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Gaye Williams has most recently been an advisor to Austin Beutner, the former deputy mayor who is running for the top job in 2013. The Los Angeles Times' David Zahniser says Williams, 54 and a resident of Manhattan Beach, would take over this summer. There's been no official word from the mayor's office.
The selection of Williams creates an unusual dynamic in the run-up to the March 2013 mayoral election. Williams, a Republican, spent just more than a year as a $120,000-a-year aide to Beutner when he served as Villaraigosa's jobs czar. Since she resigned in May, she has been volunteering with Beutner’s exploratory campaign, serving as a sounding board and providing strategic advice.Meanwhile, the two top Villaraigosa deputies who will report directly to Williams are Matt Szabo and Janelle Erickson, both of whom have ties to City Controller Wendy Greuel, another likely mayoral contender in 2013.
Erickson and Szabo worked for Greuel when she was on the City Council. Erickson could not be reached for comment. But Szabo said earlier this week that he is not interested in working for any mayoral campaign and plans to continue in Villaraigosa’s office.
Williams was previously an aide to Mayor Richard Riordan from 1997 to 2001 and City Atty. Rocky Delgadillo from 2001 to 2005.
* 4 p.m. update: Confirmed by mayor's office. His letter to Council President Eric Garcetti notes that Williams was Senior Managing Director of Villaraigosa's Office of Economic and Business Policy under Beutner. She also had worked for former Gov. Pete Wilson and the late county Supervisor Deane Dana.
Previously on LA Observed:
Villaraigosa's chief of staff to step down