The Resistible Rise of Antonio V
By Jim
Smith
The hero of a million kids in the
barrios is in trouble. But unlike Superman struggling to overcome the kryptonite
planted by an evil villain, Antonio's fall is one of his own making.
His fake fairy tale romance with Corina
Raigosa, with his resulting name change from Antonio Ramon Villar, Jr. to
Antonio Villaraigosa ended officially on June 8, followed in July by the
announcement that he had been having an affair with Telemundo anchor Mirthala
Salinas. Should he now be called Antonio Villasalinas? The affair was an open
secret to insiders at L.A.'s city hall (as is his rumored - but yet to be
announced - affair with another young woman), but to Venetians and others in the
hinterlands it was a shock.
Here in
Venice, where free love was practically invented, not many of us care about
Antonio's affairs except as more examples of his duplicity. In 2005, Antonio had
seemed like a savior to Venetians, winning 74 percent of the vote against
incumbent Jim Hahn. Yet the bloom was quickly off the rose as the new mayor
began acting much like the old mayor.
A few months after his inauguration,
it was disclosed that Antonio had ridden a corporate jet owned by Ameriquest to
the Detroit funeral of civil rights icon, Rosa Parks, no less. And just
recently, it came out that he had spent a few hours with Mirthala Salinas before
climbing on the waiting jet. Did he tell Corina that he had to leave early to
catch an airliner?
In spite of his
lowly beginnings in the working class neighborhood of City Terrace, Antonio has
always been a player. He had already fathered two girls before he married Corina
in 1987. He was sometimes in trouble with the authorities as he was growing up.
But he and boyhood chum, Gilbert Cedillo, dreamed of someday playing in the big
leagues of politics. Unfortunately for Antonio, he thought he could play with
the big boys, and be a player, at the same time.
He took to wearing expensive suits,
driving new cars and, with his entourage, being the center of attraction at tony
restaurants and nightclubs from Pasadena to Venice. At Peoples College of Law,
he was a classmate of Maria Elena Durazo, who shared much of his ambition. She
later became the Executive Secretary of the L.A. AFL-CIO, after her husband
Miguel Contreras, who had held the office, died of a heart attack under unusual
circumstances. Maria Elena could not be part of Antonio's entourage because of
her gender. It's for boys only. But Antonio did form a firm alliance with Fabian
Nuñez, who as political director was the brains of the AFL-CIO's election
strategy.
Fabian and Antonio remain
close today. When Antonio was termed out as Speaker of the Assembly, he passed
it on to Fabian. When Fabian's affair with Mithala was over, he passed her on to
Antonio. Fabian, always the smartest kid on the block, saw a train wreck down
the track and returned to his wife.
Many things get passed around within
our unaccountable power structure. But one of the entourage refused to play.
Even though he shared a lifetime of association with Antonio, Gilbert Cedillo
was not willing to step aside for the future mayor who had set his eyes on the
22nd State Senate seat in 2001 for which Gilbert had already announced.
Cedillo, who had been one of the most
respected labor leaders in L.A. before he entered politics felt Antonio had gone
too far. Gilbert refused to back down, forcing Antonio to run for city council.
He saw Antonio's actions as a betrayal of trust. When Antonio ran for mayor in
2005, Gilbert endorsed Mayor Hahn, thereby announcing the end of their 30 year
friendship.
Antonio's fall from grace
won him a “D” grade on his mid-term report card in last month's
Beachhead. Unconfirmed sources said that he was a no-show at the Venice Fest
dedication of the Venice sign on Windward Blvd. last month because he didn't
want to get booed as he has been in other parts of the city lately. But it
wasn't Antonio's dalliances that turned many Venetians against him.
His failure to spend political capital
in support of the Lincoln Place tenants when they were evicted and turning his
back on the South Central Farmers when they were dispossessed, not to mention
leaving City Council Member Bill Rosendahl twisting in the wind on his proposed
moratorium on condo conversions had a much bigger impact than where he spends
his nights.
Perhaps if some of the
South Central Farmers had looked like Mithala, they would still be farming. And
if some of the Lincoln Place tenants had private jets to make available to
Antonio, they would still be enjoying their garden apartments.
Antonio's story is one that Hollywood,
and generations of movie goers, know very well. It starts with a poor kid from
the slums who has great dreams for improving the lives of his people. He rises
to the top of the heap, but is seduced by the power, money and women he finds
there. His people are devastated by his betrayal. At last, a crisis happens that
makes him see the light and fight for his people, sometimes at great personal
risk. By the late 70s, the genre was so overdone that Steve Martin made a parody
of it in the movie, The
Jerk.
Antonio is not a jerk. But is
he destined to redeem himself like the heros of earlier movies? Or will he end
up like the subject of Bertolt Brecht's play, “The Resistible Rise of
Arturo Ui” who becomes more and more disreputable until he ends up the
paragon of evil? And will we watch the drama unfold like passive movie goers or
will we hold Antonio, and all the others, accountable to those of us who voted
with such high hopes?
Posted: Wed - August 1, 2007 at 12:00 PM