If we are all still alive in 2013 - (remember, the Mayans predict very bad things in 2012) - there will be a spirited election to replace Antonio Villaraigosa as Mayor of Los Angeles.
2013 might seem like a long way off, but if this City wishes to repair the damage and destruction currently being wrought upon it by the incompetents on the City Council, then maybe a quick trip to the future will give voters some ideas on choices who might have the ability to repair the damage.
Breaking down the favorites....
RICK CARUSO
The wealthy developer toyed with the idea of running in 2009, and I am quite certain he regrets not entering the race. If he had dropped a few million dollars on the race, he probably could have beaten Villaraigosa in a blowout. As it turned out, the nine unknown and underfunded candidates held Villaraigosa to a 55-45 victory, severely damaging his career and ending his Gubernatorial hopes and dreams.
Caruso is going to be one of the top favorites should he decide to run.
One of his biggest assets will be his wealth, along with the fact that he is an outsider who is not currently an elected official. Most of the City Council Members who wish to run will be tainted by the stink of the budget crisis here in L.A., as most of them played a direct part in it.
ERIC GARCETTI
The Council President is also a top favorite. Garcetti has the right resumé to run for Mayor and be successful. He has a great education, served as a military officer, and his father was a famous politician here in L.A. for many years. These things all help. I have found Garcetti to be very personable and accommodating and he seems to avoid scandals. He will also be one of the top favorites in 2013, should he decide to run...which I think is already a given.
CARMEN "NUCH" TRUTANICH
"Nuch" Trutanich is currently the City Attorney and seems to be taking bold steps in Los Angeles.
The City is fighting and winning cases they previously would have given up on.
He is building a reputation as a crime buster.
Assistant City Attorney David Berger says that Nuch isn't running for Mayor, but 2013 is still a long way off and Nuch might see things differently by then.
I was probably the first person in the City of Los Angeles to comment that Nuch has a career arc that looks like it might take him into the Mayor's Office eventually.
I freely admit to being a supporter of his and think the City would be a lot better off with him in charge, compared to the current occupant we have now.
TOM LABONGE
Tom LaBonge seems like a nice enough guy, but I worry about his mental sharpness. I've been to too many Council Meetings where he can't even keep track of what subject is being discussed or what they are voting on. He repeatedly asks to be told what subject they are discussing and what they are voting on. Garcetti never has to ask those questions. La Bonge might run, but I think his victory would be a bit unlikely.
JAN PERRY
I am hoping this is a prank...but no...it does indeed appear as though the Council Member I love to call "Comrade Jan Perry" wants to run for Mayor. I find this a rich source of humor. Perry has Communistic tendencies which would be totally destructive for this City. She tried to ban fast food in her own district, simply because she felt her voters were too fat, dumb, and stupid to make their own nutritional choices without supervision from her. She interfered in the Free Market and destroyed personal freedoms with one quick move. She has no business being Mayor, and she won't win. But I hope she does run. Great comedy in it.
Remember when she asked voters of the City to donate money to cover the costs of policing the corporate event funeral of one of the biggest selling recording artists of all time?
Classic.
WENDY GREUEL
The former Council Member that some like to call "The Pixie" had a decent year in 2009, winning an overwhelming election victory for City Controller. I am not really sure how competent Greuel is, but she seems to be well-liked by many people in the City. I think she would do reasonably well in a Mayoral Election, but she might want to sit this one out because the competition will be tough and she can easily win re-election as Controller if she doesn't make some type of royal screw-up while on the job. Her candidacy also takes some prestige loss by buddying around with the Mayor too much and her endorsed replacement Christine Essel getting a one-way ticket back to Paramount Pictures.
I am sure there are a few I have left out, but all these current politicos are tainted by the stench of the budget crisis, and if the City has to start firing thousands of employees and reducing services, then you can guarantee there will be voter anger and payback waiting at the polls in 2013.
ODDS (updated yet again!)
Garcetti 2-1
Caruso 3-1
Trutanich 4-1
Yaroslavsky 6-1
Hertzberg 8-1
Johnson 8-1
Moore 10-1
Greuel 12-1
La Bonge 20-1
Krekorian 30-1
Padilla 40-1
Galatzan 50-1
Perry 70-1
Parks 100-1
Alarcon 100-1
