THE LOW-DOWN ON THE TOWN Impudent, uncensored account By C. Castle

Villaraigosa's Westside Agenda

Last week it was a promise of $25 million of bonds for the preservation of
the Ballona Wetlands. This week it's the fending off of the 424 overlay
code.

Assembly Speaker Antonio Villaraigosa seems to be getting all the Westside
coverage these days. Hey, doesn't he represent a district in East Los
Angeles?

What happened to our own state legislators, the ones we elected over this
side of town. Hello? Sen. Tom Hayden? Assemblywoman Sheila Kuehl? How come they're not the ones touting bond measures and promising faster dialing?

Well, Villaraigosa is the unannounced Democratic contender for Mayor of Los
Angeles who suffers from name-recognition-deficit disorder among Westside
voters. And, heck, he is the Assembly speaker, after all.

Clearly, that title must buy a man all sorts of privileges. Like making press splashes with issues that matter a lot in someone's district - just not your own. And taking credit for things that, well, aren't entirely your own doing.

When the San Fernando Valley needed funding for its secession study,
Villaraigosa worked with Valley lawmakers to make sure the money was in the
budget. And when the Harbor area discovered it was short funds for the same
secession study project, Villaraigosa was quick to assure voters in the San
Pedro area that he would make sure their study got funding, too.

Looks like he'll come through.

Now Villaraigosa is turning up on Westside turf. Last week, he earmarked $25
million for the Ballona Wetlands for a state park bond that will be on the
March 2000 ballot. At one time, Hayden had a park bond proposal in the
works, too; somehow his ideas ended up being absorbed into Villaraigosa's.
Then we hear Thursday that Villaraigosa saved the day by writing a letter to
Vice President Al Gore and asking him to intervene in the California Public
Utilities Commission's proposal to create another area code on the Westside. The CPUC ended up voting to scrap 11-digit dialing altogether.

Villaraigosa also pats himself on the back for "securing passage" of an
Assembly bill that will set guidelines on how telephone numbers are
allocated in the future. The thing is, Assemblyman Wally Knox was the one
behind that legislation from the get-go.

Take a look at the Assembly's web site -- www.ass.ca.gov -- and do a history
search of AB 406.Villaraigosa's name shows up on the bill for the first time
this month -- eight months after it was introduced.

And even though the official version of the legislation lists the authors as
Knox-Villaraigosa, the Speaker put his own name first on on the news release
he sent out claiming the overlay code victory.

All of a sudden, AB 406 has become the Villaraigosa-Knox bill. "(The) Speaker's efforts were crucial to today's historic victory for consumers and businesses," reads a news release issued from Villaraigosa's office.

What about crediting Kuehl for chairing that oh-so-boring public hearing in
Santa Monica several months ago, giving the public, local electeds and
business owners a chance to air their feelings in front of CPUC members
about the overlay code? Where was Villaraigosa that night anyway?
Look, we're not complaining. Seven digit dialing is better than 11. And who
can argue with saving more of the Ballona Wetlands?

But doesn't Villaraigosa have pressing concerns to take care of in his own
district?