Los Angeles Councilman Mike Bonin Responds To Colleagues’ Apologies Over Leaked Audio: “First You Must Resign And Then Ask For Forgiveness”

Los Angeles City Councilman Mike Bonin choked back tears on Tuesday as he described hearing of the leaked audio conversation in which one of his colleagues made racist remarks about his Black son and another compared his child to a fashion accessory. “There are a lot of people who are now asking for forgiveness,” Bonin told the pack chambers of the council. “… First you must resign and then ask for forgiveness.

” Councilwoman Nury Martinez announced earlier on Tuesday that she was taking a leave of absence from the council, after stepping down from her post as City Council president. She was heard on the audio recording, published by the Los Angeles Times on Sunday, describing Bonin’s young son as a “monkey. ” Councilman Kevin de Leon and Gil Cedillo also took part in the conversation, which took place last year.

They also have apologized, but have so far remained on the council even as a number of political leaders have called for them to step down. De Leon was heard on the recording appearing to compare Bonin’s appearances with his son to the use of a Luis Vuitton handbag. Related Story Nury Martinez Takes Leave Of Absence From City Council After Leaked Audio Scandal; L.

A. County Labor Federation President Steps Down – Update Demonstrators flooded the council chambers and, for a time, delayed the meeting from coming to order as they shouted calls for the three members to resign, including “Leave. Leave Leave” and “They gotta go!” Councilman Mitch O’Farrell, presiding over the proceedings, initially struggled to get the demonstrators to quiet, but they did when Bonin spoke.

“People should not ask me for forgiveness, because I can’t forgive them because it is not my prerogative,” Bonin said. “It’s the prerogative of a boy who was too young to really understand what the hell is going on. And when he is older, when he is in high school, you can seek his forgiveness.

” Bonin also condemned other comments made in the leaked audio, in which the council members were talking with Ron Herrera, the president of the Los Angeles County Federation of Labor, about proposed redistricting maps. Herrera stepped down from his post on Monday night. Noting that disparaging comments were also made about Oaxacan immigrants, AAPI Americans and the gay community, along with Black activists and leaders, Bonin said, “It’s not my place to forgive that coordinated effort to disenfranchise all these communities and all these people.

” He added, “Today, I need to focus on love. I need to focus my mind and my heart and my family’s attention on all those who have shown kindness and love to my wounded and hurting family. ” Bonin said that the Los Angeles Times contacted him on Saturday.

“A reporter summarized some of what was on the tapes, and my first instinct as a father was to implore then, ‘Don’t run the story. Please be vague. Please say they made racist remarks about my son.

But I didn’t want to see the specifics in print. I didn’t want him to have to hear them or read them some day. I also know that the tapes contained much more — I learned even more in the past couple days — much more than the comments about my son.

” He added, “As the white father of a Black child, you stumble and you f— up and you try to do your best to be a parent and an ally. I get it wrong a lot. I get it right sometimes.

I knew that I did not want this story about virulent anti-Black racism to be centered on an angry white man. ” “I was afraid this was going to be in the California section,” he said. “It’s been international news.

There words, they cut and they stung. I know that I can never really know or comprehend or feel the weight of the daily relentless racism, anti-Black racism. That my son is going to face.

But man, I know the fire that you feel when someone tries to destroy Black boy joy. Man, it’s a rage. ” Bonin first took office in 2013 and was reelected in 2017.

He dropped out of this year’s council race earlier this year, citing personal issues. .