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Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa Watch: He’s BACK
Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa arrives for a news conference about his relationship with Telemundo newscaster Mirthala Salinas. He was at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion to attend the swearing-in ceremony for the Los Angeles school board.
LA mayor returns to public stage
Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa emerged from seclusion Monday to attend a news conference on school funding, his first public appearance since he confirmed an extramarital affair with a TV newscaster.
Villaraigosa maneuvered through reporters in the hallway before the event, flashing his trademark smile but ignoring shouted questions about reporter Mirthala Salinas.
When asked if he was trying to burnish his image by returning to city business, he replied: “Just doing my job.”Villaraigosa, 54, disappeared after confirming his relationship with Salinas on July 3. He had no public appearances on the Fourth of July and skipped the official opening of New York Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton’s Los Angeles headquarters even though he is a national co-chairman of her presidential campaign.
Look for pothole filling ceremonies and a news conference with Cardinal Mahoney. Then……
Might the good Mayor be heading to rehab? And why not? Everyone else does.
Note: No answers to any questions – who will squeal first? Any bets?
Maybe he will take LA Times
apologistcolumnist Gregory Rodriguez’s advice:The mayor is getting lots of advice right now from all over. Here’s mine: Stop trying so damned hard to be liked. The ridiculous across-the-board perfection you and your deputies seek to portray ultimately works against you. You don’t have to be Superman. The public is more likely to respect you if they know that you know that you are as flawed as they are.
Doubtful……..
Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa greet students and members of the parent union at a press conference where it was announced that the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation will spend $7.8 million to open 10 new high schools in the community served by the Alain Leroy Locke Senior High SChool in Watts, at the Green Dot Public Schools Headquarters in Los Angeles, Monday, July 9, 2007.
Update:
Now the AP says the Mayor made some brief comments:
“I made a mistake,” Villaraigosa said, after being asked if disclosures about the affair had damaged his credibility.
“I’m not perfect. I’ve always said that when you do something that undermines your support in some way or causes people to lose faith in you in some way, you’ve just got to get back and accept your responsibility and do your job.”
Guess he read Rodriguez’s column.
Update #2
Mayor Tries To Switch Media Focus From His Personal To Work Life
At a news conference announcing a grant by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to build charter schools in Watts, the beleaguered mayor was surrounded by reporters asking whether his affair with Mirthala Salinas. The mayor was asked if there were any other affairs, KNBC’s Conan Nolan reported.
“The answer is no,” he said. “But I’m not going to respond to all of those issues. We’re going to focus on our job. Look, I accept responsibility. I obviously caused a great deal of pain to my family, to many people involved here. Some people feel let down and I understand that. And I’m going to focus on my job, do the best job I can for the city of Los Angeles and the people will have to evaluate me based on that.”Well, did he say NO OTHER AFFAIRS?
Or NO he would not discuss them or respond to that question?
Hummmmmmmm
More questions.
Did the Mayor give himself wiggle room in case another person comes forward?
And he defended Mirthala Salinas:
Villaraigosa said Monday he does not believe Salinas acted inappropriately.
“My hope and expectation is that the review of this matter by the management at Telemundo and NBC will vindicate her and, of course, I wish her the best of luck in that regard,” he said.
Salinas issued a statement last week saying she welcomed the investigation and believed she would be vindicated.
“I welcome Telemundo’s decision to conduct a comprehensive review of the matter and respect their desire that I allow the review to be completed before returning to work,” she said. “I will cooperate with the station and appreciate their commitment to undertaking a thorough review of this situation. I’m confident that when all the facts are analyzed, it will be clear that I conducted myself in an appropriate way.”
A rather weak defense, wouldn’t you say?
Is Mirthala being thrown overboard?
Stay tuned……
Previous:
Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa Watch: Monday Antonio and Mirthala
Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa Watch: Sabrina Kay Rumors Heat Up Los Angeles City Hall
Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa Watch: Fading Latino Star – Another Alleged Affair Leaves Questions
Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa Watch: Mirthala Salinas Placed on Leave by Telemundo
Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa Watch: Still A Contender for California Governor in 2008?
Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa Watch: The End of a Political Career
Technorati Tags: Antonio Villaraigosa, Mirthala Salinas, TelemundoFabian NunezSabrina Kay
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Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa Watch: Monday Antonio and Mirthala
While everyone is waiting Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa to emerge from self-imposed media exile and begin his political rehabilitation we will review:
Here is a round-up from Kevin Roderick at LA Observed:
- George Skelton: “Villaraigosa was heralded as a rising star until very recently. Now he’s in danger of flaming out….Turns out he lacked the self-discipline to avoid scandal.” LAT
- Gregory Rodriguez: “In both mayoral campaigns, Hahn aides whispered to me and others about having a ‘nuke bomb’ about Villaraigosa’s alleged extramarital lapses…Having followed his career, covered him and talked to countless others about him in the years since, I am not the least bit surprised by his current predicament.” LAT
- Tony Castro: “Praying for the mayor is her way of handling her anger and disillusionment about his affair – an affront she, like a lot of Latinas, is taking personally. So much of an affront, political analysts say, that it threatens his longtime core support: Latinas for whom Villaraigosa was once the Latino prodigal son.” DN
- Tim Rutten: “Clearly, the mayor would not be in the fix he’s in — and it’s quite a fix — without the emergence of a vigorous online media that is reshaping the city’s political landscape….Salinas and Villaraigosa have behaved recklessly in an environment that, for better or worse, has become unforgiving.” LAT
- Earl Ofari Hutchinson: “She is not a nameless, faceless woman swept up in an impassioned affair with Villaraigosa. She is a respected and influential newscaster known to thousands of viewers. They rely on her to present an objective and honest appraisal of the personalities and the issues that she reports on. That’s not to say that Salinas didn’t report objectively about Villaraigosa. It just raises questions.” DN
- “All I can say is that if I were him, I wouldn’t make any plans to run for the Democratic nomination [for governor] in 2010,” said [Larry] Gerston, a political science professor at San Jose State. LAT
- Chris Weinkopf: “Villaraigosa has so far shown no sense of wrongdoing, let alone contrition. It’s ironic, because he should know better than anyone the heartbreak a departing dad can inflict.” DN
- Mariel Garza: “Villaraigosa will do a little squirming, give us all the sad eyes (except maybe a special wink for that cute young reporter on the side), and wait it out until Paris Hilton gets in trouble again and the cameras move on….But Salinas might have to go to Salinas to get a job in Spanish-language TV news after this.” DN
- Editorial: “If Salinas is telling the truth, then the station was guilty not just of violating journalistic standards, but of violating the integrity of one of its star reporters.” DN
- “While Salinas insists she has conducted herself in an ‘appropriate way,’ her former lover is fighting for his political life.” U.K. Sunday Mail:
- “He seemed so great, San,” says L.A., her voice cracking just a bit. “A great image — hardworking, charismatic, so politically adept — you know, one of those captivating guys that brings people together and gets things done….And we all bought it.” San Antonio Express-News
City Councilman Antonio Villaraigosa is interviewed by reporter Mirthala Salinas of Telemundo at Factor’s Famous Deli on May 19, 2005 in Los Angeles
And here is Kevin Roderick over at KCRW:
As most everybody now knows, Antonio Villaraigosa has a girlfriend on the side. He’s had her for most of the two years he’s been in charge at City Hall.
We all learned about it because the little Daily News outhustled the Times and forced the mayor to cop to his secret life.
In this same spot three weeks ago, I admitted to not knowing if the mayor was having an affair. I had heard the rumors, like most of the journalists who observe Villaraigosa.
I knew that he came with a reputation as a womanizer.
But I never tried to prove he was cheating on his wife, Corina — I didn’t care that much.
I care more now, after a flurry of plot twists that would make for a pretty steamy telenovela.
Ok, the press was giving Hizzoner a PASS and a big one at that…..let’s move on…..
Telemundo 52 reporter Mirthala Salinas, top left in red, at a news conference by Villaraigosa outside Gov. Schwarzenegger’s office in Sacramento on June 20, 2006, when the mayor was stumping for a bill that would give him more control over the L.A. Unified School District.
Flap’s friend Mayor Sam has some juicy links, tidbits and poop:
Latinas in Los Angeles are reportedly dropping their support for the Mayor in droves. Many of them who supported Villaraigosa in the past are saying never again. One woman interviewed by the Whittier Daily News prays and lights candles for the Mayor and his estranged wife as a way of “handling her anger and disillusionment.”
Reports are that Mayor V plans to begin a major rehabilitation effort starting Monday including an all out assault on potholes and alleged spiritual counseling from Cardinal Roger Mahoney.
Well, maybe Bill Clinton will be called in for damage control as well. But, what about Sabrina Kay and the mystery Metro LAPD officer and for that matter as Luke Ford raised yesterday, what about these possibles:
Cecile Ablack
Tina Choi, planning commissionerUnnamed Deputy on mayor’s security detail
Cynthia Ruiz (president of the Board of Public Works of the City of Los Angeles)
Celine Cordero (Homeland security for Los Angeles)
Jennie Carreon de Lacey (LAUSD school administrator)
Patricia Higuera (more, more) Pregnant Latina La Raza Activist Attorney
Haco Hoang – Policy analyst for mayor, Poli Sci prof gets smashed on this thread
Flap understands why Cardinal Mahoney will counsel Mayor Villar – SEX ADDICTION. Mahoney knows all about this affliction, now doesn’t he?
Los Angeles City Planning Commissioner and Philanthropist Sabrina Kay
Radar Online reports that Mayor Villaraigosa’s situation definitely presents a big problem for Presidential candidate Hillary Clinton.
Writing in the Daily News Earl Ofari Hutchinson says that the Mayor’s relationship with Mirthala Salinas “crosses the line” and raises troubling questions when an elected official has an affair with a journalist.
Newsbusters points out that he LA Times makes quite a dumb point in an editorial claiming that Republicans seem to get away with affairs more than Democrats. I guess they forgot about Bill Clinton avoiding conviction on impeachment. The more I think about it I don’t see the point of the Times’ logic.
The Inland Valley Daily Bulletin is living in some kind of fantasy world. The paper editorializes that these sex scandals won’t hurt the Mayor and that he has some kind of “potential.”
Ok, is that enough for Monday morning?
Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa’s admission that he has a relationship with TV anchor Mirthala Salinas comes less than a month after he announced his separation from his wife of two decades, Corina Villaraigosa. She filed for divorce the next day.
One more…….
Corina might be the most sympathetic character in the affaire d’mayor. But Mirthala Salinas, the proverbial other woman, loses a lot as well. Besides being cast as the evil interloper and a serial-Latino-politician-dater, her rising journalistic star is falling. She’s lost her credibility, her reputation and maybe even her high-profile job at Telemundo. After that, not even Rocky Delgadillo would date her.
OUCH……
Previous:
Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa Watch: Sabrina Kay Rumors Heat Up Los Angeles City Hall
Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa Watch: Fading Latino Star – Another Alleged Affair Leaves Questions
Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa Watch: Mirthala Salinas Placed on Leave by Telemundo
Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa Watch: Still A Contender for California Governor in 2008?
Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa Watch: The End of a Political Career
Technorati Tags: Antonio Villaraigosa, Mirthala Salinas, Telemundo Fabian NunezSabrina Kay
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Day By Day by Chris Muir July 9, 2007
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Technorati Tags: Day By Day, Chris Muir
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