Padilla Hires a Political Veteran as Chief of Staff

Los Angeles City Councilman-elect Alex Padilla said Monday he has hired veteran political operative Juliette Martinez as his chief of staff, saying she will help him bring “a fresh perspective” to City Hall.

Padilla, 26, chose the 37-year-old Martinez to run his council office starting July 1 after she served as a fund-raiser for his successful campaign in the June 8 election.

“She is very hard working, very independent, and more than anything she shares my view of what’s important but also brings a fresh perspective to City Hall,” Padilla said.

“I’m excited. I’m going to help [Padilla] carry out his agenda of getting back to the basics,” Martinez said.

Padilla won a landslide victory to represent the northeast Valley’s 7th District.

Before she worked on Padilla’s campaign, Martinez was a fund-raiser in the campaigns of Reps. Loretta Sanchez (D-Garden Grove) and Xavier Becerra (D-Los Angeles), as well as Assemblyman Lou Correa (D-Anaheim).

She also was active with the National Women’s Political Caucus, according to Chris Leo, the chief of staff for Correa.

“She is well-respected and very involved in women’s issues,” Leo said.

John Shallman, a Valley political consultant who ran the 1996 Sanchez campaign, said Martinez brings a wealth of knowledge to the job.

“She has had a lot of experience working with political offices and she is an outstanding administrator,” Shallman said. “She is someone with a lot of energy and who knows a lot of people at City Hall and other levels of government.”

Martinez, a Los Angeles resident, was helping Padilla interview potential staffers Monday.

Martinez’s appointment addresses one criticism Padilla received from opponents during the campaign--that he did not have enough experience to be a councilman representing 230,000 residents.

Padilla said he has also hired City Hall veteran Mark Dierking as a legislative deputy. Dierking worked as an aide to former 7th District Councilman Richard Alarcon.

Before Padilla’s election last week, he had served as a field deputy for U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein and Assemblyman Tony Cardenas (D-Sylmar) and as a campaign manager for Cardenas and Alarcon.