But in the end, I do think that politicians, especially elected officials, should try to avoid becoming romantically involved with someone who would raise conflict of interest issues.

People continue to be outraged by this violent act that killed Luis Santos, a 22 year old college student. If you want to hear some podcasts with interviews of Mr. Santos, the father of the victim, I suggest you listen to these here at the John and Ken show. I’m usually an NPR kind of girl, but John and Ken raise some good points about this case. Specifically, note how Nuñez got a $90,000 board of director job with Zenith National Insurance (a workers comp insurer) and joins a Republican lobbying group, Mercury. The arrest wasn’t made until after those jobs had been extended to Fabian Nuñez, while the crime had occurred two months ago. They also suggest that maybe there is a Mirthala Salinas curse, which is kind of amusing, since both Fabian Nuñez and Mayor Villaraigosa dated this woman and have faced and are currently dealing with family turmoil.

Ironically, former Assembly Speaker Fabian Nuñez sponsored a bill that created state Office of Gang and Youth Violence Policy. I wonder if he even read this bill or the research supporting it. I mean, how can you put your name on something as a legislator, without doing your homework about that very subject and maybe looking into your own life for any signs?

Another issue that John and Ken brought up on their show, which I agree with to a certain extent is this statement issued by State Senator Gloria Romero, “People are very empathetic, very concerned and reaching out to Fabian, saying ‘We grieve for you as a father going through this at this time.’ My hope is people will understand this is not a politician, this is not a political player, this is a father going through one of the most difficult issues to confront his family.” I hate to break it to you Senator Romero, but Fabian Nuñez is still a political player. He didn’t leave the assembly to go manufacture widgets or clean toilets. Grieving for colleagues in the capitol is fine, but Senator Romero could have said something expressing grief for the family who lost a son. Jailed or free, Fabian Nuñez and his wife Maria still have their child; the Santos family won’t see their son again.

Photo Credit: Mark Boster / Los Angeles Times 12/04/08, Maria, Teresa, and Fabian Nuñez with attorney Bradley Patton

Esteban Nuñez, along with three other 19 year olds, were taken to San Diego yesterday and will be charged with murder and assault with a deadly weapon. Allegedly, the four young men got into a fight with Luis Santos, the 22 year old SDSU student and victim, and left him after the stabbing altercation on October 4, 2008.

This arrest says a lot about highfalutin Fabian Nuñez and his priorities. Sure, his kid is innocent until proven guilty, but I wonder why the elder Nuñez has not done a better job of teaching his child to avoid this kind of conflict. I, along with other Latinos, have managed to go through life without being accused of murder. Don’t you think that having a father in a high profile public office would make you a little extra cautious?

This tragic case brings me to another point often discussed on this blog, the building of Latino leadership. If our elected officials have problems like this, it is no wonder we can’t build any lasting familial political legacies. What happened to encouraging excellence and having goals? Esteban Nuñez’s behavior, as reported, sounds more like that of a cholito or son of an old veterano homeboy instead of how one would expect a child of a regarded leader in the Latino community to act.

While I haven’t been a big fan of Fabian Nuñez over the past few years, I do feel sorry for him and his wife. Remember that at one point, Nuñez and his wife Maria Robles had divorced and then remarried (and somewhere in between Fabian dated Mirthala Salinas, ex-girlfriend of Mayor Villar). Perhaps the stress of this divorce, the demands of extensive political travel, and shopping for wine in France and lugging it back in that Louis Vuitton luggage were too much for Fabian Nuñez to handle in addition to parenting his son.

How much do you want to bet that Fabian Nuñez is calling all of his lawyer friends, judges, and contributors in the San Diego area right now trying to get a handle on this? Having observed this man, I am inclined to think that he will try to cut a deal for his son and have Esteban implicate and point fingers at the kids whose parents don’t have the kind of influence or money that he does.

Photo Credit:  Esteban Nuñez’s myspace, (Esteban on far left and solo in the photo with the black and blue t-shirt)

The Pew Hispanic Center is reporting that Obama won 78% of the Latino vote in New Jersey, which is well above the 66% of the Latino vote that he took nationally. This makes me wonder if President-Elect Obama will involve a Puerto Rican in his cabinet as Seneca speculates, since New Jersey is one of the states with the largest Puerto Rican populations. He could also tap Senator Menendez (D-NJ) or Congressman Sires (D-NJ) for leadership positions as well, but those names haven’t been floating around. Both Menendez and Sires are both Cuban-Americans.

Congresswoman Loretta Sanchez caused a stir last week with her slate mailer for Democratic candidates, which was photographed at her polling place and later published in the Orange County Register. After the big stink she made about voting for Hillary Clinton in the roll call over the summer, I wonder if she even voted for Obama. Only she knows. But it was encouraging to see her holding a mailer that had Obama’s name on it in big bold print. Register readers were criticizing the photo implying that Congresswoman Sanchez was campaigning for Senator Obama at the polling place, which is illegal. I’m kind of surprised that she brought in a slate mailer instead of the actual sample ballot, but whatever floats her boat. Congresswoman Sanchez doesn’t strike me as a big reader, and maybe this was easier for her than cracking open the actual sample ballot to read the pros and cons of the initiatives and candidate statements. She did look nice in her “Nancy Reagan red” suit when she showed up to the polls though. And I have to give her props for co-sponsoring the Freedom of Choice Act, which would eliminate many state imposed restrictions on abortions.

The Democratic Party is now looking to invest resources in Texas. This is in part because of Latino population growth that is fueling multi-ethnic coalitions. As The Dallas Morning News reported a few weeks ago, the Latino baby boom will have big ramifications for the lonestar state. It would be an irony to send GWB back to a bluer Texas, especially as he grows old back in Crawford.

Last week Puerto Rico elected the island’s first Republican governor in forty years, Luis Fortuno. The previous governor has been indicted for campaign finance fraud.

And finally, Congresswoman Nydia Velazquez  (D-NY) is going to seek the Chairmanship of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus. When Loretta Sanchez’s office heard about this, she expressed an interest in rejoining the group (most of us here remember how Congressman “Working Joe” Baca called her a whore and how she resigned thereafter). I don’t know too much about Congresswoman Velazquez other than she comes from higher education and that she has a documented history of clinical depression. I will only hope that Velazquez is leaps and bounds above Joe Baca in legislative ability and advocacy. Maybe she could also lessen the stigma of mental health issues in our community.

Photo Credit: EFE 102108, via La Opinión

Well, the editors of the Pasadena Star-News think that Mayor Villaraigosa has blown it with a transportation measure to extend the San Gabriel Valley’s Gold Line, which currently connects Pasadena to downtown Los Angeles.

Villaraigosa shot down funding for the Gold Line extension into Monclair because he doesn’t feel that the Metropolitan Transportation Agency would dole out the money that it has in a manner that would be equitable for the San Gabriel Valley. Instead, the mayor wants to use a half cent sales tax increase on LA County residents to help fund railway projects. Three of the five LA County supervisors don’t approve of Villaraigosa’s plan, including his former mentor Gloria Molina.

I don’t think that higher taxes are going to be popular with anyone in California right now, especially in Los Angeles County, where the cost of living is already much higher than the rest of the country. Additionally, Governor Schwarzenegger and the legislature will likely approve a one cent sales tax increase to close the state budget loophole.

Two Latinas in Congress representing the San Gabriel Valley area, Hilda Solis and Grace Napolitano, recently sat down with Congressmen David Dreier (R) and Adam Schiff (D) to express support for the Gold Line Foothill Extension. I agree with the Pasadena Star-News. Let the local congressional delegation take care of this, and perhaps Villaraigosa can work on an issue where he has more local support. If he wants to be a successful candidate for governor, Villaraigosa needs to hit a home run on one of the big issues he tried to tackle when he was first elected to the mayor’s office. The education system and housing crisis are still big problems in LA. Maybe he can devote more time to those issues.

Photo Credit: USA Today, 06/15/05 from back when Villaraigosa was first elected mayor. Doesn’t it look like he’s flashing his “American Me” pose? I only wonder who the Mayor’s cronies mentioned in the linked Pasadena Star-News editorial look like. Are they as scary as Santana’s (Eddie Olmos character) gang?

Check it out:

When rumors started to surface last fall about a mistress, I would just hope that it was gossip or maybe fodder to counter Ann Coulter’s remark that Edwards was a “faggot.” Once again, Coulter was wrong. But now that the story has broke and Edwards has acknowledged his affair with Rielle Hunter, I think that other politicians, especially Latinos aiming to climb the political ranks, should take note of this mess and try not to make similar mistakes. Just last summer, we were lamenting Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa’s affair with Mirthala Salinas, which weakened his credibility and ended his marriage.

All of this drama with mistresses and girlfriends seems like it could be avoided if these men went to places where prostitution was legalized. Both Canada and Mexico have legalized prostitution with certain restrictions, and both places are relatively close for a politician of means to hop on a plane, get serviced professionally, and return home without facing the wrath of the media, the Christian conservatives, and their angry supporters. Of course, I would hope that couples work through their personal problems before resorting to this sort of thing, but if that isn’t possible, why not take this approach? I believe that contemplating the costs and time away to make a short trip to Canada or Mexico might dissuade some politicos from even considering cheating on their partners.

Another thing that has bothered me about this affair and the aftermath has to do with the doom and gloom coming from so many Democrats. Yes, John Edwards royally screwed himself, but John McCain’s whole career has been built as a result of his own affair in which he hooked up with Cindy Hensley. As Cenk Uygur at the Huffington Post points out, “Why are McCain’s actions any more excusable than Edwards?”

James Carville, former Clinton aide and strategist, offered this on Friday, “Certainly, his political career is in shambles. It’s not going to come back. I humanly feel sorry for Mrs. Edwards. I feel sorry for the Edwards children. But I’m not shocked.” This sort of statement is completely uncalled for, as Carville watched President Bill Clinton lie under oath regarding his own sexual relations with a certain intern, get impeached, and then go on to finish his presidential term. I’m beginning to think that James Carville likes to shoot his mouth off for shock value, kind of like he did in calling Bill Richardson “Judas.”

As with other affairs, I think that time will erase some of the hurt and damage that John Edwards had done, and I hope that he can re-group and continue dedicating himself to eradicating poverty in America. Yes, he was reckless, and his calculated risk imploded when he was being mentioned as a possible candidate for a cabinet position in an Obama administration. And I can’t believe that he decided to run for president, jeopardizing the Democratic Party’s chances for a win in November, but it’s done. Time to move on, and most importantly learn from his mistake.

She also expressed regret for hurting the parties involved.

All of this makes the Mayor of Los Angeles look rather cheesy in the sense that he gets involved with a woman who seems to fall in and out of love so quickly, but I honestly think that Villaraigosa didn’t care to be married. He wanted an out, as he had a history of infidelity. It just would have been more politically expedient to have kept the Salinas relationship out of the public realm. Out of all the women in Los Angeles to become involved with?!

I wish Ms. Salinas and her fiance the best. May this relationship last longer than her affair with the Mayor.

I thought that this quote was interesting:

“What happens in Nevada will impact California, and impact the future of the nation. I’m a father. I’m a grandfather. My grandfather got here 100 years ago, and I can tell you we need to change course today. And here in Nevada, Nevadans are going to play a huge role to make sure we do change course.” Villaraigosa said.

Who knew that Mr. Playboy himself was a grandpa? I know that he has grown daughters, but come on now, after his recent family life debacle, why is he even touting himself as a “family man” again? As if that grandfatherly wisdom has given him the ability to read the political tea leaves?! Oh puhleaze! I wonder if he took Mirthala on this trip, hmm…

Since I started this blog with the big Antonio Villaraigosa (ehr, Villarsalinas) affair, it is only fitting that I mention that Mirthala Salinas, the reporter/girlfriend, who broke the news of the affair on Telemundo, has been reassigned to Riverside in the Inland Empire bureau. I was of the opinion that the station should just fire her, but I guess going to the IE is an appropriate demotion. Now that she’s headed that way… who do you think she’ll hook up with next? Here’s a picture of the Riverside City Council.

Considering there are so many Latinos in the IE, they seem to be lacking in representation on many of the city councils. Hmm… Mirthala seems to prefer Latin men. Or maybe she will go a little older and hook it up with Congressman Joe Baca or maybe even his aspiring politico son Jeremy? Decisions, decisions.