Antonio Villaraigosa

Antonio Villaraigosa (2005)

Antonio Ramón Villaraigosa (born Antonio Ramon Villar, Jr .; born January 23, 1953 in Los Angeles , California ) is an American politician ( Democrat ). He was Mayor of Los Angeles from 2005 to 2013 . He was the city's first Latino mayor since Cristobal Aguilar in 1872. Villaraigosa was elected on May 17, 2005 to succeed James Hahn . Before his election he sat as a member of the 45th district in the California State Assembly , the lower house of the California parliament, and as a representative of the 14th district in the city ​​council of Los Angeles. Before he was elected to public office, he was a trade union official for many years.

biography

The child of a Mexican father and an American of Mexican descent, he was born Antonio Ramon Villar in the City Terrace area of East Los Angeles in Los Angeles County and had a difficult childhood. He attended Catholic as well as public schools. In the third and fourth grades he attended Harrison Street School. He then went to Cathedral High School, a Catholic school, but was kicked out of school after a fight after a football game . Villaraigosa then graduated from Roosevelt High School, and thanks to the help of his teacher Herman Katz, he was able to attend East Los Angeles College , eventually earning his bachelor's degree in history from UCLA .

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In 1987 Villar married Corina Raigosa and took her name.

After graduating from UCLA, Villaraigosa attended People's College of Law (PCL). Despite four attempts, he failed the exam and failed to obtain a bar license. After attending the PCL, he worked for the United Teachers Los Angeles (UTLA), where he made relationships with people who allowed him to make the leap into politics, such as: B. James M. Woods and Miguel Contreras, both former Treasurers of the Los Angeles County Federation of Labor. Villaraigosa also served as chairman of the American Civil Liberties Union of Los Angeles and the American Federation of Government Employees . on May 12, 2006 Villaraigosa received an honorary degree from the University of Southern California (USC).

In 1994 he was elected to the California State Assembly , the California parliament, whose speaker he became four years later. He was the first speaker of the California State Assembly from Los Angeles in 25 years. In the four years before he was elected Speaker of Parliament, he held various other leadership positions. In the mayoral elections of Los Angeles in 2001 he ran as a candidate, but was beaten by Democrat James Hahn in a runoff election with eight percent. In 2003 Villaraigosa beat City Councilor Nick Pacheco and won a seat on the Los Angeles City Council for the 14th district.

In the mayoral election of Los Angeles on March 8, 2005, he received the most votes and in the runoff on May 17, he beat incumbent Hahn with 58.7% of the vote. He became the first Latin American mayor of Los Angeles since 1872 (Cristóbal Aguilar was mayor from 1866 to 1868 and again from 1870 to 1872 - although the population at that time was only about 6000 people).

The Nation newspaper attributed its success in 2005, as opposed to its defeat in 2001, to the fact that there were significantly more Afro-Americans in its coalition from 2005, as well as Maxine Waters (who still supported Hahn in 2001) and Bernard Parks (former police chief). He was also able to win many votes from West LA, which is home to many Jews who tend to be more conservative. In fact, there are only two populations that did not receive a majority: the white conservatives from the Northwest Valley and Asian Americans .

On July 1, 2005, Villaraigosa was sworn in as the 41st Mayor of Los Angeles in a solemn ceremony in the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels . A procession to the nearby town hall followed. On the south lawn of the church, he was entrusted with the office of Stephen Reinhardt , judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit . The ceremony was attended by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger , former Governors Gray Davis , Pete Wilson and Jerry Brown , as well as former US Vice President Al Gore and various mayors of major US cities such as B. Michael Bloomberg .

Because Villaraigosa was not allowed to run for mayor again after two terms in office, Eric Garcetti was elected mayor in May 2013.

Antonio Villaraigosa at a parade in Los Angeles Chinatown

His politics

Ethical

Villaraigosa's first act was to get all of the city's employees to sign an ethical declaration. He also removed all lobbyists from city commissions and made it a goal never to hire lobbyists again during his tenure. In this way Villaraigosa wants to nip corruption in the bud.

Instructions to be carried out and traffic

Villaraigosa has issued seven executive directives on various subjects. His most famous instruction was that he banned road construction work during rush hour. He also pays more attention to local public transport.

Education and street gang prevention

Villaraigosa believes that mayors of large cities should control schools as this is the best way to counter street gangs. In the first few weeks of his tenure, he set up a council of educational advisors to discuss measures to improve public education. This included, for example, better health care and creating safe routes to school.

In his first address to the city, he announced his intention to take full control of the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) through a new law, i.e. the schools of Los Angeles. After violent protests by the teachers' union, however, he had to agree to a compromise, according to which each LAUSD mayor sits on a council of mayors, with Villaraigosa receiving 80% of the vote, so that the opinion of the other mayors must at least be heard. For example, the council decides on the budget.

Economic policy

In Villaraigosa's view, it is necessary for the city to have a healthy economy in order to fight homelessness, for example. For example, he supported the construction of LA Live , a multi-billion dollar investment from the Staples Center , which will create theaters, cinemas, hotels and broadcasting facilities.

Film production

Villaraigosa had promised support for all workers in the film industry. He supported measures aimed at preventing film productions from being relocated abroad. Furthermore, he had abolished all fees previously incurred for filming in Los Angeles.

public safety

Antonio Villaraigosa (October 5, 2001)

Public safety was the primary political goal during James Hahn's tenure, and crime rates have declined significantly over the years. Villaraigosa continued these efforts. His latest development was the introduction of Homeland Security consultants . Los Angeles was prepared for a terrorist attack or a natural disaster in Villaraigosa's view. Nevertheless, the Los Angeles Police Department should be increased by 1000 men in the next 4 years (as of 2006).

energy and Environment

Villaraigosa stated that by 2017 20% of the energy should be renewable . All vehicles in the city should run on natural gas . He has also ratified the Clean Air Ports Action Plan , which applies to the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach and aims to significantly improve air quality. Villaraigosa is a supporter of the green urbanism campaign , which aims to make Los Angeles a pedestrian-friendly city.

Supra-regional affairs

In October 2006 he traveled to England and Asia for 16 days. In London , he spoke to Tony Blair about global warming and the application for the 2016 Olympic Games after an invitation . Blair had visited Villaraigosa a few months earlier in Los Angeles.

In Asia he visited various cities in China, Japan and South Korea. He advertised the airports as well as the seaports of Los Angeles and the city as a tourist destination.

Villaraigosa expressed the desire to travel to Israel.

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Villaraigosa's reputation varies widely from constituency to constituency, ranging from excellent to very poor. He has the reputation of a leader of the Democrats and is traded as a potential candidate for higher office, for example as governor of California or as a member of the House of Representatives.

Web links

Commons : Antonio Villaraigosa  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

• Antonio Villaraigosa in the nndb (English)
• Antonio Villaraigosa at The Political Graveyard

Individual evidence

1. ↑ http://www.handelsblatt.com/politik/international/demokrat-eric-garcetti-neuer-buergermeister-fuer-los-angeles/8241342.html

predecessor	Office	successor
Richard Polanco	MP in California State Assembly District 45 1994–2000	Jackie Goldberg