L.A. Mayor Villaraigosa, reporter end their affair, sources say

[DeepModem Mom]

LAT: L.A. mayor, reporter end their affair, sources say
Villaraigosa's political standing was affected, and his wife has filed for divorce. Salinas was suspended, then left her job at Telemundo.
By David Zahniser, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer
November 23, 2007


Mayoral "relationship"

Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and television news reporter Mirthala Salinas have ended their romantic relationship, two sources familiar with the situation said Friday. Months after revelations about the affair damaged the mayor's political standing and devastated Salinas' broadcasting career, the two sources said the relationship disintegrated weeks ago....

***

Villaraigosa and his wife, Corina Villaraigosa, separated in June, weeks before he confirmed that he was romantically involved with Salinas. From the moment it became public, the affair between the mayor and the rising media star had a largely harmful effect on both parties. Villaraigosa, whose handling of education reform, immigration and public safety were subjects of Salinas' reporting, was dogged by questions about whether his extramarital relationship had distracted him from his policy duties -- and whether he had provided any inside information to the reporter.

Salinas was one of a handful of employees at Telemundo who were disciplined because of the affair. A rising star in Spanish-language television news, Salinas read on the air the news of Villaraigosa's marital breakup on June 8 without disclosing that she had been romantically involved with the mayor for several months. Salinas received a two-month suspension for her handling of the situation. At the end of that suspension, she was reassigned from her post as temporary anchor to a Telemundo bureau in Riverside County. Instead of returning to her job, she quit....

Revelations about the affair damaged the mayor's credibility in the eyes of some voters, particularly women, said Jaime Regalado, who heads the Edmund G. "Pat" Brown Institute of Public Affairs at Cal State Los Angeles. With several of his news conferences dominated by questions about the affair, the mayor kept a relatively low profile for two months, staying out of the spotlight as the state Legislature raided $336 million in transportation funds from the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, Regalado said. "I think he was hurt by it politically. I don't think there's any question about that," he said.

The affair even raised questions about the mayor's name. "Villaraigosa" is a merger of his name, Antonio Villar, and his wife's maiden name, Corina Raigosa. Although the mayor's wife filed divorce papers in June, Villaraigosa said he would not change his name back....

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-mayor24nov24,0,7160693.story?coll=la-home-center

[msongs]

1. family values indeed nt

[Mutineer]

2. So will the hot Latina honey get her job back now?

[DavidDvorkin]

3. A couple of scumbags

Neither of whom deserves any tears.