Quandry for mayor

Just as he starts his trip to El Salvador and Mexico, Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa is being asked if he will cut his trip short to return to Los Angeles to deal with the burgeoning controversy over the LAPD confrontation with immigrant rights demonstrators on Tuesday in MacArthur Park.
Villaraigosa was pressed on the issue by reporters following him and aides in Los Angeles said the mayor is in constant contact with Chief Bill Bratton and City Council President Eric Garcetti, who is acting mayor while Villaraigosa is out of the city. He will determine on a day by day basis if he should return.
Many City Hall observers remember the damage Mayor James Hahn suffered when he was in Washington, D.C., on a lobbying trip when terrorists struck in 2001. Even though there was no direct threat to Los Angeles, it began a political slide for Hahn.