In leaked recording, Nury Martinez makes crude comments about Jews and Armenians

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.

Martinez said Tuesday that she would take a leave of absence from the Los Angeles City Council, two days after a recording surfaced on which she was heard deriding some of her colleagues and making racist remarks. Martinez stepped down as L.A. City Council president a day earlier.

In the audio clip reviewed by The Times, 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 Assemblyman Richard Katz. Herrera resigned Monday night amid backlash over the controversial audio clips.

“They are gonna screw everybody else,” Martinez said in the recording.

Former Los Angeles County Federation of Labor President Ron Herrera and former Los Angeles City Council President Nury Martinez discuss Jewish politicians and Martinez claims the ‘Judíos’ are “gonna screw everybody else.”

The conversation took place in October 2021 and also involved Councilmembers Kevin de León and Gil Cedillo. They had been discussing maps that had been proposed by the city’s 21-member redistricting commission.

Martinez also spoke about Assemblymember Adrin Nazarian, who is of Armenian descent, and Councilmember Paul Krekorian, the first Armenian American to be elected to public office in Los Angeles.

“He also wants his guy elected,” said Martinez, referring to Krekorian. “So he needs a district that Adrin Nazarian could win it. That’s what they want. They want to assure, they want to be reassured that they have, not an Armenian district in the Valley, ‘cause that doesn’t exist, but they want as many Armenians in that district as possible to be able to play.”

Martinez added that she didn’t know whether Nazarian could get elected in a “pretty white” district.

“Now, I don’t think Adrin … gets elected. If a white, a reputable white businesswoman was in that district … [it] is still pretty white. But that’s on them,” she said. “I’m not — I’m not cutting that deal with anybody because I don’t know. I don’t know that he can win.”

Later in the conversation, Martinez described Nazarian as “the guy with the one eyebrow.”

When Martinez asked what his last name was, De León responded: “It ends in i-a-n, I bet you.”

On Tuesday, the Armenian National Committee of America Western Region, or ANCA-WR, condemned the comments.

“The statements made by the individuals in question not only betray their mission to serve all people, regardless of their identity, but explicitly demonstrate that they hold no regard for the diverse communities of Los Angeles,” the group said in a statement. “Racist remarks directed at individuals and groups in Los Angeles are completely unacceptable and reflect a dramatic and egregious failure.”

The organization also called for an investigation into how the recording was made and leaked, and said the context of the conversation between local politicians and labor leader raises serious concerns about the integrity of the redistricting process.

“This process is one that should not be tarnished by the illegal intervention of policymakers in back-door meetings held outside the public sphere,” the statement read.

Martinez, De León, Cedillo and Herrera apologized Sunday for their role in the conversation.

Martinez said in a statement announcing her leave of absence that the fallout from the recordings has “been one of the most difficult times of my life.” She also apologized to “the residents of Council District 6, my colleagues and the city of Los Angeles.”

In one of the leaked audio clips, Martinez said of Councilman Mike Bonin’s young Black son “parece changuito,” or “like a monkey,” and said Bonin handled his son as though he were an “accessory.” At one point, she also called Bonin a “little bitch.”

Martinez also mocked Oaxacans and said “F— that guy … He’s with the Blacks” while speaking about Los Angeles County Dist. Atty. George Gascón.

The comments from the leaked recordings have sparked outrage across L.A., with Mayor Eric Garcetti, mayoral candidates Karen Bass and Rick Caruso, Sen. Alex Padilla and numerous members of the City Council calling for Martinez’s resignation.