La city council leaked audio scandal on twitter and reddit
An anonymously leaked record of crude, racist rhetoric and political intrigue has led to the resignation of the Los Angeles City Council president and a powerful labor leader, leaving a mystery: Who made the tapes and why?
The year-long recordings were posted on Reddit in the run-up to November’s midterm elections, apparently raising doubts about political motives. Much of the hour-long private conversation between several council members and the president of the Los Angeles County Federation of Labor, all Latino Democrats, focused on increasing their influence in realigning council districts.
The recording was made in a conference room at the headquarters of the politically influential working group (known locally as the “Fed”), but it is not known how the recording was made at a friend’s small gathering or that the room had Who.
“Obviously, this is an inside job,” said Los Angeles County Democratic Party Chairman Mark Gonzalez, who believes the most likely target of the unidentified person who took the minutes was association President Ron Herrera.
“It has to be someone who has access and knows their calendar, he knows,” Gonzalez said. “Everyone has their own guesses.”
Former committee chair Nouri Martinez, the first Latino to hold the position, resigned on Wednesday after President Joe Biden joined a crowd of officials urging those involved to step down.
Martinez, who was recorded in the conversation, said White Congressman Mike Bonin viewed his young black son as an “appendage” and used derogatory terms when describing both, the Los Angeles Times reported Sunday.
Elsewhere in the hour-long recording, she referred to indigenous immigrants from the Mexican state of Oaxaca as “tan feos” or “so ugly.” The conversation also included blatant and bigoted comments about Jews, Armenians and other groups.
Zev Yaroslavsky, a former Los Angeles County supervisor, said the source of the tape was “a living room game that took place across the city.” “It may never be resolved.”
Two other council members, Gil Zedillo and Kevin de Leon, who were in attendance on Friday, remained out of the public eye, retaining their seats despite mounting pressure to resign.
No one at the meeting spoke publicly about the possible source of the recording.
Discussions focused on protecting Latino political power during the redefinition of parliamentary district boundaries, known as redistribution. The once-in-a-decade process could pit one group against another to gain a political edge in future elections.
The California Legislative Black Caucus said the recording “shows appalling efforts to spread the black vote in a critical redistribution process.”
The union federation did not answer some questions, including who attended the meeting. It issued a statement without specifying that meetings with council members were not recorded by the group.
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