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  Villaraigosa, Antonio
CANDIDATE DETAILS
AffiliationDemocratic  
 
NameAntonio Villaraigosa
Address5514 Wilshire
Los Angeles, California , United States
EmailNone
Website [Link]
Born January 23, 1953 (71 years)
ContributorJake
Last ModifedRBH
Mar 24, 2018 02:24pm
Tags Hispanic - ACLU - Catholic -
InfoAntonio R. Villaraigosa is the current mayor of Los Angeles, California. He is the first Latino mayor of Los Angeles 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.

Born Antonio Villar in Boyle Heights neighborhood of East Los Angeles of Mexican-American parentage, Villaraigosa had an unstable childhood. Although he never finished high school he received an honorary degree from Theodore Roosevelt High School. He fell in with gangs but shook off that lifestyle and went on to attend UCLA. While there, he was active in MEChA, a radical civil rights organization. He obtained his degree in history, and attended the People's College of Law, an unaccredited law school. After failing the bar four times he moved on to labor. 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 the James M. Wood and Miguel Contreras, both deceased 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 for a period.

In 1994, Antonio was elected to the California State Assembly, and just four years later, his colleagues in the legislature voted to make him the first Assembly Speaker from Los Angeles in 25 years. He eventually became one of the leading progressive voices in the state. In 1987, he married Corina Raigosa (his second wife) and combining their names, changed his name from Villar to Villaraigosa. 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 Lauro "Nick" Pacheco to win a seat on the Los Angeles City Council representing the 14th District.

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 Los Angeles at a time when its population was barely 6,000.

The Nation attributes his success in 2005, as against his failure in 2001, to his adding 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) and City Council member (and former police chief) Bernard Parks. He also won handily amongst the West L.A.'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 north west Valley, and Asian-Americans, although the latter only by the narrowest of margins.

On July 1st of 2005, he was sworn in as the 41st mayor of Los Angeles in an enormous ceremony, which involved an interfaith service at the Our Lady of the Angels Cathedral, followed by a large procession to nearby City Hall. On the South Lawn of the facility, he was administered the oath of office by Stephen Reinhardt, judge of the U.S. 9th Circuit Court, in a ceremony attended by dignitaries such as Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, former Vice-President Al Gore, New York mayor Michael Bloomberg, current and former state and local elected officials, candidates, as well as large numbers of the L.A. area counsular corps, including a large contingent of elected officials from Mexico.


JOB APPROVAL POLLS
DateFirmApproveDisapproveDon't Know
04/18/2006-04/18/2006 Survey USA 65.00% ( 0.0) 25.00% ( 0.0) 10.00% ( 0.0)

BOOKS
Title Purchase Contributor

EVENTS
Start Date End Date Type Title Contributor

NEWS
Date Category Headline Article Contributor
Jul 04, 2007 10:00pm News Mayor reveals romantic link with TV newscaster  Article Buddy 
May 16, 2006 07:00pm Profile L.A.'s Villaraigosa a High-Energy Mayor  Article RP 
Aug 31, 2005 09:00am News Mayor [Villaraigosa ] Rules Out '06 Gubernatorial Bid  Article CBlock941 
Aug 12, 2005 05:00pm News Mayor [Villaraigosa] Bans Road Work During Rush Hour  Article Jake 
May 24, 2005 12:00am News Villaraigosa Names Transition Team Head  Article None Entered 

DISCUSSION
Importance? 7.50000 Average

FAMILY

INFORMATION LINKS
RACES
  06/08/2026 CA Governor - Open Primary ???
  06/05/2018 CA Governor - Open Primary Lost 13.31% (-20.36%)
  02/24/2018 CA Governor - D Endorsement Lost 8.63% (+5.37%)
  03/03/2009 Los Angeles Mayor Won 55.65% (+29.42%)
  05/17/2005 Los Angeles Mayor Won 58.63% (+17.27%)
  03/08/2005 Los Angeles Mayor - Primary Won 33.10% (+9.52%)
  03/04/2003 Los Angeles City Council - District 14 Won 56.65% (+17.06%)
  06/05/2001 Los Angeles Mayor Lost 46.47% (-7.06%)
  04/10/2001 Los Angeles Mayor - Primary Won 30.43% (+5.38%)
  12/07/1998 CA Assembly Speaker Won 60.26% (+20.51%)
  11/03/1998 CA State Assembly 45 Won 82.19% (+64.39%)
  11/05/1996 CA State Assembly 45 Won 78.23% (+56.47%)
  11/08/1994 CA State Assembly 45 Won 65.01% (+37.05%)
SPECULATIVE, DID NOT RUN
  02/02/2021 US Secretary of Transportation Lost 0.00% (-86.87%)
ENDORSEMENTS
CA State Assembly 06 - Open Primary - Mar 05, 2024 D Carlos Marquez III
CA State Assembly 54 - Open Primary - Mar 05, 2024 D Mark J. Gonzalez
CA State Assembly 57 - Open Primary - Mar 05, 2024 D Dulce Vasquez
Los Angeles City Council - District 4 - Mar 05, 2024 D Nithya Raman
Los Angeles City Council - District 10 - Mar 05, 2024 D Heather Hutt
Los Angeles City Council - District 12 - Mar 05, 2024 N Serena Oberstein
CA District 16 - Open Primary - Mar 05, 2024 D Sam Liccardo
Los Angeles Mayor - Primary - Jun 07, 2022 D Karen R. Bass
CA US President - D Primary - Mar 03, 2020 D Michael R. "Mike" Bloomberg
Proposition 66 (Death Penalty) - Nov 08, 2016 NO No
CA - District 33 - Open Primary - Jun 03, 2014 D Wendy J. Greuel
Los Angeles City Controller - Primary - Mar 05, 2013 NPA Dennis P. Zine
Los Angeles County District Attorney - Runoff - Nov 06, 2012 D Jackie Lacey
CA - District 30 - Open Primary - Jun 05, 2012 D Howard L. Berman
CA - District 44 - Open Primary - Jun 05, 2012 D Janice K. Hahn
NM District 01 - D Primary - Jun 05, 2012 D Martin Chávez
CA District 36 - Special Open Primary - May 17, 2011 D Janice K. Hahn
CA State Assembly 50 - D Primary - Jun 08, 2010 D Ricardo Lara
CA District 36 - D Primary - Jun 08, 2010 D Jane L. Harman
Los Angeles City Attorney - Runoff - May 19, 2009 D Jack Weiss
CA US President - D Primary - Feb 05, 2008 D Hillary Clinton
CA State Assembly 55 - Special Election Primary - Dec 11, 2007 D Warren T. Furutani
Los Angeles City Council - District 14 - Mar 06, 2007 D José Huizar
Los Angeles City Council - District 7 - Mar 06, 2007 D Richard A. Alarcón
CA State Assembly 12 - D Primary - Jun 06, 2006 D Janet Reilly
Oakland Mayor - Jun 06, 2006 N Ignacio De La Fuente
Los Angeles City Council - District 11 - Open Primary - Mar 08, 2005 D William J. "Bill" Rosendahl
Los Angeles City Council - District 4 - Special Election - Sep 11, 2001 N Beth Garfield