LA Mayor's "spin control"

LA Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa seems to have found a way to influence the way that at least part of the media in his city covered the political beat..

LOS ANGELES - Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, who is in the midst of divorce proceedings with his wife, acknowledged he is in a relationship with a Spanish-language television reporter, according to a statement published Tuesday.

The mayor and his wife separated last month after 20 years of marriage. Corina Villaraigosa filed for divorce June 12, a day after the mayor told reporters in a City Hall news conference that he took the blame for his crumbling marriage.

At the time, he wouldn't answer whether he was romantically involved with someone else, citing his family's privacy.

But Villaraigosa issued a statement, published Tuesday by the Los Angeles Daily News, acknowledging his involvement with Telemundo newswoman Mirthala Salinas, after the paper told the mayor it was set to publish a story about their relationship.

No word on how many stories she may have done about the Mayor and/or his administration while he was, uhum, giving exclusives. He goes on to make this Clintonesque statement:

"It is true that I have a relationship with Ms. Mirthala Salinas. As I've said I take full responsibility for my actions, and I once again ask that people respect my family's privacy. For my part, I intend to stay focused on my job, and to work as hard as I can every day to be the best mayor I can be," Villaraigosa said.

(Clinton flashback..."I need to get back to work for the American people...") At least he did admit it before he tried to deflect to "getting back to work", unlike Slick Willie.