L.A. council members made racist comments in leaked audio. Read our full coverage
A bombshell recording has thrown L.A. politics into chaos. What was really being discussed? L.A. Times reporters and columnists pick it apart, line by line.
Nov. 21, 2022
The arrest came after protesters interrupted Councilmember Kevin de León’s Cinco de Mayo presentation.
May 5, 2023
Although his policies have helped people of all backgrounds, he views himself as an embattled leader who represents, above all, Latinos.
April 10, 2023
An effort to recall Councilmember Kevin de León has fizzled. The organizer was unable to collect enough signatures to place the matter before voters.
April 1, 2023
As an incoming L.A. city council member in 2020, Kevin de León requested a meeting with city officials about their oversight of residential hotels owned by the AIDS Healthcare Foundation. But he didn’t tell the city the foundation was paying him, officials say.
March 10, 2023
L.A. Councilmember Kevin de León had planned to host a screening of ‘Black Panther: Wakanda Forever,’ which struck some as tone deaf given his history.
Feb. 27, 2023
The discussion appeared to reopen deep wounds, puncturing the veneer of normalcy reestablished in the months since an incendiary leaked tape upended L.A. City Hall last fall.
Feb. 15, 2023
If De León serves out the rest of his term like he plans to, then Angelenos have no one to blame but themselves.
Feb. 1, 2023
Voters in De León’s council district disapprove of the job he’s doing, have an unfavorable impression of him personally and believe the embattled council member puts his own interests ahead of theirs, new poll finds.
Jan. 22, 2023
This was the first time embattled Councilmember Kevin de León had publicly addressed council chambers in months.
Jan. 11, 2023
More than a short-term bid to oust the L.A. City Council member, it’s a long-term one to prevent a successful candidacy for any other elected office.
Dec. 18, 2022
For the past year, Councilmember Kevin De León and his most ardent critics have played a game of Spy vs. Spy against each other — with De León winning again and again
Dec. 13, 2022
The latest poll shows Karen Bass and Rick Caruso in a dead heat. I can’t help but wonder what it would mean for racial and ethnic relations in L.A. if she lost.
Nov. 7, 2022
In interviews over the leaked racist audio, the activist-turned-politician is talking himself into irrelevancy rather than quit the L.A. City Council.
Oct. 27, 2022
I found myself sharing Korean barbecue in Mid-City with Bass, her three adult kids and a grandchild the night before a leaked tape upended L.A. politics.
Oct. 21, 2022
Community activist Eunisses Hernandez unseated L.A. City Councilmember Gil Cedillo in June, but won’t take office until December.
Oct. 21, 2022
While Los Angeles leaders grapple with the fallout from a leaked City Council audio scandal, much can be learned from the council’s unique history.
Oct. 21, 2022
Residents of Los Angeles demanded resignations from Councilmembers Gil Cedillo and Kevin de León, who haven’t stepped down after the leaked racist recording. But many remained hopeful.
Oct. 20, 2022
Black real estate developers of the proposed $1.6-billion Angels Landing project refuse to continue working with City Councilman Kevin de León.
Oct. 20, 2022
Known as an effective lawmaker, Kevin de León’s involvement in a secretly recorded racist conversation has disgraced his once promising career, columnist George Skelton writes.
Oct. 20, 2022
In the midst of this forgive-me farce, De León reiterated that, nope, he’s going to stay in his seat.
Oct. 20, 2022
L.A. City Councilmember Kevin De León says he won’t resign following calls for him to step down after the leak of an audio conversation in which racist and disparaging comments were made.
Oct. 19, 2022
The embattled Los Angeles City Council member insists that he won’t quit. But that probably won’t salvage his political career or bode well for his future.
Oct. 19, 2022
Tune in Thursday for ‘L.A. in Crisis: The Call for Change,’ a live town hall hosted by the Los Angeles Times and Fox 11.
Oct. 19, 2022
TV news veterans explain how one of the most explosive stories in L.A. political history is changing the way they cover city government.
Oct. 19, 2022
From the bugbear of “mom shaming” to the shadow of spare-the-rod-style “chancla culture,” Nury Martinez’s words have stirred many parents’ darkest fears.
Oct. 19, 2022
The L.A. City Council chose Councilmember Paul Krekorian to be its newest president, replacing Nury Martinez, who resigned amid fallout over leaked racist audio.
Oct. 18, 2022
Danny Bakewell, a publisher, real estate developer and Black community leader, is mentioned in the Nury Martinez tape that’s rocked City Hall. But how?
Oct. 18, 2022
More than a week after the leak, it is still unclear how the recordings were made or who posted them online.
Oct. 18, 2022
Nury Martinez resigned from the council last week, but there are still calls for Councilmen Gil Cedillo and Kevin de León to step down.
Oct. 18, 2022
The common effect of the many recent Los Angeles City Council scandals is that they all devastate the public trust and corrode the governing process.
Oct. 18, 2022
With Kevin de León and Gil Cedillo refusing to step down, acting L.A. City Council President Mitch O’Farrell takes them off an array of committees.
Oct. 17, 2022
Latino journalists are reporting on Nury Martinez’s racist comments in nuanced and candid ways.
Oct. 17, 2022
Councilmembers Nury Martinez, Kevin de León and Gil Cedillo exposed corrupt racial politics.
Oct. 17, 2022
The city of L.A., and its politicians, would benefit from dumping the corrupt system of drawing lines for council districts, George Skelton writes.
Oct. 17, 2022
Heather Hutt, an interim member of the L.A. City Council, has become collateral damage in the widening scandal tied to four Latino leaders and redistricting.
Oct. 17, 2022
L.A. Latinos decry racist tape and fear it will set back leadership gains and cast them under a cloud of suspicion. Some say it exposed the need to have a conversation about colorism.
Oct. 15, 2022
City Councilwoman Nury Martinez’s resignation set off speculation about who will next represent District 6 in the San Fernando Valley.
Oct. 17, 2022
In the furor over the racist leaked audio, calls are growing for the city to throw out the boundary lines drawn last year for the council’s 15 districts.
Oct. 16, 2022
For decades, L.A. Black and Latino political leaders formed vital alliances. But these partnership now face unprecedented challenges.
Oct. 16, 2022
The casual, anti-black racism of high-powered Latino officials forces us to face the polarized racial atmosphere of Los Angeles.
Oct. 16, 2022
Hundreds of demonstrators gathered near downtown. They called for all of the city officials involved in the audio leak scandal to resign.
Oct. 15, 2022
During an October 2021 conversation with L.A. Councilmembers Gil Cedillo and Kevin de León and L.A.
Oct. 15, 2022
Councilman Gil Cedillo faces widespread calls to resign and criticism for not speaking up in the leaked racist conversation that has left allies feeling broken-hearted and opponents emboldened.
Oct. 15, 2022
Gil Cedillo was long a lion of the Latino Left. The L.A. City Council racist tape scandal captures him as a sad Chicanosaurus.
Oct. 15, 2022
The racist diatribe by L.A. politicians and a union leader has left unions in California and across the U.S. struggling to prove — even to themselves — that they fight for all workers.
Oct. 15, 2022
In the wake of the racist audio recording, L.A.’s faith and community groups hope the City Hall chaos spurs united calls for reform.
Oct. 15, 2022
Acting council President Mitch O’Farrell cited a recent COVID-19 exposure in the chambers as the reason for moving the meetings online.
Oct. 14, 2022
The Los Angeles political world is no stranger to scandal. In fact, there have been so many it can be hard to keep them straight.
June 13, 2023
In racist comments against Black and Indigenous people, Martinez exposed a blinkered tradition of defining the Latino community that may be on the way out.
Oct. 14, 2022
Amid loud calls for Councilmembers Kevin de León and Gil Cedillo to resign, the L.A. City Council will not meet on Friday.
Oct. 13, 2022
The city of Los Angeles lets elected officials draw the lines of their own districts in the decennial redistricting process. That’s why “asset gerrymandering” is a thing in L.A.
Oct. 14, 2022
With L.A.’s political establishment reeling from a scandal involving racist remarks, a presidential visit took on the air of a unity tour.
Oct. 13, 2022
Democratic resignations and calls for resignations pile up in L.A. But Republicans embrace their wrongdoers.
Oct. 13, 2022
Need a primer on what’s going on with the L.A. City Council? Here’s a quick look at who’s who and where all 15 council members stand.
Oct. 13, 2022
In Black neighborhoods, residents feel the sting of betrayal over three council members’ racist conversation.
Oct. 13, 2022
The racist comments on a recording that rocked Los Angeles City Hall ensnared Councilman Kevin de León in controversy. The tape also revealed an undercurrent of ambition and grievance in his political career.
Oct. 14, 2022
With Los Angeles still reeling from a leak revealing prominent elected officials making bigoted and racist remarks, much about the recording remains a mystery.
Oct. 13, 2022
How do some politicians get away with saying they love a city or country when they clearly hate so many people who live there?
Oct. 13, 2022
The councilmembers allowed then-City Council President Nury Martinez to rattle on with her racist diatribe without telling her it was unacceptable, securing their political fall, columnist George Skelton writes.
Oct. 13, 2022
“It is with a broken heart that I resign my seat for Council District 6,” Nury Martinez wrote in a statement.
Oct. 12, 2022
Nury Martinez announces her resignation from the Los Angeles City Council after audio revealed she made racist comments.
Oct. 12, 2022
California Atty. Gen. Rob Bonta said his office will investigate L.A.’s 2021 redistricting process in the wake of the leaked audio scandal.
Oct. 12, 2022
Many Latinos have worked hard to move past colorism and racism. Anyone who isn’t doing that work should not hold office.
Oct. 12, 2022
In the same audio clip in which she disparages Black people and Oaxacans, Nury Martinez insults Jews and Armenians too.
Oct. 12, 2022
I’m streaming ‘Memories of El Monte’ on YouTube, not just because of Laboe’s death but as an incantation against the noxious vibe from L.A. City Hall.
Oct. 12, 2022
Describing an Armenian politico by his eyebrows was crass, but it was a mild insult compared to the devastating racism spewed by Nury Martinez.
Oct. 11, 2022
Two days after racist comments on a leaked recording rocked L.A., mayoral candidates Karen Bass and Rick Caruso focused on how to bridge the city’s racial divides in their latest debate.
Oct. 11, 2022
Nury Martinez has resigned, but Kevin de León and Gil Cedillo remain. Here’s a look at what lies ahead for the Los Angeles City Council.
Oct. 12, 2022
L.A. council members’ secret meeting may not have been illegal. The only meetings covered by the Brown Act are those where a majority is present.
Oct. 12, 2022
What L.A. city councilmembers failed to grasp as they strategized to benefit Latinos at the expense of others is that Latinos are not a monolith.
Oct. 11, 2022
Behind the racist language is a hard fact that is shaking up politics nationwide: Latinos are underrepresented.
Oct. 11, 2022
Mike Bonin reminded us that his colleagues’ petty, self-serving schemes have insulted a metropolis.
Oct. 11, 2022
Read the transcript from Councilmember Mike Bonin’s address to the Los Angeles City Council following racist remarks about his son.
Oct. 11, 2022
Biden believes Nury Martinez and other L.A. City Council members should resign their seats over racist remarks made during a private conversation.
Oct. 11, 2022
L.A. City Councilmember Nury Martinez is taking a leave of absence amid outrage over her racist comments heard on a leaked audio recording.
Oct. 11, 2022
Civic leaders meet to build unity after a recording surfaced of three L.A. city councilmembers and a prominent labor leader making racist remarks.
Oct. 11, 2022
Three Latino members of the council and a top county labor official held a conversation last fall that included racist remarks.
Oct. 11, 2022
The racist comments by Councilmember Nury Martinez in a leaked recording are only part of a chaotic political landscape in Los Angeles, where an election is just weeks away.
Oct. 11, 2022
Rick Caruso or Karen Bass will need the skills of a diversity, equity and inclusion expert after a leak revealed anti-Black bigotry by Latino leaders.
Oct. 11, 2022
‘I thought we had made great progress in the last three years in gaining recognition,’ said one Oaxacan, who criticized remarks by Nury Martinez.
Oct. 11, 2022
Ron Herrera, head of the L.A. County Federation of Labor, was a central figure in a leaked racist conversation that has had explosive ramifications at City Hall.
Oct. 11, 2022
Though many in Van Nuys, Panorama City and North Hills were unaware of the scandal surrounding Councilmember Nury Martinez, those who knew were not coy with their feelings.
Oct. 10, 2022
At L.A. City Hall, Nury Martinez has been known as a blunt speaker. She is now in political free fall over words that she was caught saying on leaked audio.
Oct. 10, 2022
The latest L.A. City Hall scandal, involving racist remarks, exposes the petty and hateful reality of failed leadership.
Oct. 10, 2022
The L.A. County Federation of Labor said in an email to affiliates that the leaked audio of a labor official and L.A. City Council members was part of a ‘privacy breach.’
Oct. 10, 2022
The political implosion, unparalleled in recent L.A. history, was set off by a leaked audio recording reported Sunday by The Times.
Oct. 10, 2022
A leaked recording of L.A. City Council members and a labor official includes racist remarks. Council President Nury Martinez apologizes; Councilmember Kevin de León expresses regret.
Oct. 9, 2022
So much for solidarity. Leaked audio of L.A.’s Latino leaders plotting to dilute Black political power is sure to lead to new fears and new divisions.
Oct. 9, 2022
Instead of taking responsibility for the underwhelming state of Latino political power, the councilmembers just whined about their predicament and blamed everyone else — in racist terms.
Oct. 9, 2022
L.A. councilmembers’ leaked audio reveal racist conversations on Mike Bonin’s son, Oaxacans in Koreatown, George Gascón and Mark Ridley-Thomas.
Oct. 13, 2022
Outrage, anger and sadness swept across the city as elected officials processed the racist comments of Council President Nury Martinez. Three of her colleagues have already said she should resign.
Oct. 9, 2022
A leaked audio recording of members of the L.A. City Council, including Council President Nury Martinez has rocked L.A. politics months before a key election.
Oct. 10, 2022
Council President Nury Martinez makes racist remarks about Councilmember Mike Bonin’s young son while others chime in during this section of the conversation.
Oct. 9, 2022
In a recorded conversation on Koreatown and redistricting, Nury Martinez makes racist comments on Oaxacans and talks of limiting Councilmember Nithya Raman.
Oct. 10, 2022
City Council Nury Martinez discusses City Councilman Mark Ridley-Thomas’ relationship with the city after his indictment on bribery charges.
Oct. 9, 2022