The Mayor Plays Hardball
Riordan gets his charter, and it’s not pretty
Indeed, people close to the lobbying process reported that Macias, an attorney with a Pasadena law firm, had felt some job pressure himself. So just before the meeting, I called Riordan consigliereBill Wardlaw, who happens to be a friend of the managing partner at Macias’ firm, and asked him if he’d spoken to his friend about Macias’ upcoming vote. "I never talk about private conversations," Wardlaw answered.
A few minutes after Macias finished speaking, Commissioner Chet Widom moved to kill the compromise. Seven hands went up, then an eighth, meaning Widom’s motion had passed. Only then did Macias also raise his hand: no sense running who-knows-what risk for a compromise that had already lost.
Meeting the press just after the vote, Riordan was asked about the threats. "I’ve heard a little about it," the mayor said, "and I’ve been in politics too long to take it seriously."
But half an hour later, when the meeting had ended and Riordan bumped into Macias in the lobby (about three feet from where I happened to be standing), he conveyed a different message. "I respect what you said," the mayor told Macias, shaking his hand. "I’m sorry if things got a little out of hand."
I only hope that at the end of his campaign for what is now his own charter proposal, the mayor will not be compelled to make the same apology to the city.
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