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Termed-out county supervisor Gloria Molina has said what she intends to do after life in the county Hall of Administration — try to return to her former seat around the horseshoe of the Los Angeles City Council. This time she would run from the 14th council district on the Eastside and take on incumbent Jose Huizar. "I am concerned that there is only one woman on the [15-member] City Council," Molina told the LAT's David Zahniser in a story posted this afternoon. "When I left, that wasn't the case at all." Molina was on the council for one term, from 1987 to 1991, representing the 1st district downtown and on the Eastside. She then moved to the Board of Supervisors and will have served 23 years when her final term ends.
Zahniser's story says that Molina has separated from her husband and in recent weeks purchased a home in El Sereno and moved from her longtime home on Mount Washington. She also has retained political consultant Fred Register. The election is next year but fundraising and jockeying for position has already begun, in part because Huizar faces a November civil trial over a lawsuit by former aide Francine Godoy, who has accused Huizar of punishing her for refusing to continue a sexual affair. Huizar denied the accusation of retribution.
Huizar put out a statement this afternoon in response to Molina's news:
From revitalizing Broadway and helping create thousands of jobs downtown, to building new parks, to championing groundbreaking pedestrian, bike and business friendly policies that are the model for the entire city, the service to Council District 14 constituents has never been higher and I look forward to continuing to serve as their councilmember for the next four years.
When Huizar was in the media glare over Godoy's allegations, City Council President Herb Wesson called Huizar his best friend on the City Council — a relationship that could complicate the politics for Molina. But she brings her own strengths and alliances with her from the county.
