Los Angeles looks for its mayor: “Where’s Antonio?”
Where in the world is L.A. Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa? On TV. At campaign rallies in primary and caucus states across the country. Stuck to Hillary Clinton’s hip. Anywhere but L.A. Via LAT:
For more than 2 1/2 years, Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa has been the public face of Los Angeles, appearing in one neighborhood after the next and often leading the nightly news.
But over the last two months, he has devoted noticeable time and energy to a cause outside the city. By today, the mayor will have spent 18 of the last 65 days on the road for presidential candidate Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.) — visiting Iowa, New Hampshire, Nevada and Texas as the primary election season has intensified.
On Friday, he started what was supposed to be a five-day swing through the Lone Star State to woo Latino voters ahead of Tuesday’s important presidential primary, but he decided to cut the trip short and return home this morning.
Villaraigosa, a national co-chairman of Clinton’s campaign, is one of her leading messengers with Latino voters. But in and around City Hall, political figures and neighborhood activists have begun to notice the mayor’s absences, sometimes quipping “Where’s Antonio?” as they guess where he will turn up next. The critics question whether Villaraigosa is being distracted from pressing city business, including a budget deficit that requires tens of millions of dollars in cuts.
“I think it’s too much for the mayor to be gone for reasons that have nothing to do with Los Angeles,” said Sandy Brown, president of the Holmby-Westwood Property Owners Assn. “I don’t see a nexus between campaigning on behalf of a candidate and bringing business back.”
Who’s paying?
On the stump, Villaraigosa travels with a press deputy from his City Hall staff and members of the Los Angeles Police Department security detail that accompanies him around the clock whether he is in the city or away.
The mayor’s office said the Clinton campaign covers the cost of flights and hotels for him and his press aide, but the two pick up their food expenses. The city typically pays the travel, hotel and food costs for the LAPD officers, according to police spokeswoman Mary Grady. On three occasions in the fall, the Clinton campaign paid hotel and airfare expenses for the officers before those involved realized that the city covers the costs.
The two press aides who trade off campaign swings — Matt Szabo and Janelle Erickson — use their vacation time as well as personal cellphones on the trips because they are barred by city and state law from engaging in political work on the job.
Erickson, who worked in former President Clinton’s congressional affairs office, said she didn’t mind using her vacation time or working on weekends for a cause she believes in.
“It’s not only my responsibility but an honor to work for someone as smart and talented as Hillary Clinton,” Erickson said.
Climbing the political ladder on LA taxpayers’ dime?
Si, se puede.
***
Flashback: The toilet brush campaign.
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No surprise from me. California politicians have always had an overinflated opinion of their worth and think that just because our economy is the 8th or 9th largest in the world, that they represent the country of California instead of the State. Never mind that a poltiician is never responsible for economic success, that is the result of hard work by the taxpayers who succeed in spite of the politicians, not because of them. Yet, politicians are always claimg credit for things they have had nothing to do with. So, to get back to the subject, big ego’d politicians like the Mayor from LA think nothing of leaving the State and traveling with the candidate that they think will provide them their next job with the government. Ah-what a country.
In election season..are any of the politicians working???All of them consider their positions as merely stepping stones onto the next level of corruption.Romney abandoned MA for his aspirations for the white house as did Dukakis, Kerry, McCain, Clinton et al….There oughta be a law forcing these hacks to do the jobs they are being paid to do instead of chasing the dream to enlarge their own massive egos. When you accuse them of doing nothing you don’t know how right you are!!
BTW, can’t resist a correction to Senor Obama’s motto here:
“Si, se puede” actually translates, “Yes, you can”, or “Yes, she can”, or “Yes, he can”, - not “Yes, we can.”
That would be, “Si, nosotros podemos.”
Doesn’t roll off the tongue so easily, does it. Ah, politics….
Mayhap Barack didn’t pay attention in his Spanish classes, or whatever…….
OT-
Attention sports fans….
Brett Favre is retiring…..
Maybe the poor guy just wants to get out of LA!
Can you say… Secretary Housing and Urban Development??
Just like McCain has his Sycophant blind useless followers who want a cabinet post…the democraps have an endless line of equally useless people in the wings.
Anything more scary than a twice fired, Wesley Clark as Secretary of Defense who has to has George Soros filling his pockets and his Puppet master???
Hillary has some really funny people working for her…
Antonio Vivalaraza is just networking in preparing for his future run for governor when our Governator is termed out. Being mayor is only a stepping stone for governor, with his eye, perhaps on a presidential run later on.
We in the Los Angeles area are already weary of seeing him take every photo op possible to keep his image in the public eye.
Hey, ‘member Henry Cisneros? You ‘member! ‘Member?
This is almost silly, but it is reflective of how the country will be run if this is how she runs her campaign. Why spend money on Villaragosa when there must be other local politicians of Spanish descent around to help you out?
It was funny… it was actually on the radio last night that he was coming “home” early, because apparently he’d been notified this article was coming out the next day. He asked his early return not to be perceived as an abandonment of his support for Hillary.
The only good thing about him being AWOL is it keeps him from doing more damage to the few legal American citizens still residing in LA.
I suppose using taxpayer funded police officers for protection while campaigning for Hillary in Texas is slightly better than when he used them for protection during his extramarital affair with a skanky Telemundo news reporter. It’s all relative.
Villaraigosa (or Villar now that his wife is divorcing his cheating rear-end) is the epitome of corruption and slime. He didn’t support his police officers at all when they were attacked by illegal immigrant “protesters” with bottles of frozen water - but blamed them completely for the May Day incident. But of course he has no problem using them, and untold amounts of tax dollars, to subsidize the Clinton campaign and buy himself a cabinet post should she win.
“On three occasions in the fall, the Clinton campaign paid hotel and airfare expenses for the officers before those involved realized that
the city covers the coststhe taxpayers could be made to help Hillary like it or not.”There, LAT, fixed that for ya.
Well, I don’t know. That hot reporter chick that he was having an affair with is still here. That’s why a laughed out loud when I read the mayor is usually bouncing around from neighborhoods.
I guess it’s fitting for a cheater to lead Hillary’s campaign? Does she have a replacement for Mirthala Salinas? Who is Telemundo supporting?
Why can’t Hillary stop surrounding herself with cheatin’ men?
OH THE IRONY ON THIS ONE
I’m having probs gettin to Fox news right now…
but theres a Headline about a young Black High School football player killed by “Hispanic Youths”…
But of course, its not a Racial incident…
Mayor needs to get his own house in order, before he says how others should run theirs…
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,334790,00.html
Here ya go…
sorry, maisy you are wrong on this one, as Mitt was a 1 term governor and his term was up. as for the others you are right. the 3 senators have all negelected their duties at some point during this primary. although, i think the two dems have been the worst offenders…
You said it. But Hillbilly needs her token Hispanic on the campaign trail. Who else is going to do it?
They really shouldn’t complain about him missing out on city business. Once he is finished schlepping around trying to get Hillary elected, he’ll be able to count on the money from the new citizens of Cali to offset that deficit : )
Ya know, nobody out here is really looking for him. In fact, most of the personalities I listen to and the people I know in the city would rahter he stay gone.
BTW: Mirthala has some new gig on a startup spanish only radio station right around the corner from KFI.
“Me! Me! Yo! Yo! I want a Cabinet position, Senora Clinton! H.U.D. (Hispanic Urban Destruction) would be que bueno!!! Hey, you like womanizers around you….I am one! Pick me! Mira, I can follow you around like a love struck puppy…just make sure there are pretty women around I can…um…’engage!’”
Oh, Antonio…you cad!
Looks like he’s back
Wether or not thewy are on city time or on their vacation time. It is still double dipping on the tax payers dime. They are being compensated for the time off from city work to work on a federal campaign. The lot needs to be looked at by an ethics committee. Wait it would be more liberals so it does not matter.
As fo the mayor. Was he really there running the show when he was in town? Not really, always out stumping for the ILLEGAL angle and vote. So for him to be on the road in Texas not a big deal. Look at it like I do. Who cares what the mayor of L.A. says. I live here not there.
Antonio was a moron when he worked in the California State Legislature with Willie Brown. He added his wife’s last name to his to assure the Latino vote.
He’s so below average. What did LA expect? Wouldn’t surprise me if there is more corruption and fiddling with paying for personal items ahead. Gee, that would be a shock. A Democrat with a sense of entitlement. How above average.
Where was the police escort and security for the mayor when he was spending his evenings with Marthala Salinas? I guess the mayor didn’t see any harm in having a relationship with a woman who was covering his administration. One thing about Marthala Salinas. Her ethics may be questionable but she is oh so easy on the eyes.
C’mon, Larraby, the LAPD was outside making sure no nosey reporters got too close to the tryst.
You know, just like the Arkansas State Troopers used to do for Slick…..
And she is easy on the eyes…
You meant no OTHER nosey reporters, didn’t you?
Ya know, you’re onto something, there Right_on…
And the word from KFI is that Tony Villar isn’t the first man of power she has, um, er, ah, reported on…..
Ah, Tony Villar - the LA mayor that insists on doing press conferences in Spanish. Archetype Democrat for the 21st century. Jerk!
Even the local LA liberal blogs have been chastising him for his severe inattention to his mayoral duties.
A lot of people have stated that VillarMEChA has a good shot at the Governorship but frankly, I think he’s a political lightweight.
And there are many, including Hispanics, who dislike him for his Clintonesque marital infidelities.
In short, he’s not as well-liked as he’s been portrayed
Isn’t any philanderer radioactive for the Clinton II administration? I would think so.
He and SLC mayor Rocky Anderson have something in common: devoting time away from their cities’ needs for their own causes.