Huizar Gains Support of 7 L.A. Council Members

Jose Huizar was endorsed Tuesday by seven Los Angeles City Council members in his bid to win the 14th District seat this fall.

The unusual mass endorsement came eight days after Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa backed Huizar, a member of the Los Angeles Board of Education, to fill the council seat he vacated.

Tony Cardenas, Wendy Greuel, Tom LaBonge, Alex Padilla, Ed Reyes, Greig Smith and Jack Weiss praised Huizar at a news conference outside City Hall.

Greuel, Padilla, Reyes and Weiss had worked with Nick Pacheco, the best-known of Huizar’s opponents, who held the seat from 1999 to 2003, when he lost to Villaraigosa.

Although none of the council members uttered Pacheco’s name, there were apparent references to his council tenure.

Reyes said Huizar promptly returned calls, Greuel called Huizar “a team player,” and Padilla said the endorsement was done “because the choice is clear to us.”

Pacheco said he would take care of the district, which stretches from Eagle Rock to south of Boyle Heights, better than Huizar.

“A lot of these council members have projects that are dependent on the mayor, a lot of these council members are looking for their next job and want the mayor’s endorsement,” he said.