Senator James Sanders said: “As elected officials we are held to a higher standard because we have chosen a life of public service and therefore set an example for others. Under those conditions, I am outraged over the disgusting racist remarks made by now-former Los Angeles City Council president Nury Martinez.

Her October 2021 conversation with her colleagues Council Members Kevin de León and Gil Cedillo was caught on tape and just made public recently, prompting many leaders including President Biden, to call for their resignations. I am in agreement with that. I don’t think anyone in public office should have used the kind of language that Martinez used and since de León and Cedillo failed to intervene they are equally guilty. They should have told her not to use those slurs, that it was wrong and offensive, but they remained silent.

I also think they owe an apology to Councilman Mike Bonin for the insults they made about his 2-year-old Black adopted son. Martinez called the child “ese changuito," which translates from Spanish to English as "that little monkey." Martinez also made angry and blundering comments about how Los Angeles should be shaped concerning redistricting. 

For this trio of uncouth so-called leaders the course should be public apologies and then resignations. Period. It’s unconscionable to think that right wing Trump / MAGA supporters would feel any other way, but they tend to support this type of behavior.”