First there was all that unhappiness among some African-American leaders with Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa's school takeover plan, specifically not having consulted with them on the legislation -- with the mayor ultimately scrambling to explain his rationale and meeting privately with prominent black leaders to repair relations.
Was the mayor's relationship with the African-American community -- critical to predecessor Jim Hahn's erosion of power and equally critical to Villaraigosa's political future -- possibly a political Achilles Heel?
The LAUSD board apparently wondered about that, too, moving to partly co-opt Villaraigosa and his district takeover by naming an African-American admiral, with stature and charisma -- "A Black Antonio?" the L.A. Weekly's David Zahniser even asked -- as superintendent and forcing Antonio to play ball or risk alienating his black support.
Now comes the mayor's veto of the $2.7 million settlement to a black firefighter, which some African Americans have turned into a racial discrimination issue. It all makes for an especially critical time in Villaraigosa's tenure and his continuing finessing of his relationship with the city's African-Americans, something no one seems willing to explore except David Z. once again.
Zahniser reports in the current L.A. Weekly:
"Mindful of the speed with which African-American voters abandoned former mayor James Hahn in 2005 after he refused to reappoint Parks as police chief, Villaraigosa tried to deliver a nuanced defense of his veto. In e-mails to other elected officials, the mayor said he doesn’t necessarily oppose the $2.7 million settlement; he just wants a review."