A former Los Angeles city leader is denying a report that she left the state and changed her politics after a scandal forced her resignation.
On Monday, Los Angeles Magazine reported that former City Council President Nury Martinez had moved to Arizona and left the Democratic party, spurning her longtime political home for the GOP.
“She and her husband, Gerry Guzman, have set up camp in Arizona,” the magazine reported. “The couple’s new residence isn’t the only thing that’s changed, though — so, apparently, have their politics.”
The publication cited “several sources with knowledge of the ongoing investigation into the secret City Hall taping” that led to the resignation of Martinez and Los Angeles County Federation of Labor President Ron Herrera, as well as much public criticism of former Councilmember Gil Cedillo and current Councilmember Kevin de León.
On Tuesday, however, Martinez denied both of aspects of that report in a text message to Los Angeles Times reporter David Zahniser. He posted her response on Threads.
“I’m a lifelong resident of the San Fernando Valley and I still live in Sun Valley with my family and have no plan of relocating,” she wrote. “And I’m still a staunch Valley Democrat.”
As of Wednesday morning, L.A. Mag continued to stand by its reporting, though it noted that “repeated attempts to reach Martinez and Guzman were unsuccessful.”