So now it's official. Our dear mayor has been having a longterm affair with a Telemundo reporter. And not just any reporter, but a 35-year-old hottie named Malitha Salinas who covered the 54-year-old Villaraigosa when she was still a political reporter. Talk about access. Way back in 2005, the mayor was seen at her condo, a bottle of wine and a bag of groceries in hand. I wonder what she interviewed Antonio about?
Whatever you can say about Salinas' lack of judgment in boyfriends, her ethics as a journalist are not so dead-on either. I guess she missed the part in Journalism 101 where you're not supposed to sleep with your sources, and then lie about it. But I guess she was too busy doing her hair or something.
When the mayor was forced to admit at a press conference last month that his wife of 20 years had finally had enough, was kicking him out of the mayor's mansion, guess who appeared on-air, not two hours later, to give us news of this staggering, shocking development? Yes, the "rumors were true," breathlessly confirmed Salinas.
Of course, Antonio is even more culpable because he deliberately deceived voters. And make no mistake: his aides knew about the affair all along. Last January when our camera-hungry mayor was spied not wearing his wedding ring, his handlers gave a particularly lame explanation. The mayor had "lost weight," and the ring was at the jewelers getting re-sized.
Uh-huh. A five-year-old could come up with a better lie than that.
Needless to say, Antonio's "Independence Day" confession isn't playing well to the masses here in LA. Especially after his self-serving press conference last month when he begged the media to "respect" his family's privacy while parading his two grown daughters from different relationships.
Here's a question, Antonio: When did you ever respect your wife's privacy and dignity? When she was suffering from cancer in 1994 and you were fooling around on her then? When you pretended once you got elected to be a devoted family man while romping around with Salinas? And, while we're on the subject, how much of your philandering was done on the taxpayers' dime?
As for the mayor's political clout, I hope those in Hillaryland are paying attention. I hope you'll have a serious heart-to-heart with Hillary. After today, Antonio won't be delivering the Latino vote for her in California.
