LiveWire

Photo of Hilton and L.A. mayor Villaraigosa at the Grammy after-party just before she turned herself in for her grueling 72-hour stay at the city jail. Swiped from Defamer, they wonder if this has anything to do with the mayor’s marriage woes. I wonder if this has anything to do with Paris’ original very brief jail stay.

This is the same L.A. mayor, Antonio Villaraigosa, who liked to appear at the illegal alien marches and has made Los Angeles a sanctuary city. I guess sanctuary for those who a) don’t respect American immigration law and now b) those who don’t respect marriage vows. I suppose that pesky “”til death do we part” thing should be changed to “’til the pressures of the job or that affair I had or that there’s-so-much-sexy-ass-out-here-I-don’t-want-to-be-limited-now-that-I’m-a-political-superstar-
and-someday-might-be-governor-so-who-needs-the-old-ball-and-chain do we part” part.

I’m just sayin’. Luke Ford has the details.

Supplemental comment by Maynard:

The Los Angeles Times has run this gentle article describing Villaraigosa’s marital woes. It says things like:

A spokesman would not elaborate on reasons behind the split, but the mayor and his wife, Corina, 49, a longtime teacher in the Montebello Unified School District, have struggled to keep their marriage together as he works long hours away from home….

…Villaraigosa declined at the time to discuss his marriage at length. But he acknowledged that he and Corina had weathered some difficult times, saying that “in a 20-year marriage, there are many ups and downs.” And he added that his hectic job — he regularly works 15-hour days and often travels out of town on city business — had added to the strain.

Hmmmm…struggles and difficult times and strains and ups-and-downs…the kind of stuff that could happen to any hardworking man, right? Are they this generous when describing the antics of Newt Gingrich or Rudy Giuliani, I wonder?

An extensive New Yorker article is less sanguine:

On the night of the primary election [at the beginning of his political career], Villaraigosa held a victory party at the Plaza de la Raza, a Latino cultural center. Xavier Becerra, a congressman from Los Angeles, gave a speech praising the courage of Antonio and his wife, Corina, who had been battling thyroid cancer throughout the campaign.

The next morning, Corina phoned friends, asking if they had any idea where Antonio was. She learned that he had left town for a few days with the wife of one of their close friends.

Villaraigosa’s supporters were outraged. The Macho Dogs held a meeting; some wanted their money back, and there was talk of recalling him. Many were appalled at his recklessness. He had run as a family man, sending out pictures of himself with Corina and their two small children. (He also has two older daughters, whom he helps support, from relationships before he was married.) Initially, Villaraigosa defended his actions, saying, “It is a matter of the heart.” He eventually acknowledged his error. That did not help much with many people, including his wife, who remained estranged from him for two and a half years. “He was a pariah,” Cedillo told me.