Barring a challenge by Bob Hertzberg, it looks like May's run-off election will be a repeat of that from four years ago, with Antonio Villaraigosa vs. the incumbent Jim Hahn.

I strongly endorse Jim Hahn and I urge you to support him. While Hahn has his faults, they are insignificant in comparison to the effect that Villaraigosa would have on Los Angeles, California, and the U.S.

For an example of what might happen, consider this bit from August 1999:

...Two weeks ago, Antonio Villaraigosa, Speaker of the California Assembly and a leading candidate to be L.A.'s first modern Latino mayor, publicly thanked Mexican president Ernesto Zedillo for having "great impact in defeating Proposition 187" (the anti-illegal-immigration measure that passed in 1994 with almost 60 percent of the vote but has since been killed in the courts). The Los Angeles Times's story quoted Mexico's Deputy Foreign Minister, Juan Rebolledo, to the effect that Villaraigosa "gave [Zedillo] thanks on behalf of Mexican Americans." The Times then waxed enthusiastic about how Villaraigosa's comments heralded the "rise of a new phenomenon: cross-border politics," and what one expert called the "silent integration" of California and Mexico.

But there were at least four things conspicuously wrong with what Villaraigosa said: 1) It wasn't true; Zedillo didn't have a "great impact." Prop. 187 was struck down by a federal judge and then abandoned by the newly-elected Democratic Governor, Gray Davis -- a 187 opponent -- who "settled" the lawsuit by basically letting the judge's ruling stand; 2) Zedillo is head of a foreign power -- do we want American politicians encouraging him to meddle in California's affairs, especially to overturn the will of California voters? 3) Why thank Zedillo "on behalf of Mexican Americans?" Villaraigosa is Speaker of the state assembly -- doesn't he represent all Californians (many of whom were non-Mexican-Americans who opposed 187)? Villaraigosa's bald appeal to cross-border ethnic solidarity would be troubling even if it hadn't had a triumphalist "we beat the gringos" undertone. Mexican diplomat Robelledo said "I was surprised he was so explicit;" and 4) Zedillo's government is not exactly a model deserving of fawning flattery...

Is there really much more to add?

But, in case you need more, see MEChA, Villaraigosa And The LA Mayoral Campaign. (Villaraigosa is the former president of the UCLA chapter of MEChA.) For more on the general movement of which Villaraigosa is a part, see this, this, or this.

Expect the L.A. Times, L.A. Daily News, and other papers to continue to ignore Villaraigosa's past. You can help by writing them and suggesting they tell their readers the whole truth for a change.