Racism on L.A. council reflects Latino Democrats' discontent

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So, this is the room where it happens. Not nearly as attractive as Aaron Burr described it in "Hamilton."

In fact — judging from the leaked audio from a 2021 meeting among Los Angeles City Council members Gil Cedillo, Kevin de León and Nury Martinez — the room where it happens is probably the ugliest place in politics.

But it can also be quite revealing. Here's where things get really uncomfortable. The meeting was about power. The offensive language displays these politicians' thoughts about who they wanted to take power from.

It was Martinez who called Oaxacans "ugly," referred to her out gay colleague Mike Bonin as a "bitch" and described Bonin's Black son as a "monkey." And yet the fact that those comments went unchallenged says a lot about everyone else in the room.

It's hard to imagine her saying these things unless Cedillo and de León provided the environment in which such sentiments seemed OK.

While the offensiveness of the conversation commands the headlines, the reason the group met in the first place warrants more attention. They had gathered at the Los Angeles County Federation of Labor with Ron Herrera, who was president of the federation until he resigned this week. Most of the conversation was about the maps proposed by the city's redistricting commission and the need to protect heavily Latino districts from losing economic assets in the once-a-decade process.

"What kind of districts are you trying to create?" Martinez said in frustration. "Because you're taking away our assets. You're just going to create poor Latino districts with nothing."

This meeting was about politicians and communities fighting for political power. Democratic leaders, both locally and nationally, know this is not a new topic.

Martinez, Cedillo and de León are a lot of things, including Democrats. Anger over the inequitable power structure within the party is not unique to them. It feels like a much larger conversation needs to happen, beyond calls for the council members' resignations and beyond Gov. Gavin Newsom's remarks that "words matter, and racist language can do real harm."

This week the Washington Post reminded national Democrats of the erosion of Latino support in Florida, warning it could happen in other states, like Texas. Sure, Democrats can still win the White House in 2024 without those two states, but NBC reported last week that Democrats in Nevada are concerned that Latinos may stay home on Nov. 8, unmotivated to show up despite the importance of the election.

Maybe by itself the leaked audio in Los Angeles would be a one-off scandal. But in this national context, the conversation in the largest city in the biggest blue state signifies something more.

We saw that something more in 2020, when President Donald Trump won greater support from Latino voters than he had in 2016. Regardless of his remarks, his policies or Democrats' characterizations of him, Trump was supported by one in three Latino voters nationwide. That's not even a take. That's just what happened.

Something else, something tangible, connected with people in a way the culture war and liberal immigration policies didn't. I would dare say those other things were the economy, COVID-19 and public safety. A growing number of Latino Americans believed Trump was better suited to address those things. I wonder if Democrats understand all of the reasons why.

Even if all three L.A. council members resigned — as they should — the issue that inspired their meeting won't go away. They were pushing for more political power for Latinos — and that's understandable.

As reported by the Los Angeles Times, "Latino residents make up roughly half of L.A.'s population but represent less than a third of the council's 15 districts." The disparity in representation is even wider in Washington. The nation is about 19% Latino, but only about 7% of representatives are members of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus. Only six senators are Latino.

In 2020, Latino voters were willing to back the candidate who vilified them. In 2021, feeling their districts were threatened, Latino politicians threw around slurs and schemed to gerrymander. Just like every other voting bloc and all other politicians, Latino leaders will reach for power and influence.

That's what that leaked audio represents. In the room where it happens, motives are discussed, alliances are formed, deals made. Backroom dealings are not always as vulgar and offensive as the meeting Martinez led, but they are always about getting needs met.