(Pic: Getty Images, by way of L.A. Daily News.)
As the Daily News first broke yesterday morning, Mayor Tony V finally 'fessed up that there indeed is another woman... and it's Mirthala Salinas, a reporter and anchor for NBC-owned Telemundo outlet KVEA/Channel 52.
The L.A. Times later wrote more on the matter:
Villaraigosa said he saw no journalistic conflict in Salinas dating him while she was covering him. He said that Salinas, whom he called a "consummate journalistic professional," decided about a year ago that "our friendship had grown to a point where it was necessary to inform her management that she shouldn't cover me. She did that. And they agreed."
What's most interesting is how long it took for this to come out into the open. City Hall was apparently buzzing about Salinas; Villaraigosa staffers, the L.A. Times writes, feared that word would leak out; local blogs speculated over whether Salinas was pregnant; and apparently NBC and Telemundo management in L.A. knew of her relationship with the Mayor. Granted, the L.A. Times grilled him on the state of his marriage last January (and at the time he said it was fine), but until the Daily News' report yesterday, it remained secret.
Apparently the L.A. Times had been investigating the relationship for some time, as today's story includes an interview conducted recently -- but not yesterday -- with a former neighbor of Salinas':
he Los Angeles Times traced their relationship back at least 18 months.
In November 2005 -- four months after he was sworn into office -- Villaraigosa was seen one evening by a resident of the Sherman Oaks condominium complex where Salinas lived at the time.
Jean Rouda recalled pulling into the garage about 9 p.m. and seeing Villaraigosa standing alone and buzzing to get into the building. Rouda said she recognized the mayor and was surprised that he had no security guards and that there was no limousine parked nearby. She said she and her niece entered the lobby, where they encountered Villaraigosa, who was wearing a dress shirt and slacks, and was carrying bags of takeout food and a bottle of wine.
The L.A. Times has a whole gallery of Villaraigosa/Salinas pics here.
The big question: Do you care? Is this a private matter? Or as a public figure with the image of being a family man, has Villaraigosa's image been tarnished? (A juicy affair didn't have too much of an impact on Rudy Giuliani -- hell, he's running for president!) Vote below, or here.
I suppose the other poll could have asked how Villaraigosa (who famously merged his last name, "Villar," with his wife's "Raigosa") might merge his name with his new honey. Villarsalinas? Villaraigosalinas (my fave)? Villalinas?
Meanwhile, of course it goes without saying (but I'll mention it anyway) that given how everyone seemed to be following this story, it's a tad too convenient that the news first broke in one pub -- the Daily News -- on July 3rd, the day before a big holiday. That means everyone else's followups ran today -- when people are too busy BBQing or heading to the beach.
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