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What the election means for Villaraigosa
 | | Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and Assemblyman-elect Kevin de León. |
TONY CASTRO, Columnist 07.JUN.06
Politics: Mayor Antonio can rejoice at the virtual Assembly election of de León, but...
It
isn’t that Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa was desperate, but maybe it was
just that he desperately needed a political victory like the one in his
backyard in the June 6 primary.
Teachers union organizer Kevin
de León, the latest Los Angeles Latino political darling, easily won
the 45th Assembly District Democratic nomination over two other strong
contenders in what was tantamount to election.
On election
night, Villaraigosa could celebrate with de León in triumph at Plaza de
la Raza in Lincoln Heights, and take credit for helping elect one of
organized labor’s own.
But Villaraigosa must also know that some
of the same union leaders who owe him for de León’s victory have also
turned on him recently.
It was union people, specifically the
teachers unions, who had rallied the legislators they own in Sacramento
to put a serious roadblock on Villaraigosa’s grand plan to takeover the
Los Angeles Unified School District.
They had dealt Villaraigosa
a serious setback, sobering him from the intoxicatingly heady political
ego trip that he has been on since his election last year to the harsh
reality that the centerpiece of his first administration may be in
trouble.
For Villaraigosa, the recent lobbying trip to
Sacramento had been the first time he had encountered such mounted
opposition in a legislative body where he once was virtually all
powerful.
But Villaraigosa is also a political child of term
limitations. It was term limits that opened the era of revolving
Assembly Speakers, who, though they may wield power for one term, find
that the influence in Sacramento is short-lived and fleeting.
Organized
labor, meanwhile, employs no term limits, except those imposed by God,
and Villaraigosa has seen his support among the union hierarchy weaken
in unexpected fashion in the last two years.
It began with the
sudden death of County Federation of Labor leader Miguel Contreras,
Villaraigosa’s strongest ally in organized labor, in May of last year.
At
first Villaraigosa appeared to have overcome that loss with the
election of political protege and former City Councilman Martin Ludlow
to succeed Ludlow.
But Ludlow’s resignation, part of a plea
bargain agreement in exchange for no prison time in a campaign
fundraising law conviction, left the County Fed hierarchy reeling.
Even
the ascension to labor power of Maria Elena Durazo, another longtime
Villaraigosa supporter, could not immediately impose the arm-twisting
influence on the mayor’s behalf with other labor unions and their
leaders that Contreras might have wielded.
Together those two
developments of recent years — the absence of Villaraigosa from the
corridors of power in Sacramento and the death of Contreras along with
the ensuing County Fed leadership instability — left Villaraigosa
vulnerable to a political attack from the flanks, which is what has
happened.
Hubris may also be partly to blame. Villaraigosa may
have overestimated his ability to get whatever he wants. Had he not,
perhaps he might have solidified his support on behalf of his LAUSD
takeover idea in the legislature before ever making his intentions
known.
Instead, Villaraigosa first floated the idea, seeming to
believe that it would grow on even his critics. This raises the
question of how far Villaraigosa has traded on his charisma and
popularity, believing there is an inevitability to the world falling in
love with him or his ideas.
He may have forgotten that aging
LAUSD Superintendent Roy Romer is himself a former governor and no
stranger to backroom maneuvering and deal-making with unions.
Perhaps Romer isn’t so old that he’s forgotten how to skin another politician.
Tony Castro can be reached at tcastro@laindependent.com.
Tony Castro Archives
 
02.AUG.06 Anti-Semite Passion of the Road Warrior
02.AUG.06 The Sex Also Rises
02.AUG.06 Fear and Loathing in Mel Gibson's Church
26.JUL.06 The melancholy prince of undercover cops
26.JUL.06 Welcome to Middle East, USA
19.JUL.06 Too many guns, not enough rosaries
19.JUL.06 Tibet in Hollywood
12.JUL.06 Beware of the Witches of Hollywood
12.JUL.06 Clinton: La Raza's Time Has Come
12.JUL.06 Latinos boo Rove's hard-line stance
05.JUL.06 Arnold to Bush: ‘Hasta la vista, baby!’
05.JUL.06 Monica Garcia: The female Villaraigosa?
28.JUN.06 Villaraigosa tries to silence his critics
28.JUN.06 The Devil Wears Prada, but does Antonio?
28.JUN.06 I was possessed by Marilyn
21.JUN.06 Is Antonio bolting to back Arnold?
21.JUN.06 WeHo 'decriminalizes' marijuana use
21.JUN.06 Pinkberry: Too cool and too hot
14.JUN.06 Hollywood Black Film Festival opens
14.JUN.06 AIDS/LifeCycle raises record $8 million
14.JUN.06 The new gay icon
07.JUN.06 De León rides Villaraigosa’s coattails
07.JUN.06 Hollywood Black Film Festival starts June 13
07.JUN.06 What the election means for Villaraigosa
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