Nunez aide to sit on planning panel
Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa has picked an aide to Assembly Speaker Fabian Nunez to serve on the city Planning Commission, less than a week after the aide dropped out of a legislative campaign in which he would have been running against the mayor’s cousin.
Boyle Heights resident Ricardo Lara, who had talked up his bid for the state Assembly only a few weeks ago, decided last week to quit the race to replace Nunez (D-Los Angeles), who will be forced out by term limits at the end of the year.
In a one-word e-mail Thursday, Lara said there was no connection between his decision and the appointment.
The Nunez aide is the second candidate to abandon a bid for the seat in the June 3 election in which Villaraigosa’s cousin, labor leader John Perez, is a candidate.
An aide to state Sen. Gil Cedillo (D-Los Angeles) dropped out last week.
Lara is also the second person to receive a spot on Villaraigosa’s Planning Commission after agreeing to drop out of a campaign.
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-- David Zahniser
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