LA Weekly endorses Villaraigosa

That's not a surprise, since the paper was a major cheerleader for his candidacy four years ago. This time, though, the Weekly is not as enthusiastic.

We’re disappointed and even annoyed that with five Democrats in the mayor’s race, we do not see an ideal candidate running for mayor of Los Angeles....Antonio Villaraigosa is almost this candidate.

In the past, Villaraigosa displayed the leadership, drive, vision and risk-taking we want in a new mayor. Running against Jim Hahn in 2001, Villaraigosa energized many in the city around a movement to improve the lot of L.A.’s low- to middle-income residents and rallied us with a call to empower his new coalition behind unionization and living-wage drives. All that is now put at risk by his lackluster campaign.

He needs to stop being so afraid of alienating whites, or at least white moderates. The city’s demands have intensified in four years, and so have ours. He needs to be less arrogant around his natural constituency and more careful about the promises he makes — specifically, when he “unequivocally” assured residents from Eagle Rock to Boyle Heights in 2003 that he would serve his full City Council term if they elected him instead of the incumbent.

Of the others, the Weekly says: "Bob Hertzberg, the most moderate Democrat among all the candidates, would be a near perfect fit for the job were it not for his pandering to the white-flight vote with a vague plan to break up L.A. Unified."..."Bernard Parks is straight-talking and resolute, but possesses few political skills...He’s not yet ready for a citywide post."..."Richard Alarcón has done the best job of all the candidates expressing a progressive agenda...but he has yet to develop the presence and relationships needed to be a real contender to lead this city." Hahn, the Weekly says, "would almost be appealing" if it were not for the investigations into his team's fundraising profligacy. Excerpts of all the endorsement interviews are online at the Weekly website. In the 11th council district, the paper endorsed Flora Gil Krisiloff.

Also: Hertzberg's website ChangeLA.com notes that today's Variety has a photo of a reception for Hertzberg at Beverly Hills talent agency The Firm on Tuesday.