Cerrell still matters

The Los Angeles Independent is out with a profile of Joe Cerrell, the Democratic political campaign and PR macher who got his start with John F. Kennedy. At age 68, Cerrell still matters and his office on Larchmont Boulevard is still a place where things get done.

It may say enough about veteran Los Angeles political consultant Joe Cerrell that when Boston real estate magnate Frank McCourt bought the Dodgers for $430 million earlier this year, amid criticism over being an outsider, the first person he hired to help him and his family fit in was Joe Cerrell.

On Opening Day, Cerrell held court in one of the McCourts' luxury suites where so many Los Angeles City Council members dropped by, that some worried about violating the state's open-meetings law — a clear sign of how Cerrell today is one of the most influential behind-the-scenes men in Los Angeles politics.

Politics and baseball have a lot in common, Cerrell boasted to reporters that day. “Winning isn’t everything,” he said, “but losing is nothing.”

Tidbit: Cerrell's son Joe Jr. is the spokesman for Bill Gates. The piece is by Tony Castro and Mario Villegas.