Back in mid-March I posted a piece on this page (Antonio Agonistes) suggesting that no one should underestimate the ability of Antonio Villaraigosa to revert to form, whether it’s in his taste for women, or his unerring grace in bouncing back from adversity. What Gavin, Jerry, Steve, Meg, and certainly, Tom Campbell, fail to realize, is that the Mayor of Los Angeles grew up looking down at the poverty from which he fought his way out. His world is upside-down by most perspectives in that he transcends the thin moralities and hypocrisies of standard politics. He’s a street kid with an attitude and an asphalt eye-view of the California political landscape. He’s a survivor.
Trumped up Los Angeles Magazine covers notwithstanding, Antonio hardly sees himself as a failure, quite the contrary. In the wake of specious journalism, he’s gone right ahead and done what he likes, whether we like it or not, to borrow a phrase from the current mayor of San Francisco.
Speculation about the fallout of his latest love interest negatively affecting his standing in the Latino community may be wishful thinking on the part of his opponents. I’m no expert on Hispanic cultural ethics, but it seems to me that there are a lot of guys out there who, regardless of ethnic heritage, wish they were in his loafers.
Watching Antonio march out of his meeting Tuesday with the governor, accompanied by the mayors of Sacramento, San Diego and Santa Ana, I could not help but wonder why Mayor Newsom was not in the room fighting for his constituents as well. It might have been interesting to watch Antonio staring down Gavin while never having to look up.
I don’t know if MAV will make the decision to try and become GAV, but I caution those who dismiss him too early not to count him out — just yet.