Top Council Post to Garcetti?

Eric Garcetti has lined up the votes to become president of the Los Angeles City Council and will soon take over from Alex Padilla, the two councilmen said Friday.

Garcetti -- who represents Hollywood, Silver Lake and Echo Park -- has actively sought the council’s top job since Padilla announced in July that he planned to run for state Senate.

The 34-year-old councilman has become one of the leading advocates in the city for affordable housing and bills himself as a progressive.

Garcetti often works on urban planning issues and has focused on environmental concerns, including restoring the Los Angeles River.

Padilla’s colleagues have grown increasingly restive about his continued role as council president.

“I was the first to admit that when the time came, I would step down,” Padilla said.

“I know there have been conversations going around for a while now over who should take my place, and I know that Eric is getting a lot of great support.”

In a conference call Friday with The Times, Padilla and Garcetti said they would meet this weekend, but no date has been set for a takeover.

The council presidency is usually voted on in odd number years on July 1, but council rules allow a vote any time.

The job is largely ceremonial -- the president runs council meetings. But politicians covet the job because the title “president” appears before their names.

Some power does come with the title. The president schedules votes and also appoints council members to committees where city policy is molded.

Padilla, 32, became council president in 2001 after John Ferraro died. He won reelection in 2003, after Wendy Greuel dropped her candidacy, and then beat back a bid by Garcetti last spring. Padilla represents the council’s 7th District in the northeastern San Fernando Valley.

But many council members were unhappy that he refused to relinquish the presidency after he decided to run for higher office.

The discontent boiled over in early August, when Padilla’s leadership was attacked in a closed-door session because of how he conducted a search for a chief legislative analyst.

Garcetti and colleagues, according to three sources, have been talking in recent weeks about when to topple Padilla. Timing was important: Tony Cardenas was interested in the job and Herb Wesson and Jose Huizar -- who won election to the council last week -- will soon be on board and could have complicated a presidency vote.

About 20 minutes after a Times reporter called Garcetti and Padilla independently to confirm reports that Garcetti was possibly making a run at the presidency, the two men called back together.

Padilla is in the midst of a campaign against Assemblywoman Cindy Montanez for the Senate’s 20th District in the San Fernando Valley.

Padilla has wrapped up many of the major endorsements, but on Friday, Montanez announced that two unions representing city and county firefighters had endorsed her.

Garcetti, who represents the 13th Council District, won election in 2001 and won a second term in March when he ran uncontested.

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Times staff writer Patrick McGreevy contributed to this report.