Bob Hertzberg couldn't be mayor of L.A. because he wasn't that handsome.

A poll says 68 percent of Angelenos have no idea who they want for Los Angeles mayor in 2013. Of those who know, pixie Controller Wendy Greuel is doing better than indecisive, undeclared Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky, who's doing better than "I'm Latino -- really!" Councilman Eric Garcetti.

It's great that a third of 1,100 people polled already care. After all, L.A. voters don't watch City Hall as they should. Many can't name a council member. They vote for most handsome or best dresser. Some intriguing trends in Loyola Marymount University's poll:

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We'll see about that.

We've all seen the Occupy Wall Street signs: America for sale! End corporate personhood! Get the money out of politics!

But what if a corporation actually became a politician?

Farmscape LLC, which describes itself as "the largest urban farming venture in Los Angeles," is launching a full-fledged mayoral campaign...

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Los Angeles County Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky

​So here's the deal... well-known, widely respected Los Angeles County Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky is the frontrunner of the 2013 Los Angeles mayoral race. Political pros think he'd win and do a solid job of fixing a broken city; wealthy liberal contributors would love to throw money at him; and nearly everyone acknowledges that he's smart as a whip and personable.

Here's the problem: Yaroslavsky still refuses to say if he's going to run for office.

As much as the popular supervisor apparently thinks he can announce whenever he wants, time is not on his side, and the race is already starting to pass him by. "There comes a time when it's too late for practical reasons," says veteran political consultant Garry South. "The people and money are gone."

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Wendy Greuel's image is getting fuzzy.

​Is Wendy Greuel running for Los Angeles mayor by acting like a blond version of the failed Arnold Schwarzenegger, decrying waste, fraud and abuse? She's fired off an election-aimed press release asking the City Council's inept Audits and Governmental Efficiency Committee to address fraud in the 50,000-plus city work force. Pul-eeze.

Fix this instead, Ms. Controller: Fraud among city workers who wangle lifelong "disability retirements" by lying about workplace "injuries" -- as did Lonnie Franklin Jr. (the alleged Grim Sleeper). The cases are never re-investigated after the monthly disability pension checks roll in. There is not a single City Hall investigative/video team to probe the hundreds (or, God, thousands?) of former employees out golfing, jogging -- or being hardcore felons -- on the public dime.

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Who will replace this guy, Antonio Villaraigosa, as the next mayor of L.A.?

​Update: Link to L.A. Weekly exclusive on who the experts say will be the next mayor.

Believe it or not, someone wants to be the next mayor of Los Angeles in 2013, when Antonio Villaraigosa will be termed out of office after eight, turbulent years at the helm.

With that in mind, L.A. Weekly recently talked with a panel of political pros about who has the best chances of winning and why. Our findings will be published in a major feature story April 28, and will appear on our web site the afternoon of April 27.

Who is leading the pack for Los Angeles Mayor 2013, and who, surprisingly, is badly trailing, according to the experts? Let's just say the candidates have quite the political battle ahead.

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Scott Svonkin plays hooky, schmoozes it up

​Scott Svonkin, San Gabriel Unified School District Board member, describes himself as the "only one who cares about the teachers." He is running for a seat on the vastly more powerful Los Angeles Community College Board and will face Lydia Gutierrez in a runoff election on May 17.

Last night, many teachers attended the San Gabriel Board meeting in order to voice concern and share ideas regarding the devastating budget crisis that is affecting education statewide. Svonkin's official reason for not showing? He was "sick." As reported by Joe Barrett of Mayor Sam, Svonkin found it in himself to, instead, attend a union L.A. Democratic Party event that took place at the very same hour.

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YJ Draiman

​So far, four candidates have announced they will be running for mayor of Los Angeles in 2013. When you announce, it gives the green legal light to start raising funds to campaign. YJ Draiman, one of the four, is not a widely known name, but he is certainly interesting. Here are the top five reasons:

5) His son is Disturbed's lead singer, David Draiman.

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L.A. mayoral candidate Kevin James

​Radio talk show host Kevin James wants Los Angeles voters to know that he's a registered Republican who wants to be the first openly gay mayor of L.A.

"There's no doubt that if I became the first openly gay mayor of Los Angeles," James tells L.A. Weekly, "it would help [the gay community] enter the mainstream in America even more."

James rarely discusses his sexual orientation on the airwaves.

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