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How The Secret Tapes Scandal Has Changed The LA City Council
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Councilmember Nithya Raman photographed at her home.
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Samanta Helou Hernandez
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The L.A. City Council has become more progressive in the year since the tape scandal, but substantive reforms have not occurred. In Episode 4 of Imperfect Paradise: Nury and the Secret Tapes — an exclusive look behind the scenes of the scandal — host Antonia Cereijido talks to council members Nithya Raman and Eunisses Hernandez about the fallout from the leaked tapes.
Nithya Raman's take
Raman says the leak of the tapes — which included racist and derogatory comments from fellow council members — has made her more wary. "I think I have a recognition of what it means to have private conversations go back to other people and saw the pain that that wrought on the city," Raman says.
What Eunisses Hernandez says
While she strongly disagrees ideologically with former city council president Nury Martinez, who resigned after the tapes were linked, Hernandez says Martinez is the only one who has taken responsibility for the scandal. "It feels like another moment of like, a woman, Latina, having to step up and clean up a mess," she said.
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It's now available from LAist Studios. Check it out wherever you get your podcasts! Or listen to this episode here:
Listen
• 35:14
Listen
• 35:14
In the year since the L.A. City Council tape scandal, a lot has changed. Efforts are underway to reform the redistricting process. Nury Martinez and Gil Cedillo are gone from the council. Only Kevin De León remains. Progressive shifts in the council are influencing its policies, and new elected members are working to forge a new way forward in L.A.
More from this season
- The Story Of The LA City Hall Tape Scandal, As Told By The People Who Lived It
- Why We Wanted To Interview Former LA City Council President Nury Martinez
- To Understand Nury Martinez’s Downfall, We Take A Look Into Her Rise To Power
- Exclusive: We Asked Nury Martinez To Explain What She Said On The Secret Tapes. Here’s What She Said
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