Mayoral candidate Bob Hertzberg's campaign has a curious take on those endorsements that Antonio Villaraigosa picked up yesterday from Jewish elected officials on the Westside and in the Valley, reputed to be a niche where Hertzberg could do well. Email from the Hertzberg camp disses the endorsements of Henry Waxman, Howard Berman and Jack Weiss, saying as "the only private citizen running for mayor, [Bob] never expected to get the support of career politicians." Why not? Hertzberg is a career politician who has either been in office or running for it most of the past decade, and you have to assume is working hard to line up such backing.

The email goes on to offer the kind of inside detail that campaign people often speculate about but that candidates rarely surface under their own names:

This endorsement was about political payback for favors past (like Antonio helping Berman carve a safe seat for himself) and future (Weiss wanting Latino support when he runs for City Attorney).

Makes you wonder what Villaraigosa's people are saying to themselves about some of Hertzberg's machinations. Now seems like a good time to remind readers that Hertzberg and Villaraigosa were Sacramento roommates and allies, then had a bitter personal falling out. If Hertzberg is to go anywhere in the race, he'll have to go through his old friend. It will be one of the interesting dynamics to watch.

Also in the race for Mayor 2005: Julie Wong, Deputy Mayor for communications, has gone off the city payroll to work fulltime for the Hahn campaign.

Endorsement stories in Times, Daily News

All recent L.A. City Hall politics postings