑ Chou, Elizabeth (August 26, 2022). "LA City Council may tussle over the push for Heather Hutt to replace Mark Ridley-Thomas". Los Angeles Daily News.
  44. ↑ Smith, Dakota (August 26, 2022). "L.A. City Council splits on how to fill indicted Councilman Ridley-Thomas' seat". Los Angeles Times.
  45. ↑ "LA Council members delay Heather Hutt's nomination for 10th District". Spectrum News 1. August 30, 2022.
  46. ↑ "Heather Hutt's nomination for vacant LA Council seat clears committee". Los Angeles Daily News. August 31, 2022.
  47. ↑ "LA City Council appoints Heather Hutt to fill interim council member for 10th district". CBS News. September 2, 2022.
  48. ↑ "Nury Martinez also makes crude comments about Jews and Armenians in leaked audio". Los Angeles Times. October 11, 2022.
  49. ↑ "In leaked audio, L.A. council members make racist remarks, mock colleagues". Los Angeles Times. October 9, 2022. Retrieved October 9, 2022.
  50. ↑ @mikebonin (October 9, 2022). "Our family statement about today's ugly and hateful news" (Tweet). Retrieved October 9, 2022 – via Twitter.
  51. ↑ Lloyd, Jonathan (October 10, 2022). "Nury Martinez Resigns as LA City Council President in Wake of Recording That Included Racist Slurs". NBC Los Angeles. Retrieved October 10, 2022.
  52. ↑ Smith, Dakota (October 11, 2022). "Nury Martinez taking leave of absence from City Council". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved October 11, 2022.
  53. ↑ Smith, Mitch (October 11, 2022). "If the council members do not resign, they cannot be forced to leave". The New York Times.
  54. ↑ Stokols, Eli (October 11, 2022). "Biden calls on Nury Martinez, other L.A. councilmembers to resign after audio leak". Los Angeles Times. Washington.


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