Councilmember Martinez Owes Reno an Explanation, Not Just a Denouncement

Our Town Reno broke this story last week. They received an email response from Councilmember Miguel Martinez.

On Holocaust Remembrance Day — a day set aside to mourn and remember the six million Jews murdered by the Nazi regime — a disturbing message surfaced online from someone associated with Reno City Councilmember Miguel Martinez’s 2024 election campaign. The individual, who shares Martinez’s last name and appeared in campaign materials, declared the day “WACK,” claimed “It was never 6 million btw,” and went further to say, “There were no gas chambers. It’s all theater.”

Social Media post questioning the Holocaust.

These aren’t just offensive remarks — they’re Holocaust denial, a toxic form of antisemitism with roots in white supremacy and historical revisionism. For a person tied to an elected official’s campaign to express such beliefs is not only alarming but warrants a clear, unambiguous response.

Councilmember Miguel Martinez response to Our Town Reno. This statement was a milk toast as when he paid back the travel charges after being called out by This Is Reno.

Councilmember Martinez responded with a short email to media: “I denounce all forms of antisemitism and discrimination. What others think or say is not in my control, but what is in my control is showing up each day and making sure that I advocate for all communities. This comes in the form of my own words, actions, and votes.”

This is not enough.

Social Media post during Miguel Martinez campaign in 2024.

No one expects an elected official to control the thoughts of everyone around them. But they are absolutely responsible for explaining their associations — especially when those people appear in campaign promotions and publicly express hate.

Who is this person? What role did they play in the Martinez campaign? Were they a paid staffer, a family member, a volunteer? Did Martinez know about their views before or during the campaign? These are reasonable, necessary questions. And so far, Martinez has declined to answer them.

Social Media post from 2012 with Councilmember Miguel Martinez.

It’s not simply about distancing oneself from hateful speech — it’s about confronting it transparently and taking responsibility for those in your political orbit. When a Holocaust denier is part of a political campaign, the public deserves to know how that happened and what will be done to ensure it never happens again.

Reno voters entrusted Councilmember Martinez with leadership. That trust demands more than a short, sanitized statement. It requires full disclosure. Because when hate goes unchecked in our community — especially from those adjacent to power — silence is complicity.

The residents of Reno deserve better. And they deserve answers.

Picon Staff