If anyone thinks you can just decide to run for elected office in Southern California is fooling themselves.
Unless you get tapped on the shoulder by the powers in charge -- either get out of the way -- or prepare for the wrath. In this case, unless you are on Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa's roster -- you're gonna get muscled out of the race.
That's what just happened in the "Battle of the Assembly Titans". A three way grudge match, that was over before first round bell.
Current termed-out Assembly Speaker, Fabian "Knuckhead" Nunez doesn't have enough political muscle anymore to hold his own in a nursery school sandbox, so that means his candidate -- Ricardo Lara has been knocked out of the race by Mayor Antonio. (Hey, he can't help it...he's not related to Villaraigosa.)
And Gil Cedillo's Deputy, Arturo Chavez hopefully negotiated a good deal for himself, before he steps/stepped out of the Assembly race. (Not that Villaraigosa is know for honoring deals. But better to be a small fish in Antonio's big pond...than your own fish in no pond, you can only hope.)
Oh yeah, Antonio's anointed candidate who will be your new Assemblymember pulling the levers for his cousin Antonio is John Perez. A politically savvy guy, but not a guy who is from the streets of the district and probably has zero street vibe compared to all the other candidates.
Michael Aldapa, a local hometown candidate from Boyle Heights is still in the race. He knows a lot of people in the community and I'm sure he has lots of grassroots support. But he isn't Antonio's cousin.
So to sum it up...Villaraigosa "negotiated" the upcoming Assembly election in AD 46 into a one man race.
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