Civil rights group taps key Villaraigosa advisor

Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa’s chief counsel, Thomas Saenz, has been tapped to become president and general counsel of the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund, the organization announced Tuesday.

Saenz has been one of Villaraigosa’s closest advisors since taking the post in August 2005, recently serving as the mayor’s lead representative in negotiations with city labor unions over salary and benefit concessions to help close the city’s $530-million budget gap. And he helped to successfully defend a city ordinance that required hotels near Los Angeles International Airport to pay a “living wage” to workers.

Saenz also was one of the main architects of Villaraigosa’s unsuccessful effort to gain control over the Los Angeles Unified School system. The school takeover plan, one of Villaraigosa’s top priorities in his first term, was rejected by the courts.

“Tom Saenz has been a trusted advisor who understands the importance of public service and working on behalf of those in need,” Villaraigosa said.

Among his priorities as head of the Latino civil rights organization, Saenz said, is ensuring that all children have equal access to a quality public education. The fund also will continue to combat anti-illegal immigrant sentiment that has been on the rise in some parts of the country. He said comprehensive immigration reform is a critical challenge for the Obama administration and Congress.

“The issue is not going to go away, and we certainly need to address it,” Saenz said.

Patricia A. Madrid, chairwoman of MALDEF’s Board of Directors, said Saenz is a perfect fit for the civil rights organization at this “critical time.”

“The Latino community is currently facing a drastic rise in hate crimes and witnessing an explosive rebirth of extremist anti-immigrant rhetoric and measures that adversely affect all Latinos,” she said. “A highly respected attorney and community leader, Thomas brings a wealth of legal expertise and dedication to civil rights causes that fundamentally define the future of Latinos.”

Before coming to City Hall, Saenz served as MALDEF’s lead counsel for 12 years, and successfully challenged Proposition 187, a voter-approved initiative prohibiting illegal immigrants from having access to social service and healthcare benefits as well as public schools.

Saenz had been approached by the Obama administration earlier this year to oversee the Department of Justice’s civil rights division, but his candidacy was withdrawn to avoid a confirmation fight over immigration issues, according to some civil rights leaders.

Saenz is the fourth senior member of the Villaraigosa administration to depart in recent months.

Mercedes Marquez, general manager of the city’s Housing Department, was nominated by President Obama to become assistant secretary for community planning and development at the Department of Housing and Urban Development. The deputy mayor who oversaw Villaraigosa’s environment agency, Nancy Sutley, left earlier this year to work as one of Obama’s main environmental advisors. And Arif Alikhan, the city’s deputy mayor for homeland security and public safety, left to join the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.

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phil.willon@latimes.com