Patrick Range McDonaldWas Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa napping at a Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority board meeting in late October?
According to Hollywood community activist John Walsh, who attended the meeting, the answer is an unqualified YES!
On his blog, Walsh Confidential, Walsh writes that Villaraigosa “was out like a light for a few minutes” during the MTA board meeting, which prompted the activist to tell the mayor to wake up.
Walsh says “300 eyewitnesses” can back up this bizarre scene — meaning all of the people who attended the meeting that day — and he's now requesting MTA video and audio tapes of the incident through a California Public Records Act request.
Villaraigosa, an MTA board member, has been known as someone who enjoys hitting the town at night — here's a TMZ video featuring the mayor and American Idol host Ryan Seacrest — and he maintains an active traveling schedule with frequent flights out of town and sometimes out of the country.
Could all of that travel and nightlife be catching up to the 56-year-old mayor?
It appears so, which means, at least on one occasion, it's affecting his work.
Politicians are sometimes caught napping at dinner awards ceremonies, but rarely do you see them literally sleeping on the job.
Contact Patrick Range McDonald at pmcdonald@laweekly.com and follow at https://twitter.com/PRMcDonald.
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