Villaraigosa Spotted Outside Emmy Awards, Reminds World Of 'Ticketgate'

The city's keeping together a fragile budget these days, libraries are taking days off, and police are learning to do without the kind of civilian support personnel they enjoyed in the past. The mayor has been in hot water, too, for his acceptance of high-dollar tickets to Lakers games and entertainment awards shows.

So where was he Sunday? Filling potholes? Filing library books? Negotiating with unions for more concessions that would help the city stay afloat. Not exactly. Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, as LA Observed points out, was soaking up the spotlight outside the Emmy Awards.

Of course, as the state Fair Political Practices Commission, the District Attorney and the city Ethics Commission put the mayor's ticket-acceptance practice under review, we all want to know if Mayor V. was holding Emmy tickets on the red carpet and, if so, from whom he got them (and how much they're worth).

You know, in our summer slumber we just about forgot about Villaraigosa's ticketgate (the story that the mayor getting valuable tix from folks who have business before City Hall). We have to wonder if his media advisers are earning their pay -- or if Villaraigosa doesn't pay them any mind.

Because one of the most bad-press-generating sagas of the mayor's tenure (besides his affair-motivated split with his wife) had become cool as a corpse. And on Sunday, instead of laying low, Mayor V. sought his spotlight fix and, in the process, might have brought the media heat back to ticketgate.

Thanks for the reminder.