As The Third Floor Turns

MAYOR V UPDATE: Rick Orlov reports that the Mayor is traveling again - you guessed it - to Washington, D.C. to join with Ted Kennedy and a cast of characters to support the immigration reform bill that President Bush said and then said he didn't say offers amnesty.

We reported Monday that a very credible inside source told us that there may have been a previous relationship between the Mayor and the woman in question during the time the Mayor was Speaker of the Assembly and separated from his wife. Our source has since corrected us informing us that he/she was referring not to a relationship between the woman and Speaker Villaraigosa but that she allegedly "had also been with the CURRENT speaker when he was separated with his wife." We can't confirm this rumor but my how the worm turns!

In a related development, a blogger named "Cobb" says that he was surprised to hear the "anchor baby" rumor from his brother who is an LAPD officer and claims that members of the LAPD are allegedly planning to "prank" the Mayor by placing a plastic stork on the City Hall lawn.

Does it get any more fun?

As The Third Floor Turns, Day 14

Tony Castro weighs in on the Villaraigosa soap opera saying that based on the experience of politicians such as Rudy Giulinani and John McCain, the Mayor's divorce and alleged infidelity may not have a long term impact on his career. Noting the rumors discussed here on this blog as well as KFI's John and Ken show are part of the "feeding frenzy" when these types of issues come up but in today's more permissive society the public may not hold personal foibles against elected officials.

Of course if a pregnancy is involved it's my view all bets are off. While dalliances with another woman is one thing, someone of the Mayor's age and stature fathering a child with another woman while married signifies a sense of recklessness.

In other news, a very credible source tells us that an individual who works for KNBC says the alleged "television personality" in question is not just a recent relationship but allegedly had a relationship with Villaraigosa when he was State Assembly Speaker, during a previous separation from his wife.

Of course if the Mayor came out with details and told us the truth this would all go away.

Mayor Sam's Hotsheet for Thursday

Hey kids due to the Kevin James interview Wednesday night, no time for a Hotsheet so I'll let you guys blog, spin and post graffiti on this article.

Random thoughts:

It was an amazing experience to sit in studio with Kevin James at KRLA. Kevin is a true gentleman and a consulate professional. Watching him in studio you see how hard he works to produce a great show. And his behind the microphone team are a great bunch of guys. I am sorry we didn't get time to take calls, but there's lots going on.

Due to what Kevin calls "The Perfect Storm" of June 2007 in Los Angeles politics, analytics here are through the roof. Compared to the same three day period last week visits to the blog are up 151.24%, pageviews are up 210.61%, average time on site is up 39.44%, referrals from the Westside White Guy up 244% and traffic from computers on the City of Los Angeles network is up a whopping 464.81% (yea who said the 3rd floor isn't spinning, cutting and pasting?). Also the top keyword search term bringing folks to the blog - after various combinations of "Mayor Sam" - both last week and this week - is you guessed it - Mirthala Salinas, this week up 580% over last week. Thanks to everyone for their support and to all our bloggers - Zuma Dogg, Red Spot, Joe M., Joe B., Walter and AW who've been cranking out the content.

If you listened to Kevin Wednesday night he spoke of a caller who privately told him a few months back about one of the the topics contained in SONCHA WATCH. We are hoping this lady will call Kevin and elaborate on how she knew this months before any of us. I told Kevin that she had this story months before anyone else tells me, well, uh, it might more likely to be true than anyone thought. Like they say, where there's smoke...

So I am off to dreamland but feel free to blog away on the Kevin James show, Antonio, Rocky, Baca, Weiss or any of the other characters who are part of our daily soap opera here on the Mayor Sam blog.

"Loss of Enthusiasm" for the Mayor

Privately many of Mayor Villaraigosa's longtime supporters are expressing a "loss of enthusiasm" for the Mayor in light of the recent announcement his wife has filed for divorce and rumors of alleged marital infidelity. Duke Helfand, writing in the LA Times, says that allies of the Mayor are disappointed and angry with him that he "played into a stereotype about macho Latino males and that some of his public comments about his wife, Corina, have appeared disingenuous."

Click read more to see the rest.


But it gets worse for the Mayor. Columnist Mona Gable is calling on Presidential candidate, New York Senator Hillary Clinton to "dump Antonio" as one of her national campaign chairs. Gable says:

He's not all that great a mayor. He couldn't get his school reform bill through giving him power over LAUSD, even though he had several buddies in Sacramento carrying his water. The notorious May Day melee where the LAPD was caught beating up immigrants occurred on his watch. He acted like LA had the Olympics in the bag--then when it didn't come through, pouted like a two-year-old.

Hillary is under the illusion that she's getting a rising political star--a future governor of California! But she might want to do some old-fashioned reporting. Antonio isn't much liked even among LA's Latino political elite. He burned a lot of bridges in his relentless quest to become mayor.

Many of our readers have questioned where the Los Angeles Times has been in taking a critical view of the Mayor's divorce announcement. However, it now appears with the Helfand article and a column by Steve Lopez, the paper could be abandoning it's "cheerleader" role it assumed in the past.

Even with the tarnish on the Mayor with his marital woes, he can take solace in that - unless he actually does become Hillary's running mate - its at least two to three years before he stands for election somewhere.

But it's not all bad news for the Mayor - he did get a medal from UCLA Friday.

If You're An Avid TV Watcher...

Red Spot posted it and yes it was reported on John and Ken that the rumor swirling around City Hall is that the reason for the Mayor's divorce from his wife is not just irreconcilable differences, not just an alleged affair, but an alleged baby.

So if the alleged girlfriend is with an alleged child, who is she (allegedly)?

The buzz on our blog for days has been that the Mayor's alleged and rumored girlfriend is Telemundo reporter Mirthala Salinas. But that's only a rumor and we claim no knowledge of this alleged fact.

KFI newsman Eric Leonard implied to John and Ken that the person in question is apparently well known to members of the local press and said "if you're an avid TV watcher" you may be familiar with the alleged girlfriend, leading to speculation the person could be a television reporter (allegedly). Leonard's point was that if this person is indeed allegedly with child, it would be difficult to hide given her alleged prominence.

John & Ken and Leonard also seemed to believe that Villaraigosa will shortly issue a statement confirming the alleged pregnancy.

On the other hand, a former Villaraigosa staffer has told the Sister City that the Mayor allegedly had a vasectomy in 1994 following the birth of his youngest child. I guess we will find out soon.

Now why is this important? If true, it represents a serious lack of judgment on behalf of the Mayor. At this critical juncture in the City's history, we need a mayor who is focused and plugged in, not living a soap opera.

Stay tuned to this alleged blog for more updates as to these allegations.

Mayor V Divorce Update

Steve Lopez tells the Mayor to shut up. Lopez says that the Mayor can't both ask for privacy about his personal life and keep calling press conferences and giving interviews about his failed marriage.

Patt Morrison doesn't care about Antonio's breakup. But while she's at she alludes to an extra-marital affair during the term of former Mayor Tom Bradley.

Change in plans. The Mayor will stay at Getty House while Corina and the kids will move back to CD14.

WitnessLA.com wants to make the Mayor a deal. They'll give him the privacy he wants if he submits to an ankle bracelet or a security camera so we know where he is and what he's doing at all times.

Good and Bad News for Mayor V

In light of Mayor's Villaraigosa's wife Corina filing for divorce, the "eclectic" Christian blog Verum Serum speculates the cause - despite non-denials from the Mayor - is marital infidelity on the Mayor's part. The blog takes a look at the Mayor's character and makes the very straightforward observation that if his wife can't trust him, how can we?

Some good news however for the Mayor is that the California Majority Report still rates him at the top of the list of Democratic gubernatorial hopefuls, with Attorney General and former Governor Jerry Brown nipping at his heels.

LA's Newest Bachelor

Questions and fall-out since the announcement last week that Mayor Villaraigosa and his wife Corina were seperating.

Among the items:
The Mayor is expected to address the separation in a Monday press conference.

The Mayor is moving back to CD14 - he will return to his Mount Washington home while his wife and children remain in the official Mayoral residence, Getty House, in Windsor Square.

A genealogy blog wonders if the Mayor will be allowed to continue to use the hybridized name that a younger Antonio Vilar, Jr. and Corina Raigosa came up with years ago.

LA is going to have a single mayor pretty soon - something we haven't had since the days of Dick Riordan - and an experience the folks of New York have previously had. I am sure many of you would like to start posting your a-list of the young ladies that an eligible bachelor like Mayor V would like to date. Remember, the Mayor has one of the best buddies you can troll for chicks with - none other than former President William Jefferson Clinton.

Of course, the Mayor does have higher political aspirations. He may want to read this article before he does anything further.