Former L.A. Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa is getting what he always wanted — a job in Washington, D.C.

Except it's not the gig in President Obama's cabinet he appeared to desire so badly, that of Secretary of Transportation. No, he's getting a position as a senior fellow at the Bipartisan Policy Center, the think tank announced today:

The ex-mayor already has his hands full as an adviser to both Herbalife and the chief of Irvine-based Banc of California, and he was a “short-term” visiting fellow at Harvard University.

See also: Herbalife Hires Antonio Villaraigosa.

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Now Mayor V, as we used to call him, will work with an organization that calls Bob Dole one of its founders and Walter Isaacson, of the Aspen Institute, one of its board members.

The Center says in a statement that Villaraigosa was a true winner while in office here (some of LA Weekly's reporting would suggest otherwise):

During his time in office, the city made strides in economic development, public safety, transportation, the environment and education. Mayor Villaraigosa is known for spearheading bipartisan coalitions both as Speaker of the California State Assembly and Mayor of Los Angeles. He brought together hundreds of mayors from across the country to deal with the most pressing economic issues facing our cities.

Sure.

See also: Three Days Antonio Villaraigosa Slacked Off the Most in 2012.

The former mayor will join the likes of former Wisconsin Governor Tommy Thompson and former Senate Majority Leaders Tom Daschle, Bill Frist, George Mitchell and Trent Lott as a fellow at the Center.

Villaraigosa says:

At a time when our government has been shut down and Washington is mired in a partisan meltdown, I couldn't be prouder to work with an organization that works with both Democrats and Republicans to move our government and nation forward.

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