From the Editor

By Martin Lasden
     
      Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa is a politician with grand ambitions. He might run for governor in 2010. Some even mention him as a potential running mate for Obama or Hillary next year. Still, he has suffered a few setbacks. Most notably, his plan to reorganize the city's public schools under his authority was dealt a serious blow when Superior Court Judge Dzintra I. Janavs rejected it. Win or lose, though, when it comes to legal strategy Villaraigosa continues to put his faith in one man: Thomas A. Saenz, his permanent in-house counsel.
      "When I saw that Villaraigosa hired his own staff attorney, I did a double take," says writer Bill Blum, the author of this month's cover story ("The Mayor's Advocate," page 18). "I thought that was a startling departure from business as usual."
      As Blum soon discovered, Villaraigosa is not the first L.A. mayor to have his own attorney on staff. Both Tom Bradley and Richard Riordan periodically had their own staff lawyers as well. And mayors in other major cities-including Seattle, New York, and Detroit-have them.
      But as good an idea as that might sound to an activist mayor who needs all the legal expertise he can get to advance an ambitious agenda, problems can arise. For one thing, there's always the chance of friction between the mayor's lawyer and the elected city attorney, who represents the city in litigation. In L.A., that's been a concern. "The ongoing controversy," says Blum, "has centered on who would speak on behalf of the city on legal matters. And I think it's something that will only be resolved over time, after the office establishes itself as an integral part of the city government."
      So how well is Saenz doing? The court decision on the school reorganization plan was definitely a disappointment, Blum acknowledges. "But," he adds, "any time you try to challenge the status quo, you have to expect setbacks."
      If you've ever wondered where we get so many of our story ideas, look no further than page 5, where we list the members of our editorial advisory board. It's an extremely impressive list, and this year we've added three new names to it: former California attorney general and now state Treasurer Bill Lockyer; Gary Lafayette of Lafayette & Kumagai; and Ralph Baxter, who is chair and CEO of Orrick. We are pleased to have them onboard.
     

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