Railroaded

Political operative Mark Fabiani, who worked for Democratic vice president Al Gore before striking out on his own and signing up with GOP fat cat Alex Spanos, has picked up yet another controversial client. Italian railcar maker AnsaldoBreda, Inc., is trying to get L.A.’s Metropolitan Transportation Authority to exercise an option to buy 100 new railcars, even though previous orders have been delivered late and the cars are 6000 pounds overweight. Enter Fabiani and longtime partner Chris Lehane, who are working with L.A.’s Democratic mayor Antonio Villaraigosa against the recommendation of transit chief Roger Snoble (who used to run San Diego’s bus operation) to put the next 100 cars out for competitive bids.