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That consulting contract we exposed on Tuesday that would have given newly elected state assemblyman Felipe Fuentes $20,000 in city funds for services to the 7th district, where he had been the chief of staff to Alex Padilla, was reduced yesterday. Without comment, the council approved $7,500 for Fuentes, one day after his election. The Daily News had editorialized against the payout yesterday, and today reports that Councilman Richard Alarcon quietly amended the motion "to reflect the time Fuentes actually worked...Felipe was able to help explain how the city worked to my staff so we could get to work immediately,'" Alarcon said. The council passed the deal without asking a question or uttering a word. What makes this all interesting is the backstory that Fuentes was planning to run for the council seat, but got out of the way so Alarcon could come back to his old roost at City Hall. Fuentes then received the backing of Alarcon and others to run for the Assembly — plus, of course, yesterday's $7,500 gift from the city council.
Related?: Mayor Villaraigosa on Monday proposed Ernesto Cardenas, brother of the other Latino councilman from the East Valley, Tony Cardenas, for a seat on the Board of Public Works. He would replace Yolanda Fuentes, who is a relative of Felipe Fuentes. So no reward seat on the board (the only one that pays a full-time salary) for ex-assemblywoman Cindy Montaņez, who also shelved her elective ambitions to make way for Alarcon. She already got something anyway.
* Noted, with chagrin: The Daily News reported the Fuentes contract last Saturday and I missed it. Can't find a link on the DN website's search function, but here's a letter about it (scroll down.) I'm told the Daily News also reported the Ernesto Cardenas appointment that day.