Duke Helfand of the LAT's city-county bureau got his hands on a fascinating instruction sheet given to staffers who accompany Mayor Villaraigosa in his travels around the city. The two-page memo, Helfand writes, "offers a rare glimpse into the mania behind the man...[and] portray a chief executive focused on detail and comfort, always appearing in control and on message." Aides are told to always have available Listerine breath strips, bottle of water "preferably room temperature," two pens and an extra copy of the mayor's briefing paper and talking cards. That last instruction is bolded, as if some lapse happened before. Aides staffing the mayor at events are told to greet him at the car with a full briefing about any elected officials or media in attendance, and to secure him something to eat:

Secure food for the Mayor if it is available. Please note the Mayor avoids breads, starches and other carbs. Fish and chicken are preferred over beef plates, and also stay away from sweets....If getting tea for the Mayor, please get Green Tea with four packets of Splenda and very little non-fat soy milk if possible.

Villaraigosa isn't always so particular about rich foods. Helfand writes that the mayor recently asked the chef of a downtown restaurant to prepare foie gras specially for him and chose $140 bottle of wine, "pronouncing it a 'good value.'"

These sorts of details are expected to remain private — part of the stagecraft that keeps the frenetic mayor gliding effortlessly and relaxed through the city.

But the two-page memo, "Staffing the Mayor," offers a rare glimpse into the mania behind the man. The instructions — distributed to everyone who works for the mayor and obtained by The Times — portray a chief executive focused on detail and comfort, always appearing in control and on message.

"Your job is to remain at all times within the mayor's line of sight," the memo states. "You should constantly adjust your position so the mayor can see you and call you over if need be."

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Assistants also are reminded to greet the mayor at his car when he arrives at an event, giving him "a full breakdown of the situation," and to arrange seating near an exit "so that he can leave discreetly if need be." And they are directed to "have backup exits in case a new route is needed to avoid certain situations such as unruly crowd[s], aggressive constituents, protesters or media"...

And what if the mayor is a no-show?

"Never under any circumstance should you answer why he is not coming if you do not know the answer," the memo says.

One unnamed staffer says in the story that Villaraigosa requires that everything be "impeccable," but Deputy Communications Director Joe Ramallo calls the memo "suggested guidelines." Memo in PDF.

* Reactions: A former political advance man emails to say "I can tell you that the rules for the mayor are not unusual, and only in a few instances over the top." Also heard from a former insider who says: "The morning radio guys are having a ball with this one. Why would anyone put this stuff in writing, then give it to the most abused people on any elected official's staff? Ironically, while I'm sure Jim Hahn's never tasted foie gras or $140-a-bottle wine -- they don't sell that stuff in San Pedro -- there were unwritten rules for staffing him, too. My favorite: 'Never touch the mayor!'"