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Saturday, November 13, 2010

State Senator Alex Padilla eyeing run for Mayor in 2013. ** Or is it Congress?

"East Valley Political Bookends:" State Senator Alex Padilla on left, Assemblyman Felipe Fuentes on the right.
He once was the leading "Latino Business/Moderate Democrat" on the City Council, serving with the likes of former CD 14 Councilman Nick Pacheco after both being elected in 1999.
But in 2003, with the late Los Angeles County Labor Federation Chief Miguel Contreras leading the way, the Latino Left Political Machine exerted its new found muscle and push aside Nick Pacheco, with its "chosen one" Antonio Villaraigosa taking over in CD 14 and did not look back until becoming Mayor in 2005.
For Padilla, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology graduate who was elected to the City Council at the age of 26 and becoming its president two years later, upward was the only direction this political upstart could go. But with the likes of the Los Angeles Times pushing the Villaraigosa agenda, Padilla was relegated to leaving the council in 2006 to run for the 20th State Senate District seat that he was just re-elected to.
Meanwhile the "shining star" that was Villaraigosa political aspirations has disappear into a "political black hole" and with the Latino Labor Left Machine 's excesses causing a backlash at the polling place with investigations pending. Thus, will the 2013 Mayoral Race see a return of moderate Latino candidates?
Maybe sensing this, Padilla recently announce to a luncheon group of the Los Angeles Current Affairs Forum that he was looking at a possible run for Mayor in 2013, as reported in the Downtown News.
“I’m definitely looking at it,” Padilla, whose 20th senate district covers much of the San Fernando Valley, said during the event at the Wilshire Grand Hotel. “This is home. I love the city. After seven and a half years I know City Hall fairly well.”
But an early "political albatross around Padilla's neck" that political observers will notice, is his close relationship with Assemblyman Felipe Fuentes. Fuentes was the subject of a LA Weekly expose that tagged him as "The Worst Legislator in California" and noted Padilla's "close protector status" for the dubious political dealings of Fuentes.
Then he became chief of staff to then–Los Angeles City Council President Alex Padilla, now a state senator and Fuentes' current protector in Sacramento.
One might want to pause for a moment and contemplate what would become of private property rights in Los Angeles under a Mayor Padilla Administration with a City Council President Felipe Fuentes reigning over the Horseshoe? This in light of Fuentes fronting for Mayor Villaraigosa and CRA with AB 2531.
Scary thought indeed.
** A contrary point of view from Daily News Writer Tony Castro: "Not Mayor Padilla, but Congressman Padilla".
Your thoughts..............
Scott Johnson in CD 14

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16 Comments:

Anonymous Anonymous said:

Why bother trusting any of these guys with L.A. council positions. Look what we have now with the 5 former assembly members.

We don't need more of the same approaches from the state training grounds to really bury L.A.

Most of what we have, if not all, in city council is a result of monied interests funding a campaign. We have chiefs-of-staff stepping into the positions when their bosses leave and that just perpetuates much of the same mediocrity.

If these guys could show something better in the state office time, maybe they could be acceptable, but mostly the pay in city council- and that's still way out of line for "public service"- is a big attraction. If the pay was lower, would you still have these guys so enthusiastic to make the city council their next place of employment.

Sorry, but I don't trust them and this is part simple suspicion and part observation of what we have been getting at City Hall. And this is not to say that the Council members NOT coming via Sacramento are any better- but that's another problem.

November 13, 2010 11:50 AM  

Anonymous Anonymous said:

Is this city really going to elect another smooth talking latino, after what we've just been through? Really? I think not.

November 13, 2010 2:12 PM  

Anonymous Anonymous said:

Alex Padilla isn't going to be running for anything but from the law. I wonder why the budget and finance committee just transferred $416,000 into the Los Angeles Housing Department outside counsel account?

November 13, 2010 2:56 PM  

Anonymous Anonymous said:

Both, Alex will win both!

November 13, 2010 4:01 PM  

Anonymous Anonymous said:

This Latino and all those I know will be voting for Wendy in 2013. Alex as a council member and senator has left his dictrict in the worst condition possible all the while the special interests who pull his strings have looted the tax payers dollars with shody and over budget projects.

November 13, 2010 6:05 PM  

Anonymous Anonymous said:

Wendy? Is that a joke? As if she's going to be able to fix anything. If she could, why are things getting continually worse. No incumbents, please.

November 13, 2010 10:33 PM  

Anonymous Anonymous said:

6:05

Latinos voting for Wendy?

Yeah very likely.

Wendy could not even elect her endorsed candidate to win her old district.

November 13, 2010 10:38 PM  

Anonymous Anonymous said:

Wendy is a joke. So many NCs thinks she's an idiot and all she's done is audits. What the hell has she done to get the money owed the city in the MILLION??? NOTHING. The front runner according to many events and meetings is Rick Caruso should he decide to run. He has done more for Latino communities yet unlike the fools we have doesn't like to publicize it. He's smart, savvy, ethical and although a developer everyone site he's developed if the people have issues, he takes the time to sit and listen to them and comes up with a compromise. Republican Latinos got Bush into office. Republican Latinos got many of their candidates in office.
WTF??? We don't need another corrupt Latino politician. We already have the Mexican Mafia thugs on council like Cardenas, Huizar, Alarcon, Reyes. They are clueless, have no class, no ethics, no leadership and if you take a drive through their districts they have done NOTHING for their communites. The Latino communities are worse off now then before these clowns took office. NO TO PADILLA FOR MAYOR. He's another crook with relatives like Felippe Fuentes. There's a group of Valley Latinos who are the most corrupt in the nation.

November 14, 2010 7:10 AM  

Anonymous Anonymous said:

People vote for the candidate by their last name. Anyone that wants to win better change their name to a latino last name.

Voters need to be educated on the issues and stop voting in a racist way.

November 14, 2010 7:31 AM  

Anonymous Anonymous said:

Many folks have a very short memory and by the constant personal attacks demonstrate just how shallow they are. Wendy has been a shinning light in LA Politics. She is not the second comming in a skirt, but has done more for CD2 and now in the controllers position the any other political figure.

November 14, 2010 8:37 AM  

Anonymous Anonymous said:

All these Wendy trolls are amusing. They should take a hit off the reality pipe.

November 14, 2010 9:33 AM  

Anonymous Anonymous said:

8:37

Your Wendy will lose to Paul Krekorian by 20 points if there was an election today.

No one misses here in ST or in any other part of CD2.

November 14, 2010 10:47 AM  

Anonymous Anonymous said:

Wendy should return to Never Never Land with Peter Pan.

I'm a CD2 resident and I can say almost all voters I have encounterd in the district would not support Wendy.

Her ties to the IBEW and her reckless disregard for the city's growing budget deficit when she served on the Budget and Finance Committee are reasons enough not to trust her as the city's chief executive.

The audit reports issued by the Controller's office are useless without a pit bull snarling at the mayor and the council to implement them. Wendy is no pit bull - she's a lap dog.

November 14, 2010 11:43 AM  

Anonymous trojan2002 said:

Last I remember, CA is not getting another congressional seat. That means one has to be created from the three.
The long running rumor has been that the 27th (Sherman's seat) would be basically eliminated and turned into a mid/east valley seat.
He's not in the clube, the Berman/Waxman club, so unless Berman or Waxman reitre (unlikely), Sherman is the odd man out.
Berman is holding his seat warm for Blumenfield, who will run for that seat in 2014. Waxman is holding his seat warm for Mike Feur.
Padillia has been the long rumored next congressman representing the 27th. Of course, stabbing a fellow hispanic in the back may open the door for another hispanic to take a shot. Felipe Fuentes... and even Nick Pacheco who now has an office in the east valley (but does he live there?)

November 15, 2010 8:26 AM  

Anonymous g said:

NO ALEX PADILLA , WENDY GREUEL, RICK CARUSO JUST WHAT THIS CITY DOESN'T NEED. I WISH LAURA CHICK WOULD RUN. ALEX IS TONY ALL OVER AGAIN, WENDY IS A CAMERA HOUND, RICK IS IN LOVE WITH DEVELOPMENT AND TAKING OVER CITY PLANNING. AND NEVER,NEVER DEPUTY MAYOR BEUTNER THAT'S THE WORST OF ALL. HE'S FOR COMPLETE TAKEOVER OF ALL PLANNING IN THE CITY, VERY DANGEROUS. SEE THE RECENT CRA BILL RUN THOUGH THE ASSEMBLY BY BEUTNER IT'S A EYE OPENER AND HIS MOVE ON ZONING REFORM.

November 16, 2010 2:34 PM  

Anonymous Anonymous said:

Who is the attractive woman next to Sen. Padilla in the picture?

November 18, 2010 12:00 PM  

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