High-Profile L.A. Mayor Exits

A great, quick exploration of Mayor Villaraigosa's legacy in the WSJ. A few quotes by yours truly.  

Here is an excerpt:

Mr. Villaraigosa's tenure has "been a total mixed bag," said Jessica Levinson, a professor and government-reform expert at Loyola Law School. "Good things have happened in the city, but I'm not sure how many the mayor can take credit for," she added.

Los Angeles mayors operate with less power than their counterparts in many cities—notably having no direct control over city schools. Mr. Villaraigosa tried, and failed, to win some direct control over schools through state legislation. But over the years he pushed successfully to expand the number of charter schools in the city and battled publicly with the teachers union. He also formed a group that took over some low-performing schools from the district and ran them as charter schools, raising millions in private funding and raising graduation rates.

During Mr. Villaraigosa's tenure, the city expanded its public transportation system, increased bike lanes and reduced violent crime.

But Mr. Villaraigosa "also failed to do a lot of things," Ms. Levinson said. "We have more traffic. We're still not the nation's beacon when it comes to public transportation or green-tech jobs."

L.A. Mayor Villaraigosa: The Next U.S. Secretary of Transportation?

Last Wednesday when Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa delivered his state of the city address he largely avoided the main topic facing the city: the budget. That came on Friday in the unveiling of his budget, which included a proposal with significant layoffs.

The mayor's speech focused on transportation, and what may be his key achievement, the passage of Measure R. That measure, passed in 2008, includes a temporary half-cent sales tax slated to expire in 2039. It pays for transportation infrastructure throughout Los Angeles County. The tax, for instance, pays the construction and expansion of the region's rail system and maintenance of the highways. All of that work creates over 400,000 new jobs.

Now the mayor is pushing to eliminate the sunset provision of Measure R. That would make the tax increase permanent.

Beyond Measure R, the mayor also focused on America Fast Forward, a bill that would create a loan program from the federal government to local entities and agencies constructing roads and rails. The plan is in the transportation bills awaiting passage in the House and the Senate.

Finish reading this post on KCET.org. 

"Villaraigosa Donor Found Guilty of Money Laundering"

Jessica Levinson's piece on KCET is here. 


Here is an excerpt:


"This week the Los Angeles City Ethics Commission found Alexander Hugh, a real estate executive and a donor of Mayor Villaraigosa's re-election campaign, guilty of laundering money to the mayor. The Commission unanimously voted 4-0 to impose the maximum fine allowed under the law, $183,750, for campaign finance violations."