Tony Villaraigosa as possible Labor Secretary

[Perky]

The LA Mayor might be in the running

He has great credentials

From Wikipedia

"Antonio Ramon Villaraigosa (born Antonio Ramon Villar, Jr. on January 23, 1953), or Tony Villar, is the mayor of Los Angeles, California. He is the first Latino mayor of Los Angeles since Cristobal Aguilar in 1872.<1> Villaraigosa was elected mayor of Los Angeles in a run-off election on May 17, 2005, in which he defeated incumbent mayor James Hahn. Prior to his service as mayor, Villaraigosa was the California State Assemblyman for the 45th District, the Speaker of the California State Assembly, and the Los Angeles City Councilman representing the 14th District. Before being elected to public office, Villaraigosa had a long career as a labor organizer. In 2007, Villaraigosa's marital troubles and affair with a television reporter covering City Hall made national headlines. Villaraigosa also served as one of four national co-chairmen of Hillary Rodham Clinton's 2008 Presidential campaign."


He was a cinch to run for Governor, but he wound up in an affair with a YV reporter who was covering the mayor's office so it is possible that his political aspirayion have gotten sidetracked. 8 years in DC as Labor Secretary would be agood thing for him and for Hispanics miffed that Richardson did not get the nod as State.

[msongs]

1. tony the adulterer - you mean Antonio as he is known in his own town nt

[ronnykmarshall]

25. He is?

Sorry, I live in LA and it's old news around here.

[FrenchieCat]

2. He had an affair just last year that became a national story?

I didn't know that! How does the Hispanic community feel about him at this point?

[elleng]

5. And how 'national' was it,

as we 'fanatics' didn't know about it?

[Captain Hilts]

8. It was all over the news and Internet. nt

[Ichingcarpenter]

3. Thanks but no thanks you don't live in California

An't gonna happen.

[elleng]

4. What ain't gonna happen?

Jobs in CA, DC?

[Ichingcarpenter]

6. Its an opinion piece by the OP

I have contacts in the party here and haven't heard a breath
on this.

He sites Wikipedia for his story.

[nbsmom]

7. Ya, it's wishful pandering

FWIW, he was carrying water for Clinton throughout the primaries...unlike Richardson.

In addition to not being able to stick to the agreement he made with his wife (always a bad sign where ethics are concerned IMO), he has _never_ passed the CA bar despite numerous attempts.

[Ichingcarpenter]

9. But he Loves Hillary!!!!

He missed the boat with Obama here and
Obama knows that..... The California Democratic party knows that.
He is now on board now like some other hard core Hillary supporters
and I hope he does good things for LA.



Like I said

its a crap wikipedia news break

[Booster]

10. God, let's hope not.

[saracat]

11. In that case, it definitely should be John Edwards! If Villaraigosa can be

considered, so should JRE! LOL!Actually, it is a shame. Edwards would be a fabulous Labor Secretary.

[blue_onyx]

12. The Washington Post listed him as one

of three possibilities. I prefer David E. Bonior because I would like to see a representative of Michigan in the Obama administration. But Bonior has said before that he isn't interested in the position. The third option was MI Gov. Jennifer Granholm. She would be great but I don't want her to leave the state.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/11/30/AR2008113002039.html

[TeamJordan23]

13. He has not been even been a good mayor; so NO WAY. nm

[Iwillnevergiveup]

14. As Mayor of L.A.

Antonio has been a huge disappointment and has burned many political and personal bridges. The Telemundo reporter he had the affair with lost her job and his wife and kids moved out of the mayoral mansion. Wife filed for divorce which has not sat well with the community. He's opportunistic, so if offered a post with the Obama administration, I believe he'd jump on it. But I no longer have any faith in him.

[neomonkey]

15. Perish the thought

And I hope Barack Obama has more sense.

I'm a Mexican-American from Los Angeles and Villaraigosa brings all the keywords to the table...Chicano kid growing up in poverty, works hard to make a name for himself, culminating in Mayorship of Los Angeles...then thud. That is the sound of his ego slamming against the doorway because it grew too large to leave the room.

Antonio, even by politician-standards, is the most egotistical self-absorbed power-whore you ever saw. He could have done so much with the gift he was given, but he chose to spend it all cutting ribbons and breaking bottles and flashing those teeth for the cameras, and little else to show for it.

[Zomby Woof]

16. Mayor Photo-op the Union Buster?

I fucking hope not.

[Sebass1271]

17. Great! Finally one Hispanic appointment that IS NOT

Bill Richardson. Not that I don't Mr. Richardson, i admire him and know he has already been offered a job with Obama, but I am sure there are other Hispanics qualify to hold other cabinet positions as well.

[Sebass1271]

19. well after reading all posts.. then i guess he is NOT qualify

then, Obama should consider another Hispanic? How about Mayor Manny Diaz from Miami? That would be huuge news for the Cuban American community in Miami. Maybe just finally we can win them over?

[Wilms]

18. So the first two sentences you wrote are out of thin air?

That ain't cool.

[Perky]

20. NO. He was mentioned as a possibility on NPR yesterday

[Wilms]

21. Thanks for the late update.

Hopefully he'll never be mentioned again.

BTW, according to an LATimes article, a significant segment of the local Hispanic community is really turned off by his affair.

[Nailzberg]

22. City Council runs LA. The Mayor just takes the press on subway rides to promote transit .

At least that's all I've ever seen him do.

[martymar64]

23. I'll take James Hoffa instead

He has more solid labor creds.

[cherokeeprogressive]

24. No shit. Cheatin' Tony Villar. Just goes to show ya...

Cheatin' and Lyin' ain't nothing when someone who shares your ideology wants you to come play in the Big Boy's Club.

[WI_DEM]

26. I wouldn't trust too much with what Wikipedia says.