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Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa: A 'Mediocre' or 'Good' Mayor?
Twice in a week, major news outlets have hammered down on Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa. The LA Times endorsed him for reelection noting that they could not support any of the opposing candidates. They said he was a "good" mayor and are holding out hope that he can become a "great" mayor. And to the mayor's credit, it was he that really pushed for the "subway to the sea" and he was right to pursue control over LAUSD, although his tactics to do so failed miserably with educators.
Today, Forbes columnist and local historian Joel Kotkin writes on "the decline of Los Angeles," citing Villaraigosa's failed initiatives like planting a million trees and making LA more business competitive with smaller cities like Burbank. "By most accounts, he has been at best a mediocre mayor, with few real accomplishments besides keeping police chief Bill Bratton, a man appointed by his predecessor."
One of the more talked about issues with Villaraigosa is his constant public appearances. The LA Weekly called him the 11% mayor because most of the time he's at news conferences and out in the public eye, but the Times calls that "naive," saying he needs to be out making deals, as long as it's not all about progressing his career and not taking the city along for the ride.
To us, just get the job done. A mayor doesn't need to be at his desk all day doing paperwork, but needs to be keeping on his appointed department heads to make sure the city is running as efficiently as possible. One thing you can say for sure about city hall, it's hardly close to be a lean and mean efficient machine and Villaraigosa has proved little on his effort in those regards.
Next week denizens will go to polls to vote on the Mayoral primary, among others. Some have called on you to vote on any one but Villaraigosa, as to keep the conversation going until the next election (if he doesn't get 50% of the vote it goes to a run off in June) and others like the Times and Forbes know the fate of this all too well--it's inevitable that he'll win and if you want him gone, you'll have to hope and then vote if and when he runs for Governor during his next term.
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You come to LAist because you want independent reporting and trustworthy local information. Our nonprofit newsroom doesn’t answer to shareholders looking to turn a profit. Instead, we answer to you and our communities. We are free to follow facts wherever they lead and to hold power to account without fear or favor. Our only loyalty is to our readers and listeners and our mission: to inform, engage, and strengthen Southern California’s communities.
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