Political junkies and power brokers who craved to be in the center of action on election night were in Boston, Washington, D.C., or even Columbus, Ohio, but certainly not Los Angeles.
Los Angeles City Councilman Antonio Villaraigosa was among those who left town to be in the thick of it. A national co-chairman for Sen. John F. Kerry's campaign, he was back in council Wednesday morning looking grim.
For The Record
Los Angeles Times Wednesday November 17, 2004 Home Edition Main News Part A Page 2 National Desk 1 inches; 41 words Type of Material: Correction
Inside Politics -- The Inside Politics column in the Nov. 8 California section contained an item about an election night celebration that said several local prosecutors appeared to have made frequent trips to the open bar. It was a cash bar.
Villaraigosa was one of the speakers Tuesday night at Boston's Copley Square, where he told a crowd of 10,000 Democratic supporters at 10 o'clock that they should remain optimistic. But within a few hours, as it appeared clear that President Bush was winning Ohio, Villaraigosa found himself in a room of Kerry strategists feeling like the carpet had been yanked out from beneath them.
"It was somber, and there was a lot of disbelieving," Villaraigosa said. "We started the afternoon believing we were going to win. The exit polls were so strong."
Kerry's loss ended speculation, which Villaraigosa had discounted, that he might win a Cabinet post in a Kerry administration.
City Council President Alex Padilla also left town for the San Francisco Marriott, where he ended up standing on the podium beside U.S. Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) as she made her widely televised victory speech.
Boxer pointed to those around her as potential statewide officeholders, a gesture that must have been appreciated by Padilla, who supporters say would like to run for higher office.
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Governor Celebrates Ballot Measure Victories
Even Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger had to leave L.A., slipping into neighboring Beverly Hills for a victory party.
Schwarzenegger went to a Beverly Hilton Hotel event, which was attended by about 250 supporters who watched returns on state ballot measures that the governor had weighed in on.
Several district attorneys, who appeared to have been frequent visitors to the open bar, spoke on the dangers of Proposition 66, the measure Schwarzenegger opposed to soften the three-strikes law.
And some Schwarzenegger supporters were wearing big red "Amend for Arnold" buttons, a reference to changing the U.S. Constitution to allow foreign-born citizens to run for president. Even former Gov. Pete Wilson wore one on his lapel.
