Call Him The Working Man!

The man who never rests is taking a day off -- without pay!

And it's easy to see why. When Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa proposed that Los Angeles city workers take voluntary furloughs (unpaid days off) to help save their jobs, he envisioned the city reaping $20 million worth of savings. But in the end, the plan only brought in a measly $95,000 -- probably because city workers, like the rest of us, like getting a paycheck.

Meanwhile, despite his lofty exhortations, Villaraigosa was notably not among the few self-sacrificial workers to forgo a few days' wages. So now the mayor has decided to lead by example by making today his day off. But being Antonio, he can't really just take a breather:

Regardless of the furlough, the mayor plans to attend five public events today.

In the morning, he will join Los Angeles City Councilman Ed Reyes, county Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky and members of Congress for a helicopter tour of the Los Angeles River.

Then, the mayor will attend the 41st annual Firefighter of the Year Luncheon to honor LAFD Capt. Stephen Norris. Following that event, the mayor will deliver the keynote address at the Southern California Association of Governments' Regional Transit Summit.

In the afternoon, Villaraigosa will head to Wilmington to discuss a landmark vote by the Los Angeles Harbor Commission. To end his day, Villaraigosa will attend the Korean American Chamber of Commerce's 31st annual Gala.

What a guy, he's working for nothing!

But rather than short-change himself, Villaraigosa ought to embrace more straightforward accounting: He should go ahead and charge the city for today's work -- but pay back his wages from all the weeks he spent traveling around the country stumping for Hillary Clinton.