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Villaraigosa Will Not Run for Governor, Vows to Focus on LA
Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa told Wolf Blitzer this afternoon that he will not run for Governor.
"The answer's no. I make that decision because like I've said many times, I love the city I was born and raised in, the city my grandpa came to 100 years ago," he told Blitzer.
"Cities are on the frontlines of the challenges facing us in terms of the economic crisis," he continued. "Here in the City of LA, 12.5% unemployment rate, 21,000 people have lost their home over the last 2 years, we're facing an unprecedented and historical budget deficit of $530 million dollars. I feel compelled to complete what I started out to do. I said to Los Angeles four years ago to dream with me. i said we would take on the many challenges that we face in the city: public school and public safety, the issue of the environment. I said that we would do everything we could to come together as a city. I can't leave this city in the middle of a crisis, that's as simple as that."
In a recent LA Times poll, Villaraigosa garnered 38% of those polled while former Governor and current Attorney General Jerry Brown and San Francisco Mayor received 32% and 13%, respectively. Like in his March election, he received a 55% job approval in the poll.
"To turn America around, we've got to turn cities around," Villaraigosa said in closing to Blitzer.
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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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