he complained to superiors. Delgadillo argued that the City would likely have been forced to pay even more money to Pierce had the case gone to trial, in addition to legal costs, considering jury verdicts in past cases of a similar nature. According to the Los Angeles Times, in September 2007, the City of Los Angeles agreed to pay Pierce $1.49 million to avoid going to trial, with the support of then-Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, who had vetoed the earlier $2.7 million settlement offer proposed by Delgadillo, and the City Council. With legal costs to the City reaching an estimated $1.35 million, the taxpayers ended up having to pay out $2.84 million in the Pierce matter. An agreement facilitating digital billboards in Los Angeles while he was seeking campaign funds from the industry created controversy as to possible bias in agreeing to the advertising expansion. In 2007, Delgadillo's wife Michelle pleaded no contest to a misdemeanor charge of driving without a valid license. A bench warrant had been outstanding on Mrs. Delgadillo since 1998, after she failed to appear in court following a traffic incident. Delgadillo admitted that his wife had been driving his city-owned vehicle with a suspended license, and that she had damaged the vehicle, which was then repaired at city expense. He subsequently reimbursed the city for the $1,222 repair bill. It was also reported that Delgadillo had been driving his personal vehicle without insurance from June 2005 to July 2006; he said he was "embarrassed" by the situation and blamed his wife for the oversight. Awards "John F. Kennedy Profiles in Courage Award", Los Angeles County Democratic Party (2003) References 1960 births Living people California Democrats Columbia Law School alumni Harvard College alumni Los Angeles City Attorneys American chief executives