Salinas never dated Alex Padilla

I scanned past this in my initial quick read of the Mirthala Salinas interview by Shawn Hubler in the new issue of Los Angeles magazine. Salinas talks in some detail about her relationship with Fabian Núñez, pre-Antonio Villaraigosa. But all those printed claims (followed by snarky columns and blog posts, including here) about a romance with City Council President (now state Senator) Alex Padilla? Wrong, she says.

In the Times, Steve Lopez wrote a column asking, “Who needs telenovelas when you have Los Angeles City Hall?” He wondered whether Fabian Núñez, state senator Alex Padilla, and Antonio Villaraigosa were “playing a game of ¿Quién Es Más Macho?” Lopez called the scandal L.A.’s “summer of love.”

Alex Padilla? Where, Salinas wondered, had that name come from? She says—and a Padilla aide confirms—that she and Padilla had never done anything more than attend a couple of public events as friends. Indeed, almost comically old-fashioned, Salinas says she has been in love fewer than a half dozen times in her adult life.

Hubler talked about some of the erroneous coverage of Salinas on "Patt Morrison" last week, I now see. (Audio) My KCRW commentary on Friday about the Salinas interview rehashed the old Padilla claim.