ACA Calls for Immediate Resignation of LA City Councilmembers

On Monday, October 10, 2022, after the Los Angeles Times published a recording in which Los Angeles City Council President Nury Martinez is heard making racist remarks while talking with fellow Councilmembers Kevin de León and Gil Cedillo and labor leader Ron Herrera about how the city’s council district boundaries should be redrawn, Armenian Council of America’s Board issued a statement calling for the elected officials to resign immediately.

In the statement ACA specified that “racist, homophobic, and deeply cruel statements disqualify individuals from elected office. Councilmembers Nury Martinez, Gil Cedillo, and Kevin de León should resign from the Los Angeles City Council immediately.”

ACA also welcomes California’s Attorney General’s announcement that his office will investigate the Los Angeles City Council to determine whether any state or federal voting rights laws and transparency laws were violated during the Los Angeles City’s 2021 redistricting efforts. The City of Los Angeles is home to one of the largest Armenian American Diasporas, and as such backroom dealings may have undermined the voting power of Armenian-Americans in the city.

While Nury Martinez resigned from the City Council on Wednesday, October 12, Kevin de León and Gil Cedillo have yet to do so. Therefore, ACA reiterates its call for their immediate resignation.