18 Facts About Nury Martinez

Nury Martinez was born on July 9,1973 and is an American former politician who served as a member of the Los Angeles City Council for the 6th district from 2013 until her resignation in 2022.

Nury Martinez was a member of the Los Angeles Unified School District Board of Education from 2009 to 2013.

On October 10,2022, Nury Martinez stepped down from her post as council president following the release of an audio recording where she disparaged fellow council members and their children and used racist language.

Nury Martinez remained a member of the city council, but announced that she would be taking a paid leave of absence.

Nury Martinez graduated from San Fernando High School in 1991 and from California State University, Northridge in 1996.

Nury Martinez served as the Executive Director of the environmental justice organization Pacoima Beautiful and was elected to the City of San Fernando City Council in 2003 and 2007, where she served as Mayor.

Nury Martinez was elected to the Los Angeles City Council in a special election on July 23,2013, to succeed Tony Cardenas, who vacated his seat once elected to the US House of Representatives for California's 29th congressional district.

Nury Martinez defeated former Assemblywoman Cindy Montanez in that election and again in a 2015 rematch when she won her first full term.

Nury Martinez was the only woman serving on the City Council for four years, until the election of Councilwoman Monica Rodriguez in July 2017 and was the first Latina member in a quarter century.

Nury Martinez had focused on domestic violence and human trafficking in her district and throughout the city.

In 2014, Nury Martinez passed an ordinance that temporarily prohibited strip clubs, massage parlors and other types of adult businesses from getting city permits along four streets in her district to crack down on prostitution.

In 2017, Nury Martinez designated the first city-sponsored shelters for victims of human trafficking to be included in an expansion of the city's shelters for domestic violence victims.

In 2019, Nury Martinez supported a successful law authored by California State Senator Henry Stern, which clarified that local governments could adopt local ordinances to prevent slavery or human trafficking and allow for certain businesses and entities to post notices about resources available to victims of slavery and human trafficking.

In 2020, Councilwoman Nury Martinez opened a temporary trailer shelter in Van Nuys as part of Mayor Eric Garcetti's "A Bridge Home" shelter program that provides shelter and services to homeless individuals before being placed in permanent housing.

Nury Martinez launched a program called Kids First to provide tutoring and other support services to homeless students living in three motels in her district, with particular support to address the challenges of distance learning caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Councilwoman Nury Martinez had been an advocate for the undocumented community in the San Fernando Valley.

Nury Martinez subsequently called for the plant to be shut down, which was formalized by a vote of the City Council in November 2020 directing the department to develop a timeline for the plant's closure.

One day later, Nury Martinez announced she would be taking a leave of absence.