Steven Mikulan
File it under Boys Will Be Boys, but with 2008 about to end (and no Obama appointments in sight), California's two swingin'est
mayors are now only months from possibly declaring their intentions to
run for guv in 2010. Both San Francisco's Gavin Newsom and L.A.'s
Antonio Villaraigosa remain immensely popular with their respective cities'
voters, despite yawning gaps between their promises for
change and actual performances. Not to mention that each has
suffered through mistress scandals that left them wiping egg off their
lofty brows for some time. Plus, Newsom (or at least his voice on TV and radio ads) played an unintentional role in helping to pass the anti-gay marriage Proposition 8 in November, while Villaraigosa has to go through the formality of getting re-elected mayor in 2009. On the other hand, potential opponents include
staid U.S. Senator Dianne Feinstein and Lt. Governor John Garamendi (who's
become the first to declare his candidacy), so Californians might be in the mood for some after-hours government.
Newsome photo: Ovahere.com
Villaraigosa photo Robert Durell/L.A. Times
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