I’m a Democrat, and I’m a Staffer of Nancy Pelosi

How the Nury Martinez scandal strikes at the heart of Latino identity

Nury Marquez Martinez (left) is seen as a Latino hero; a former first lady of the state who was at the helm of her state party when the GOP sweep of the state’s 2010 and 2012 Congressional elections resulted in GOP majorities in both chambers—a change in state politics not seen since the 1950s. (David Ferrara/The Washington Post)

This is going to be a long week, probably. I’m not sure many of you will be able to read on the bright side: It will be the day I return to my desk from vacation. That is, until Tuesday morning, when I will have to return to the House of Representatives. I can only speak to the situation I find myself in now: I’ve been sworn in today as a Democrat; I’m a staffer, not a staffer, of one of my party’s minority leaders. At this writing, I’m working for Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi of California.

For those who don’t read the blog (which I’m one of the only people who does read), as you know, I’m of Mexican descent and the daughter of immigrants to the United States. I am proud of my ancestry and of the place that my mom and I and my father’s parents came to as a result of the Mexican-American War. I am also proud of my heritage: I am an Afro-Latinx woman and as such, I fight to ensure that all of our communities are empowered in their pursuit of all the opportunities that our countries offer. And I am proud of my ethnicity. I am proud of our heritage, which has been forged in the crucible of conflict and adversity, and I am proud of our American history.

So it should come as no shock to the readers of this blog that as a proud member of a proud community and an even more proud woman, I am deeply offended by the recent public allegations—later confirmed by the New York Times—that I was sexually involved in a relationship with a state senator whom I am

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