For those of us who prefer to plan ahead, the safest political prediction in Los Angeles this afternoon is that Emanuel Pleitez and Damien Goodmon both will occupy the mayor’s chair during the 2020s and/or the 2030s.
Doesn’t matter which brilliant young mind rises first.
It is crucial to remember that neither Mr. Goodmon, 32 years old, nor Mr. Pleitez, 30 years old, is stopping with City Hall.
Their golden national profiles will gleam more brightly than the April cherry blossoms in Washington.
Statewide office, coupled by fast-expanding nationwide reputations, is on the dockets of each star-in-waiting.
Technically, they are the stars of tomorrow, but if you cup your left ear, the grandfather clock in the entryway reads 11:58 p.m.
Their time inexorably beckons.
[img]2077|right|Damien Goodmon||no_popup[/img]Readers have become familiar in recent years with the high-stepping achievements of the mercurial but modest Mr. Goodmon, whom I never have heard elevate his voice above a conversational tone.
If the insular non-black media ever covered the accomplishments of Mr. Goodmon, executive director of the Crenshaw Subway Coalition, ambitiously seeking mass transportation accommodation for the black community of South Los Angeles, he already would be a star.
[img]2078|right|Emanuel Pleitez||no_popup[/img]Mr. Pleitez, who grew up in East Los Angeles poverty in the home of his single Hispanic-born mother, long ago began establishing his national narrative.
Well-connected, confident, impressively educated and trained, he is.
His resumé shows he previously worked at the White House and for former Mayor Villaraigosa.
Six weeks into the Garcetti administration, one of the mayor’s most promising appointments was revealed this morning:
Tall and mature Mr. Pleitez, who finished fifth in the recent mayoral merry-go-round, was named to an influential commission that oversees police and fire pensions, the hottest topic in town after the next Dept. of Water and Power contract and DWP’s many-fingered political involvements.
Some of us may not be here to see Mayor Goodmon and Mayor Pleitez sworn in. Most of you, though, will celebrate those joyful era-changing days.