[img]1681|left|Herb Wesson||no_popup[/img]Is someone named Herb Wesson about to become the next Mayor of Los Angeles?
According to the City Charter, that is exactly what happens if Mayor Villaraigosa resigns to take a still-warm chair in the Obama cabinet as the next Secretary of Transportation, replacing outgoing Secretary Ray La Hood.
Mr. Villaraigosa has been busy for the past year planting rumors in the national news media that the Mayor of Los Angeles was destined to replace Secretary of Transportation Lahood as Mr. Obama's choice.
That scenario, scoffed at by hollywoodhighlands.org, now turns out to be impossible, if you believe Secretary LaHood's timeline appearing in today's Huffington Post, unless Antonio resigns as L.A. Mayor to take the cabinet post.
The current Los Angeles mayoral term does not expire until June 30.
Secretary La Hood said today that he expects to leave the cabinet “in about two months” – after his successor is confirmed by the Senate.
If Mr. Obama were to choose Mr. Villaraigosa as the La Hood replacement right now, Antonio would be forced to resign as mayor sometime in March, leaving the nationally-obscure L.A. City Council President Wesson as the brand new Los Angeles mayor, throwing the ongoing mayoral race into a tizzy!
Mr. Walsh may be contacted at hollywoodhighlands.org