Councilmen Kevin de León and Gil Cedillo were previously involved in the taped October 2021 conversation, which led to last Monday’s resignation of Los Angeles City Council President Nury Martinez, who made racist and derogatory comments during a meeting.
Martinez resigned shortly after the tape was published by the Los Angeles Times, which obtained the audio from an unknown Reddit user. In the leaked clip, Martinez disparaged Los Angeles District Attorney George Gascón and said that “he’s with the Blacks.” She also said that city Councilmember Mike Bonin “thinks he’s…Black.”
Martinez also made racist remarks about Bonin’s son, who is Black, calling him a Spanish term for “little monkey” and saying he needed “a beatdown.” She also referenced Oaxacan immigrants in Los Angeles’ Koreatown neighborhood, calling them “short little dark people.”
On Monday, acting Los Angeles City Council President Mitch O’Farrell said during a press conference that the councilmen are being removed from their committee seats.
O’Farrell was unable to provide updates on whether either man plans to resign from their council seat in the near future. He added that he has been unable to reach de León since last Tuesday, “despite my best efforts.” O’Farrell has joined the chorus of prominent figures calling for their resignation, which also includes the likes of President Joe Biden. White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre previously called the remarks in the taped conversation “unacceptable” and “appalling.”
O’Farrell urged both men not to attend future council meetings, and was able to confirm that Cedillo will not be attending the next virtual meeting on Tuesday.
Prior to Monday’s announcement, de León served as chair of the Homelessness and Poverty Committee, while Cedillo chaired the Housing Committee. Each city councilmember is required to sit on at least one committee. O’Farrell also added that he is in the process of working out this discrepancy while the two men remain on the council.
“What I have to do is make sure that this council is not held hostage because two additional members refuse to resign,” he said.
Martinez, Cedillo, and de León each issued apologies in the wake of the scandal. The remarks caught on the tape have been widely condemned, including by the California/Hawaii NAACP conference.
“I take responsibility for what I said and there are no excuses for those comments. I’m so sorry,” Martinez said in a statement obtained by Newsweek. “I ask for forgiveness from my colleagues and from the residents of this city that I love so much. In the end, it is not my apologies that matter most; it will be the actions I take from this day forward. I hope that will give me the opportunity to make amends. Therefore, effective immediately I am resigning as President of the Los Angeles City Council.”
Newsweek reached out to both Cedillo and de León for comment.
