Antonio Villaraigosa

Infobox Officeholder | name = Antonio Villaraigosa

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caption =
order = 41st Mayor of Los Angeles
term_start = July 1, 2005
term_end =
predecessor = James Hahn
successor = Incumbent
order2 = 63rd Speaker of the
California State Assembly
term_start2 = February 26, 1998
term_end2 = April 13, 2000
predecessor2 = Cruz Bustamante
successor2 = Robert Hertzberg
order3 =
term_start3 =
term_end3 =
predecessor3 =
successor3 =
order4 =
term_start4 =
term_end4 =
predecessor4 =
successor4 =
birth_date = birth date and age|1953|1|23
birth_place = Boyle Heights, California
death_date =
death_place =
party = Democratic
spouse = Corina Villaraigosa (divorced 2007)
profession = Politician
religion = Roman Catholic


footnotes =

Antonio Ramon Villaraigosa (born Antonio Ramon Villar, Jr. on January 23, 1953), or Tony Villar, is the mayor of Los Angeles, California. He is the first Latino mayor of Los Angeles since Cristobal Aguilar in 1872. [ [http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,11069-1618131,00.html] timesonline.co.uk First Latino mayor since 1872] Villaraigosa was elected mayor of Los Angeles in a run-off election on May 17, 2005, in which he defeated incumbent mayor James Hahn. Prior to his service as mayor, Villaraigosa was the California State Assemblyman for the 45th District, the Speaker of the California State Assembly, and the Los Angeles City Councilman representing the 14th District. Before being elected to public office, Villaraigosa had a long career as a labor organizer. In 2007, Villaraigosa's marital troubles and affair with a television reporter covering City Hall made national headlines. Villaraigosa also served as one of four national co-chairmen of Hillary Rodham Clinton's 2008 Presidential campaign. [ [http://www.hillaryproject.com/index.php?/sg_distro/comments/could_villaraigosas_affair_hurt_clinton/ Hillary Clinton - Could Villaraigosa's affair hurt Clinton? - The Hillary Project - HillaryProject.com ] ]

Early years and education

Born Antonio Ramon Villar in the City Terrace neighborhood of Los Angeles County's eastside, Villaraigosa had a difficult childhood. He attended both Catholic and public schools.cite web |url= http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2007/05/21/070521fa_fact_bruck?printable=true|title= Fault Lines|accessdate=2007-07-25 |author= Bruck, Connie|publisher= "The New Yorker"|date= 2007-05-21] He went to Harrison Street School for third and fourth grade during 1961 and 1962. When Villaraigosa was in the 10th grade, he became paralyzed from the waist down due to a spinal tumor. After it was removed, he was able to regain mobility. [ [http://www.hispaniconline.com/magazine/2005/Agust/CoverStory/ Hispanic Magazine.com - August 2005 - Cover Story ] ] He attended Cathedral High School but was expelled from the Roman Catholic institution after getting into a fight after a rivalry football game. He graduated from Roosevelt High School, and with the help of his English teacher Herman Katz, went on to attend East Los Angeles College. Villaraigosa eventually transferred to University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) where he completed a bachelor's degree in history. Villaraigosa was a leader of MEChA at UCLA. [ [http://www.frontpagemag.com/Articles/ReadArticle.asp?ID=3531 FrontPage Magazine ] ] [ [http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/politics/recall/20030830-9999_1n30mecha.html SignOnSanDiego.com > News > Politics > Gray Davis Recall - Bustamante's MEChA past fuel for conservative critics ] ] At this time, he went by the name "Tony Villar", but began using his birth name "Antonio" in the 1980s.

After UCLA, Villaraigosa attended the People's College of Law (PCL), a "community-run law school" in Los Angeles, which is unaccredited through the State Bar. [ [http://www.calbar.ca.gov/state/calbar/calbar_generic.jsp?cid=10115&id=5128#CLC] Law Schools ] Villaraigosa failed the California Bar Exam in each of four attempts, and thus remains unlicensed to practice law. [ [http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/la-me-bar21feb21,1,7927848,full.story?coll=la-mininav-outdoors A High Bar for Lawyers - Los Angeles Times ] ]

After PCL, he became a field representative/organizer with the United Teachers Los Angeles (UTLA), where he made inroads with individuals that would help him make his move into politics, such as James M. Wood and Miguel Contreras, both deceased former Executive Treasurers of the Los Angeles County Federation of Labor, AFL-CIO. Villaraigosa was also President of the Los Angeles chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union and the American Federation of Government Employees. Antonio Villaraigosa is a Roman Catholic.

Personal life

Villar married Corina Raigosa November 28, 1987 [http://marriage.about.com/od/politics/p/villaraigosa.htm retrieved 2007-07-26] resulting in the adoption of their fused last names as his family name. The couple have two teenage children, Natalia and Antonio Jr., a Loyola High School graduate and current student at Princeton University.cite web |url= https://facebook.princeton.edu/profile.php?id=19901|title=""] cite web |url= http://www.knbc.com/news/13492008/detail.html?subid=10101581|title= Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa's Wife Files For Divorce|accessdate=2007-07-25 |publisher= KNBC|date= 2007-06-12] Corina is a teacher in the Montebello Unified School District.

Villaraigosa has two adult daughters, Marisela Villar and Prisila Villar-Contreras, from a previous relationship.

Marriage problems and affairs

On June 8, 2007, Villaraigosa announced he would be separating from his wife. On June 12, 2007, Corina Villaraigosa filed for divorce in Los Angeles Superior Court, citing irreconcilable differences. Villaraigosa acknowledged in a statement published July 3, 2007 that he is in a relationship with a Spanish-language television reporter, Mirthala Salinas. [ [http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/state/20070703-0602-lamayor.html SignOnSanDiego.com > News > State - Report: L.A. mayor Villaraigosa acknowledges 'relationship' with TV reporter ] ] [ [http://abclocal.go.com/kabc/story?section=local&id=5445161 abc7.com: L.A. Mayor Admits to Affair with TV Anchor 7/05/07 ] ] [http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070703/ap_on_re_us/la_mayor] He said, "I have had a relationship with Ms. Salinas over time. It has evolved, and today I have acknowledged that relationship." In his statement, he added "I don't believe that the details of my personal life are relevant to my job as mayor." He intends to keep his fused last name. In July 2007, some noted that Salinas' parent employer, NBC Universal, which is conducting a review of her reporting on the mayor in light of the news of the affair, is also currently campaigning with the city of Los Angeles for approval of a $3 billion, 20-year development plan for which they will need Villaraigosa's assistance. Some have called this a conflict of interest, but Villaraigosa said that he saw nothing wrong with the situation.cite web |url= http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-universal26jul26,0,4722156.story?coll=la-home-center|title= Affair, NBC project cross paths|accessdate=2005-07-26 |publisher= "Los Angeles Times"|date= 2006-07-26]

The mayor, who is widely considered to have designs on higher office, has been dogged by rumors of marital infidelity for years. In 1994, while Corina was undergoing treatment for thyroid cancer, Villaraigosa left town for a few days (with no notice) with a friend's wife after his victory in the state Assembly election, resulting in Corina filing for divorce the day after the election. The couple reconciled two years later. "The New Yorker" magazine reported in May that these actions infuriated colleagues who had helped portray him as a family man and lost him key supporters. Some wanted to recall him from office, but he defended his actions by saying, "It is a matter of the heart."

Early political career

In 1994, Villaraigosa was elected to the California State Assembly, and four years later, his colleagues in the legislature voted to make him the first Assembly Speaker from Los Angeles in 25 years. During the four years before he was named Speaker, he served several other positions in the Assembly leadership. He eventually became one of the leading progressive voices in the state. He ran for mayor of Los Angeles in the 2001 citywide contest but was defeated by eight percent by fellow Democrat James Hahn in a run-off election. In 2003, Villaraigosa defeated incumbent Councilman Nick Pacheco to win a seat on the Los Angeles City Council representing the 14th District.

Mayoralty

Election

In the Los Angeles mayoral election that took place on March 8, 2005, Villaraigosa placed first and continued on to the run-off election held on May 17, in which he won 58.7% of the vote to Hahn's 41.3%. He is the first Latino mayor of Los Angeles since 1872, when Mayor Cristóbal Aguilar (mayor from 1866 to 1868 and again from 1870 until 1872) governed over the city when its population was barely 6,000.

"The Nation" attributes his success in 2005, as opposed to his failure in 2001, to his adding a significant number of African Americans to his earlier coalition of "Latinos, labor and white lefties", noting 2005 endorsements by Representative Maxine Waters (a Hahn supporter in 2001), influential resident and basketball star Magic Johnson, and City Council member (and former police chief) Bernard Parks. [(unsigned article), "Progressive City Leaders", "The Nation", June 18, 2005, p.18-19.] He also won handily among West Los Angeles's liberal Jewish population, and to a lesser degree, the west Valley's more conservative Jewish community. Indeed, there were only two demographic groups he did not win: white conservatives in the northwest Valley, and Asian Americans, although he lost among the latter only by a narrow margin.

On 2005-07-01, Villaraigosa was sworn in as the 41st Mayor of Los Angeles in a large ceremony involving an interfaith prayer service at the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels, followed by a large procession to nearby City Hall. The ritual was planned by and the music conducted by John K. Flaherty. On the South Lawn of the facility, he was administered the oath of office by Stephen Reinhardt, judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, in a ceremony attended by dignitaries such as Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, former Governors Gray Davis, Pete Wilson, and Jerry Brown. Also attending were former Vice President Al Gore, New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, and mayors of other cities, current and former state and local elected officials, candidates, as well as large numbers of the Los Angeles Consular Corps, including a large contingent of international elected officials. The ceremony was also attended by local celebrities, including David Hasselhoff and Natalie Cole, who also performed the night before at his inaugural gala.

Ethics

While a member of the California state Assembly, then state Assemblyman Antonio Villaraigosa wrote the first letter to then President Bill Clinton on Carlos Vignali Jr.'s behalf on May 24, 1996 requesting clemency from Vignali Jr.'s drug trafficking conviction for which he had been sentenced to 15 years in federal prison. Released in March 2002 by the congressional Committee on Government Reform, "Justice Undone: Clemency Decisions in the Clinton White House" details Hugh Rodham's involvement in the Vignali, Jr. pardon, when revelations surfaced that then President Clinton granted clemency for Vignali Jr. The granting of clemency occurred after payments were made to Clinton's brother-in-law, Hugh Rodham, the brother of former first lady, New York state senator and 2008 Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Rodham Clinton.

The report takes to task top L.A. elected officials, including then–state Assemblyman Antonio Villaraigosa, county Supervisor Gloria Molina, then–state Senator Richard Polanco and U.S. Representative Xavier Becerra, among others, for lobbying on behalf of Vignali Jr., in light of his drug conviction and the fact that DEA agents long suspected Vignali Sr. to be involved in drug trafficking.

Villaraigosa's first act as mayor was to require all city commissioners, his entire staff, and all city employees to sign an ethics pledge. [ [http://ethics.lacity.org/MayorExecDirec.cfm Los Angeles City Ethics Commission - Mayor Villaraigosa's Executive Directives on Ethics ] ]

Executive directives and transportation

Villaraigosa has now signed nine executive directives regarding a number of issues. One of his most prominent, which occurred early in his tenure, was to ban all road construction during rush hour in traffic-plagued Los Angeles. This plan was originally proposed during Villaraigosa's first run for mayor in 2001 by candidate Steve Soboroff.

His other transportation related efforts have been to take charge of the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority, where he previously served as chairman, in contrast to Hahn, who had declined his turn to take the helm. At the end of his year long term, the chairmanship rotated to County Supervisor Gloria Molina. Villaraigosa currently serves as a Vice Chair of the Metro board.

As chairman, Villaraigosa oversaw the final approval of the EIR for the proposed Exposition Line, the opening of the Orange Line busway through the San Fernando Valley, and the beginning of tunneling on the Eastside extension of the Metro Gold Line light rail. One of Villaraigosa's main transportation related goals is to extend the Purple Line subway down Wilshire Boulevard to Santa Monica, although no plans have yet been completed. In order to convince Congressman Henry Waxman to reverse the federal policy he created which banned tunneling under Wilshire Boulevard following an unrelated methane explosion, Waxman and Villaraigosa appointed a board to study the geologic risks. After the panel declared that any risks could be mitigated, Waxman sponsored legislation to repeal the ban, which passed in 2006. More recently, Metro has determined that it will cost $4.8 billion (U.S.) to complete the subway, at $300 million a mile, and would take approximately 20 years.

Villaraigosa led Operation Pothole, whose goal was to fill 35,000 potholes in 14 weeks. This goal was surpassed, as 80,173 potholes were filled throughout the city. Following this success, he announced an initiative, currently in operation, to fill 300,000 potholes throughout the city. He has also announced Gridlock Tiger Teams to ease traffic congestion on Wilshire Boulevard and in the San Fernando Valley.

The MTA will be raising all of its fare effective as of July 1, 2007 to address a growing city budget deficit. Vilaraigosa proposed his own plan in terms of fare increases, but the MTA Board rejected his proposal, calling it unsound.

Education and gang prevention

Villaraigosa has made gaining control of the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) one of his top priorities as mayor. Villaraigosa said during his campaign that he wished to take control over the schools, as is the case in New York City and Chicago, but he later backed away from the plan.cite web |url= http://www.economist.com/world/na/displaystory.cfm?story_id=E1_VDRRVJP|title= But what's in the enchilada?|accessdate=2005-07-25 |publisher= "The Economist"|date= 2005-10-27]

In the first weeks of his administration, he appointed a Council of Education Advisors to find recommendations for immediate steps that can be taken to improve public education in Los Angeles. Some of the recommendations created by that council include mentoring, providing thorough health care, and creating safe passages to and from school.

In his first annual State of the City address, he announced his intention to assume full control of the Los Angeles Unified School District, through a bill passed by the State Legislature.cite web |url= http://economist.com/world/na/displaystory.cfm?story_id=E1_GRVJTVP|title= The mayor takes charge|accessdate=2005-07-25 |publisher= "The Economist"|date= 2006-04-27] The school board and teachers' union immediately protested and support among the community was lukewarm. Consequently, Villaraigosa reached a compromise with leaders of the teachers' unions and state legislators. In the compromise, a Council of Mayors would be created, consisting of the mayors of each of the 28 cities served by LAUSD. The votes of each mayor would be proportionate to the city's population, thus giving Villaraigosa over 80% of the vote, and most often, the final say of what happens, while requiring him to seek consensus from a few other cities. The council reviews the budget and would approve the Board of Education's choice for Superintendent. Also, the board's powers would be reduced while the superintendent would gain more authority in shaping instructional methods, the contracting processes, and would be in charge of the facilities division. Villaraigosa and the superintendent would be in charge of three of the lowest performing schools in the district and their feeder elementary and middle school campuses. His efforts to gain more control have been endorsed by Chicago mayor Richard M. Daley and New York mayor Michael Bloomberg, each of whom was given control of his city's school district.

The bill created to implement these desired changes, labeled AB 1381, was written by Assembly Speaker Fabian Núñez and State Senate Majority Leader Gloria Romero, with strong support from State Legislators Dario Frommer and Don Perata. Villaraigosa led four town hall style forums in South, East, and West Los Angeles, as well as the San Fernando Valley, to sell his plan to parents and voters. The bill passed both houses overwhelmingly and was signed by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger who said that "we want to help [Villaraigosa] in that move, because we all know that it is inexcusable that we have more than 30 percent of our students drop out of school...." [ [http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/04/19/AR2006041903062.html] Dead link|date=March 2008]

The plan has continued to receive significant opposition among the Los Angeles Board of Education, primarily Board President Marlene Canter, the then-superintendent of LAUSD, Roy Romer, some in the California state legislature, and other city councils, whose cities are also a part of the Los Angeles Unified School District. The opposition believes that local school board members are more accountable to constituents than a mayor with other things on his agenda, and cities outside of Los Angeles in LAUSD will be under taxation without representation because they cannot vote for the Mayor of Los Angeles.

The bill was ruled unconstitutional by the local Superior Court. In an appeal, it was knocked down once again by the State Court of Appeals. There was talk that the Mayor would appeal to the State Supreme Court but refused to do so.

As a new approach to gaining control, he has helped to elect a majority of allies to the Los Angeles Unified School District Board of Education. He has also released his blueprint for education reform, entitled "The School House".

Several challenges have risen during Villaraigosa's bid for more control. One was the request of City Controller Laura Chick to audit the operations of the school district, a proposal which has been endorsed by the mayor and the entire Los Angeles City Council, but is strongly objected to by the superintendent and the Board of Education. Another was Assemblyman Keith Richman's proposal to break up the LAUSD into smaller districts, a plan reminiscent of one proposed by former mayoral advisor Steve Soboroff during his run for mayor in 2000 and Bob Hertzberg in his campaign in 2005. Villaraigosa says he will look at this plan but ultimately wants to see mayoral control.

Through all of these efforts, Villaraigosa has continued the work of his predecessors to expand Los Angeles's after-school program for elementary schools, LA's Best, as well as that for middle schools, LA's Bridges. LA's Bridges is focused on preventing at-risk children from joining gangs, and encouraging current gang members to drop out.

The focus of Mayor Villaraigosa's 2007 State of the City address was on gang prevention, intervention, and suppression. In consultation with a report issued by the Advancement Project of Los Angeles and with the City Council's Ad Hoc Committee on Gangs and Youth Development, Villaraigosa released his plan on gangs. He has recently appointed a Deputy Mayor for Gang Prevention to implement these reforms.

Animal Services

During the election, Villaraigosa appeared before a coalition of animal rights activists and pledged if elected he would implement a no-kill policy for Animal Services and fire General Manager Guerdon Stuckey, an appointee of former Mayor Hahn. Stuckey earned the ire of animal rights activists for what they considered to be his lack of experience, a bungled city spay/neuter contract, refusal to cooperate with the Los Angeles Animal Commission and excessive euthanasia of animals held by Animal Services. Stuckey's supporters claimed that he had been reducing the number of animals killed in the city every year. After the animal community caused an onslaught of negative press about the mayor's failure to keep his promise, Villaraigosa fired Stuckey. Stuckey appealed the firing to the City Council and threatened a lawsuit. The council awarded Stuckey a $50,000 consulting fee with the agreement that there would be no lawsuit. Sympathy for Stuckey by some council members was partly in reaction to a campaign against Stuckey by some that included a smoke bomb and picketing. In addition, there was concern for racial discrimination because Stuckey is black. Villaraigosa then appointed Ed Boks to the General Manager position. [http://www.lacity.org/mayor/myreducation/mayormyreducation246134352_12152005.pdf]
An August 12, 2008 Los Angeles Times article describes animal advocates' concern regarding staff cuts that will have a disproportionate impact on 154 animal technicians and the 2,400 animals they care for. "Although Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa planned to cut 767 jobs this year, the shelter workers may end up being the only people to lose jobs at City Hall. In other departments, workers whose jobs were eliminated could be moved to other departments where their skills could be used... [T] he cuts meant more than just lost jobs. Thousands of animals would suffer as well." [ [http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-shelter12-2008aug12,0,5481988.story] L.A. Shelter Workers Say Staff Cuts Will Hurt Animal Care by Carla Hall, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer] Ironically, City Controller Laura Chick notes that the City of Los Angeles "is losing out on millions of dollars by not enforcing existing laws and collecting fees and fines, such as with dog licenses." Further, after an audit, Chick claims that the Los Angeles Animal Services Department "has no plan to educate the public regarding mandatory sterilization and how they can comply. In fact, the City Council instituted a six-month grace period till the ordinance goes into effect this October to give the Department the opportunity to prepare the public. Now on the eve of its enactment, theDepartment has done little to promote awareness or compliance with the law,” saidChick. [ [http://www.ci.la.ca.us/ctr/press/ctrpress18655176_08202008.pdf] Chick Finds Animal Services Ill-Prepared to Implement or Enforce New Mandatory Spay and Neuter Law] -

Economic policies

Development, housing, and homelessness

Villaraigosa believes that the city requires a strong and healthy economy to be beneficial in other areas, like housing. He has found compromises in several labor disputes, including a highly publicized hotel workers protest while he was still the mayor-elect. He has also supported the construction of LA Live, a multibillion dollar development by Staples Center, which will add a theatre, movie theatres, hotel, retail and restaurant space, open space, and broadcast facilities; the project has broken ground during his administration. In addition, the tax reforms created by Councilmembers Wendy Greuel and Eric Garcetti and former Mayor James Hahn have also taken effect during his administration. In terms of housing, Mayor Villaraigosa proposed placing an initiative on the ballot which will fund 1 billion dollars of affordable housing. In addition, he has infused an additional 50 million dollars into the Housing Trust Fund, created by former Mayor Hahn, which he has devoted exclusively to housing and programming for the homeless population. The homeless population has become a major issue during his administration and he has recently been appointed to chair a task force on poverty and opportunity for the United States Conference of Mayors.

Film production

In relation to the California film industry, Villaraigosa has expressed support for U.S. film industry workers. Villaraigosa introduced counter-incentives to keep U.S. film productions at home. [ [http://www.dga.org/news/dgamonthly-0506/news_villaraigosa.php3 DGA Monthly - Volume 3 News - Issue 5 - May 2006] ] Villaraigosa's proposals include eliminating fees for filming done on all city property and reducing business taxes for entertainment-related businesses. Another proposal includes a possible entertainment incentive zone to make it easier to locate film production in the city. [ [http://www.iatselocal80.org/News/industrynews/index.html] Industry News - IATSE local 80 - "L.A. Mayor promotes tax breaks" By Greg Hernandez, Staff Writer]

Public safety and homeland security

During James Hahn's administration, public safety was the number one concernFact|date=June 2008 and Hahn presided over significant decreases in crime every year. His program included bringing in William Bratton as police chief, restoring community policing, and implementing a flexible work week schedule. Villaraigosa has pledged to continue all of these efforts and continues to see drops in all areas of crime. Villaraigosa is a member of the Mayors Against Illegal Guns Coalition, [cite web| url=http://www.mayorsagainstillegalguns.org/html/about/members.shtml| title=Mayors Against Illegal Guns: Coalition Members] an organization formed in 2006 and co-chaired by New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg and Boston mayor Thomas Menino. Villaraigosa recently proposed a Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness initiative, which builds upon the work of Hahn with programs like Operation Archangel, adds certain units to the Los Angeles Police and Fire Departments, adds positions to each department, and reorganizes some of the current practices. Villaraigosa's latest development in the policy realm of homeland security is the creation of his Homeland Security Advisors, a group of approximately 40 leaders. Some of the high profile selections include former Mayor Richard Riordan and Police Chief William Bratton. The group will be co-chaired by his Deputy Mayor for Homeland Security and Public Safety Arif Alikhan and Los Angeles City Councilman Jack Weiss. Villaraigosa has proven that Los Angeles is ready for a natural disaster or terrorist attack based upon the city's responses to the terrorist bombings in London and Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, which hit the Gulf Coast, but wants to strengthen local readiness and response. In 2006, Villaraigosa proposed an increase of trash fees to hire about 1,000 Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) officers over the next four years. The proposal was passed by the Los Angeles City Council. In his recently proposed budget for the upcoming fiscal year, Villaraigosa proposed cutting the CERT (Community Emergency Response Training) program led by the Los Angeles Fire Department. In City Council budget hearings, the funds were identified to restore the program.

In a televised interview with ABC Channel 7, on August 12, 2007, Villaraigosa announced that the City will uphold the law of the State of California about the medicinal use of marijuana. Villaraigosa added that the State's Compassionate Use Act 1996 and/or Senate Bill 420, allowed for dispensaries and that the city would continue to monitor the dispensaries in place; that they do not break any laws. The LAPD on the other hand has taken the position that they would uphold federal law against marijuana whatever the purpose of it, as it is against federal law for anyone to use, possess, or cultivate marijuana because the U.S. federal government does not officially recognize cannabis 'marijuana' as a medicine nor having any medicinal benefits.

Energy and the environment

Villaraigosa has urged the Department of Water and Power to make 20% of all energy, natural energy, by 2017. He has encouraged the continued conversion of the city's fleet of vehicles into clean natural energy vehicles. Most significantly, he has overseen the historic Clean Air Ports Action Plan between the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, which will significantly improve air quality. Villaraigosa is a supporter of recreation and parks, and the concept of "green urbanism", making Los Angeles a pedestrian and environment friendly city. This can be evidenced by his hiring of Gail Goldberg as Los Angeles' new Planning Director. While Planning Director in San Diego, Goldberg worked on making San Diego a city of villages, each intricately linking pedestrian activity, public transportation, housing, and environmental practices. The mayor recently announced his initiative to plant one million new trees (with the help of TreePeople and founder/president Andy Lipkis) throughout the City of Los Angeles. Villaraigosa has recently released plans to curb the effects of global warming and climate change.

Water usage

On August 10, 2007, "The Los Angeles Times" published an expose on water usage by Villaraigosa at his private residences. [http://www.latimes.com/news/science/environment/la-me-water10aug10,1,4885.story?ctrack=1&cset=true] During the Summer of 2007, Villaraigosa challenged Los Angeles residents to slash their water use by 10% in the face of a historic drought. "Los Angeles needs to change course and conserve water to steer clear of this perfect storm," Villaraigosa said then. But DWP records obtained by the Los Angeles Times show that "Villaraigosa has been contributing to that storm," according to the Times. He and his family used 386,716 gallons of water at their Mount Washington home, far higher than the average of 209,000 gallons. Villaraigosa blamed his high water use on "gophers that chewed holes through a rubberized drip-irrigation system."

Legislative and intergovernmental affairs

Mayor Villaraigosa has visited Sacramento and Washington, D.C. numerous times to lobby on behalf of his educational and transportation related initiatives. He has also sought millions of dollars in grants for public safety, homeland security, transportation, homelessness, and other causes.

In October 2006, he traveled to England for several days and Asia for a sixteen-day trade mission. In England, he visited London and Manchester, at the invitation of Prime Minister Tony Blair, and spoke about Los Angeles' efforts regarding global warming, homeland security and emergency preparedness, and its current bid for the 2016 Olympic Games. Prime Minister Blair had visited Mayor Villaraigosa a couple months prior to that in Los Angeles.

In Asia, he visited several cities in China, Japan, and South Korea. He promoted Los Angeles' airports, including LAX and regional airports, the Port of Los Angeles, and the city as a tourist destination. During his mission, his Office of Communications made daily announcements.

On May 1, he left for an official trip in Latin America, visiting with the President of El Salvador and other leaders. On that day, an incident of police brutality broke out at an immigrants rights rally in Los Angeles' MacArthur Park.

Villaraigosa traveled to Israel in June 2008 to meet with Israeli experts in homeland security, counterterrorism, and green technology. In recent years, he developed a relationship with the mayor of the Israeli city of Sderot, Eli Moyal, and met with him during the visit. Villaraigosa has long retained strong ties to the Los Angeles Jewish Community, having spent part of his childhood in the once-Jewish dominated neighborhood of Boyle Heights.

Reputation

Villaraigosa has gained a reputation as a leader in the Democratic Party, and some consider him a possible future candidate for higher office such as Governor of California, a House Representative, Senator, or even President of the United States if he achieves enough national recognition.Fact|date=September 2007 He has been featured on the cover of "Newsweek" with the accompanying headline, "Latino Power", and in "Time" as one of the country's 25 most influential Latinos. However, his marital issues in 2007 may have damaged his reputation among some, locally and nationally. He is longlisted for the 2008 World Mayor award.

Villaraigosa makes frequent trips to both Sacramento and Washington DC and makes appearances on national news programming and at events of prominence, such as the White House Correspondents Dinner. Mayor Villaraigosa was photographed by "The Washington Post" along with many other politicians sleeping during President George W. Bush's 2007 State of the Union speech. Villaraigosa also delivered the Democratic Party's Spanish-language response to President Bush's 2006 State of the Union address from his mayoral residence, the Getty House. Villaraigosa is the first mayor since Tom Bradley who has opted to live in the Getty House; both Mayors Riordan and Hahn chose to stay in their own homes, Riordan in his mansion in Brentwood, and Hahn in his single-family house in San Pedro.

Villaraigosa has received criticism because of his membership in MEChA while attending UCLA and his support for immigration reform. [ [http://www.kfi640.com/podcast/JohnandKen.xml John And Ken ] ] [ [http://cbs2.com/topstories/local_story_024214716.html] ] He has also been criticized because of the high frequency in which he holds press conferences, attends photo-ops, and travels out-of-town (including campaigning for Hillary Clinton). An LA Weekly article by Patrick Range McDonald published on September 11, 2008, presented an analysis of a 10-week period from May 21 to August 1, and determined that "On direct city business — such as signing legislation and meeting with city-department heads — his schedule shows the mayor spent 11 percent of his time...Yet the 11 percent of Villaraigosa's time that the Weekly has identified as being spent in L.A. on actual city work — running, fixing or shaping government policies and actions — reveals that he frequently spends that limited time huddling with special-interest groups who have helped him attain higher office." [ [http://www.laweekly.com/2008-09-11/news/the-all-about-me-mayor The All-About-Me Mayor: Antonio Villaraigosa's Frenetic Self-Promotion ] ]

On September 24, 2007, Mayor Villaraigosa received the Seven Seals Award, the highest honor awarded by the Department of Defense to a civilian. The award is symbolic of the seven services that comprise the reserve components and is bestowed upon employers who actively support their employees in the National Guard and Army Reserve. [ [http://www.thefreelibrary.com/WEST+VALLEY+OFFICER+RECEIVES+PURPLE+HEART.(News)-a0169207310 West Valley Officer Receives Purple Heart. - Free Online Library ] ]

ee also

* Los Angeles mayoral election, 2001

References

Further reading

* Bruck, Connie. "Fault Lines". "The New Yorker", 21 May 2007, pp. 44-55.
* " [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/4554251.stm Reaching across LA's ethnic divide] ", David Willis, BBC News Los Angeles (May 17, 2005).

External links

* [http://www.lacity.org/mayor/myrbio1.htm Biography from the Office of the Mayor of the City of Los Angeles]
* [http://www.laprensa-sandiego.org/archieve/june08/power.htm "La Prensa": A political analysis of the 2001 election]
* [http://www.antonio2005.com/multimedia?id=0003 Photos on campaign website for Antonio Villaraigosa]
* [http://www.bruinalumni.com/antonio/antonioindex.html Antonio Villaraigosa Educational Campaign] , conducted by Andrew Jones.
* [http://www.citymayors.com/mayors/los_angeles_mayor.html CityMayors profile]
* Schmal, John P. " [http://www.hispanicvista.com/HVC/Columnist/jschmal/052305jpschmal.htm The Four Latino Mayors of Los Angeles] ," "HispanicVista", May 23, 2005
* [http://mayorsagainstillegalguns.org Mayors Against Illegal Guns homepage]
* [http://www.thenation.com/doc/20040301/villaraigosa Antonio Villaraigosa: A President Who Will Fight for All Americans]
* [http://www.laweekly.com/ink/05/14/transcript-villaraigosa.php LA Weekly: Antonio Villaraigosa Interview Transcript]
* [http://www.aztlan.net/alcalde_de_los_angeles.htm Antonio Villaraigosa: Alcalde de Los Angeles?]
* [http://www.beyondchron.org/news/index.php?itemid=3181 Beyond Chron: Villaraigosa Provides Progressive Vision for Urban America]
* [http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-mayor24apr24,1,7241135.story?coll=la-headlines-california "Familiar Ring to Mayor's Agenda] by Jim Newton, "Los Angeles Times"

Persondata
NAME= Villaraigosa, Antonio Ramon
ALTERNATIVE NAMES=Villar, Antonio Ramon, Jr.
SHORT DESCRIPTION=mayor of Los Angeles, California
DATE OF BIRTH= January 23, 1953
PLACE OF BIRTH= Boyle Heights, California
DATE OF DEATH=
PLACE OF DEATH=