Despite reports that supporters of embattled city Councilman Richard Alarcon were standing him as he faced charges related to allegations that he has not been living in his East Valley district, La Opinion newspaper reported Friday that a group of leaders has begun pondering a replacement for the politician.

In, fact, La Opinion reports, a group of names is being amassed, and it includes (translated from Spanish) “rivals of Alarcón, directors of civil organizations, businessmen, even friends of the former state assemblyman … “

Mario Matute, director of of the San Fernando Valley's Youth Policy Institute, said some of those would-be kingmakers have reached out to him: “I have received calls from the community to take that position in case of a special election, but I can not, because I'm friends of Richard …,” he told the paper.

Meanwhile, some other prominent Latino politicians in the Valley are weighing their options, a City Hall source told the Weekly recently.

-With reporting from J. Patrick Coolican.

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