CA: In latest TV ad of LA mayoral race, Villaraigosa looks to tie Hahn to corruption

LOS ANGELES - Days after prosecutors began a preliminary inquiry into his fund-raising, mayoral candidate Antonio Villaraigosa began airing a TV ad Monday that seeks to put Mayor James Hahn on the defensive over an ongoing corruption probe at City Hall.

The 30-second spot covers familiar ground: Villaraigosa has been attacking Hahn for months over the ongoing investigation, in which prosecutors are looking into allegations that City Hall officials traded contracts for campaign donations. No administration officials have been charged.

"Where will the investigation end?" a narrator in the ad asks. "Isn't it time for a change?"

The ad appeared aimed at shifting questions about suspect fund-raising to the incumbent, who is seeking a second four-year term in the May 17 election.

Last week, Villaraigosa said he would return $47,000 in donations from workers of two Florida-based companies.

The county district attorney said Friday he was opening a preliminary inquiry of the Villaraigosa donations, following news reports that several of the workers appeared confused when asked about their checks.

Hahn consultant Kam Kuwata said the shift in tactics showed Villaraigosa was losing support - the challenger's ads in the runoff had previously focused largely on his own record, not attacking Hahn.

At a rally this weekend, Villaraigosa lamented that politics was "too much about charges and countercharges ... too much about derision and not enough about vision."

Villaraigosa's campaign manager, Ace Smith, said Hahn has been flooding mailboxes in the city with literature attacking Villaraigosa. Hahn has not aired any TV ads since the runoff began in March.

"We are just responding," Smith said. "We expect their negative TV barrage any day."

I hear ya.

A little tidbit, LA,Mejico continues to grow. San Jose is #3

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California population grows by more than half-million in '04

http://www.bakersfield.com/state_wire/story/5484949p-5477606c.html

The Associated Press

SACRAMENTO (AP) - One out of every eight Americans lives in California after the state's population grew by more than a half-million people for the sixth straight year, the Department of Finance reported Monday.

California added 539,000 residents in 2004, a 1.5 percent increase, bringing its estimated population to more than 36.8 million people - or 12.5 percent of the nation's total.
The numbers differ slightly from last month's report from the U.S. Census Bureau, which estimated California's population at 35.9 million people. The differences can be important because federal funding is often predicated on population.

The growth rate nationally is 1 percent, according to the most recent figures reported by the Census Bureau.

The largest numerical increases in California were by the state's three largest cities - Los Angeles (44,092 gain to 3,957,875), San Diego (14,035 gain to 1,305,736), and San Jose (13,625 gain to 944,857).

Of the 50 fastest growing cities since the 2000 census, 10 are in Riverside County and six are in San Bernadino County, according to the report.

Los Angeles County remains the most populous in the nation at about 10.2 million people, comprising nearly 28 percent of the state's population. About half of the state's population resides in four Southern California counties - Los Angeles, Orange, San Diego and San Bernadino.

Riverside was the fastest growing county on a percentage basis, increasing by 3.8 percent, followed by Placer (3.1 percent), Imperial (3.0 percent) and Madera (3.0 percent).

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