Far from center stage, Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa spent the first day of the Democratic National Convention straining to speak over clattering dishes as he addressed a breakfast meeting Monday of the Florida delegation.

On the second day, Villaraigosa remained on the sidelines, as early Barack Obama supporters like Federico Peña, the former mayor of Denver, and Rep. Xavier Becerra of Los Angeles took the stage.

With no prime-time speaking slot or other major role at the four-day convention, one of the nation’s best-known Latino elected officials has been relegated mostly to side events. He has filled the void by feverishly working crowds and the news media and appearing on cable’s MSNBC and Fox News. He spoke to delegates from New Hampshire on Sunday, Florida on Monday and Minnesota and Texas on Tuesday.

All the while, Villaraigosa has been careful to brush aside any speculation that he was snubbed by Democratic presidential hopeful Sen. Barack Obama as retribution for his aggressive campaigning for rival Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton during the primaries.

“I’ve been asked that question 100 times,” said Villaraigosa, who spoke at the Democratic convention in 2004 when he was a city councilman. “I’m going to Pueblo, Colo., this week to campaign for Barack Obama, and I’m going to campaign as hard for his candidacy” as he did for Clinton.

“It matters to Angelenos who is in the White House. If I have a voice to add to this debate, I intend to use it.”

Still, some of Villaraigosa’s close political allies said that, as mayor of the nation’s second-largest city, he had felt slighted. Hoping to correct that perception, one of Obama’s top advisors, Valerie Jarrett, is scheduled to met privately with Villaraigosa on Thursday.

“The purpose of the meeting is to talk about the significant role that Villaraigosa will play in the campaign as it moves from now forward,” said Kerman Maddox, who is close to the mayor and serves as a member of the Obama national finance committee. “The Obama campaign wants to make sure that he plays a crucial role in the campaign. They want to reassure the mayor that the Obama campaign appreciates everything he is doing.”

Villaraigosa was one of Clinton’s most tireless and effective advocates on the primary campaign trail, a strong voice in states where Latino voters were critical. Clinton credited Villaraigosa with helping deliver a popular victory in Nevada’s Democratic caucuses in January, after which questions grew about Obama’s ability to win over Latinos. Another public thank-you came when Clinton spoke Tuesday night — the mayor sat just behind Bill Clinton in the convention hall.

Villaraigosa made a swift pivot to Obama when the primary season ended, citing the Illinois senator’s inspiring message and the perils of another Republican administration in the White House. In July, the Obama campaign asked Villaraigosa to introduce him at a convention of Latino civil rights leaders, and met with him and three other Latino supporters of Clinton at the National Conference of Mayors in Miami.

But vestiges of Villaraigosa’s loyalty to Clinton linger, even when he tried to put a positive spin on the outcome of the divisive primary in his address to the Florida delegation Monday.

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