Xavier Becerra

In presidential politics, on Capitol Hill and in the voting booths of Los Angeles, the Latino age seems to be dawning--at long last. In 1996, newly mobilized Latino voters, enraged by Republican nativism, ended the GOP's lock on the Sunbelt by tilting both California and Florida into the Democratic column. In 1997, Latino voters outnumbered African Americans in an L.A. mayoral election for the first time in a century.

The Congressional Hispanic Caucus has declined a request to intervene on behalf of Dodgers owner Frank McCourt in his showdown with Major League Baseball, Rep. Charles Gonzalez said Friday. Gonzalez (D-San Antonio), the chairman of the CHC, met Friday with MLB lobbyists. He said he had requested a meeting with Commissioner Bud Selig to discuss issues of concern to the Latino community but said the CHC would not stand with McCourt in his battle against Selig. "We can't take sides in a business dispute," Gonzalez said.

The political enemies of the late U.S. Sen. Joseph Montoya of New Mexico once published a list of his relatives who were on the public payroll. They thought they had scored a direct hit. But rather than embarrass the patriarch, the list demonstrated to his New Mexican constituents what a good man Montoya was--he took care of his family. As a rule, Latino politicians in Los Angeles don't put members of their political families--longtime aides as well as relatives--on the public payroll.

Rep. Xavier Becerra said Wednesday that he turned down the position of U.S. trade representative in the incoming administration because the job will not be at the center of the action during a time of more pressing economic concerns. The highest-profile candidate to decline a job offer from President-elect Barack Obama, the Los Angeles Democrat said he thinks he can have more influence as a ranking member of Congress than as the lead advisor on trade agreements.

Three years ago, a freshman member of Congress from Los Angeles, Rep. Xavier Becerra, shocked his colleagues when he brazenly locked horns with the crusty chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee. A promising career seemed to have suffered a serious self-inflicted wound, Becerra's supporters feared. They needn't have worried. The chairman, the redoubtable Dan Rostenkowski, sits in jail, convicted of mail fraud for misusing his office.

U.S. Rep. Xavier Becerra (D--Los Angeles) will continue a series of town hall meetings in his district this week with meetings in Eagle Rock and Lincoln Heights. He will meet with constituents tonight from 7 to 9 in Eagle Rock, in the Alumni House on the campus of Occidental College, 1600 Campus Road.

Rep. Xavier Becerra received a boost in his mayoral bid Thursday when he was endorsed by former Rep. Edward Roybal and his daughter, Rep. Lucille Roybal-Allard. "Time after time, regardless of the odds, he continues to fight for things he believes in," Roybal-Allard said during a mid-morning news conference at the Boyle Heights Senior Center. "That's the kind of leadership we need in the city of Los Angeles."

People keep telling me there's no interest in local politics in Southern California, and I have to say that I just don't get it. In Los Angeles alone, a Mexican American is running for mayor as a non-Latino, his white opponent, is running as a black man despite falling asleep at the wheel during the Rampart scandal, a Boy Scout congressman is having a Biblical fall from grace, and half the city wants to secede.

With Police Chief Bernard C. Parks by his side, U.S. Rep. Xavier Becerra (D-Los Angeles) unveiled two bills Tuesday aimed at enabling local law enforcement agencies across the country to trace weapons used in violent crimes and reduce the number of guns on the streets. Becerra's proposal would require gun manufacturers and importers to test-fire weapons prior to sale, thereby creating a database of "fingerprints" left on bullets and shell casings.

Schools Xavier Becerra Stop busing children out of their neighborhoods; call an education summit to promote city-school collaboration; expedite the permit process to build schools faster. Kathleen Connell Streamline the permit process to build schools faster; create 60 charter schools over 4 years; start a preschool program for 4-year-olds and expand after-school programs. James K.

Potential candidates are jockeying to run for Xavier Becerra's congressional seat as word spreads that President-elect Barack Obama is considering him as U.S. trade representative. Names include Los Angeles County Supervisor Gloria Molina, state Sen. Gil Cedillo and Los Angeles City Council President Eric Garcetti, each of whom represents parts of Becerra's district, which includes the heart of Los Angeles.

To understand just how tough U.S. Rep. Xavier Becerra's political life will be from now on, this quote from Joe Benites, former national president of the League of United Latin American Citizens, pretty well sums it up: "Xavier [Becerra] will never have another bowl of menudo in this town."

Two political associates of Rep. Xavier Becerra said Thursday that they warned the congressman weeks ago that his campaign was apparently responsible for an anonymous hit phone call campaign against one of his mayoral opponents. The revelations raise questions as to why Becerra waited until last week to tell the district attorney's office he had heard "rumors" that the calls may have been linked to his campaign.

People keep telling me there's no interest in local politics in Southern California, and I have to say that I just don't get it. In Los Angeles alone, a Mexican American is running for mayor as a non-Latino, his white opponent, is running as a black man despite falling asleep at the wheel during the Rampart scandal, a Boy Scout congressman is having a Biblical fall from grace, and half the city wants to secede.

U.S. Rep. Xavier Becerra's mayoral campaign not only produced a scandalous telephone ad in the Los Angeles mayoral race but later erased the message after it had prompted an investigation, Dist. Atty. Steve Cooley said Wednesday. Although the actions did not constitute a crime, the district attorney's report could spell political trouble for both Becerra and Los Angeles Councilman Nick Pacheco, a Becerra supporter connected to the telephone bank that issued the calls.

Shame on Rep. Xavier Becerra (D-Los Angeles), a losing candidate in last month's mayoral primary. How could he not know that his campaign paid for the outrageous phone calls--made in a voice sounding like Los Angeles County Supervisor Gloria Molina's--that smeared former Assembly Speaker Antonio Villaraigosa? If Becerra didn't know what his campaign was doing on his behalf, he should have. In the end, the dirty trick didn't help him much. He polled barely 6%.

To understand just how tough U.S. Rep. Xavier Becerra's political life will be from now on, this quote from Joe Benites, former national president of the League of United Latin American Citizens, pretty well sums it up: "Xavier [Becerra] will never have another bowl of menudo in this town."

Joining other candidates in the race for mayor, Rep. Xavier Becerra (D-Los Angeles) announced a wide-ranging platform on education Thursday. Becerra sounded the same basic themes as the other mayoral hopefuls have in calling for more schools, expanded after-school programs and better cooperation between the city and the school district to keep schools open as community services.

The Los Angeles County district attorney's office has concluded that a phone bank run for the unsuccessful mayoral campaign of U.S. Rep. Xavier Becerra sent out the incendiary calls last month attacking rival Antonio Villaraigosa, according to sources familiar with the investigation.

As many San Fernando Valley residents voted for former Assembly Speaker Antonio Villaraigosa as for conservative businessman Steve Soboroff, according to an analysis of election returns by The Times. Villaraigosa took 28% and Soboroff 28.1%. But James K. Hahn, who will face Villaraigosa in a runoff in June, took just 15.9% of the Valley's vote. The importance of the Valley to both campaigns was attested to Wednesday by the candidates' appearances in that part of the city.