Antonio Ramón Villaraigosa (; ; born January 23, 1953) is an American politician who served as the 41st Mayor of Los Angeles from 2005 to 2013. A member of the Democratic Party, he previously served as the Majority Leader from 1996 to 1998 and Speaker of the California State Assembly from 1998 to 2000.
Villaraigosa is a graduate of University of California, Los Angeles and the unaccredited People's College of Law.
Villaraigosa was a candidate in both the 2018 and 2026 California gubernatorial election.
Early life and education Antonio Ramón Villar Jr. was born on January 23, 1953, in the unincorporated community of East Los Angeles, California. He grew up in the City Terrace neighborhood and attended both Catholic and public schools.
At age 16, a benign tumor in Antonio's spinal column briefly paralyzed him from the waist down. His grades plummeted at Cathedral High School, and the next year, he was expelled after getting into a fight after a football game. He later graduated from Theodore Roosevelt High School after taking adult education classes there.
Villar went on to attend East Los Angeles College and eventually transferred to University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), graduating with a Bachelor of Arts degree in history in 1977. At UCLA, he was a leader of MEChA, an organization that seeks to promote Chicano unity and empowerment through political action, but later renounced his association with the group citing its controversial stances on race.
After UCLA, Villar attended the unaccredited Peoples College of Law. After completing law school and subsequently failing the California bar exam four times, he became a field representative and organizer with the United Teachers Los Angeles.
He adopted the blended surname Villaraigosa upon his marriage with Corina Raigosa in 1987.
Early political career
In 1990, Villaraigosa was appointed to the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority board of directors, where he served until 1994. In 1994, he was elected to the California State Assembly. He was selected to serve as Democratic Assembly Whip and Assembly Majority Leader. In 1998, Villaraigosa was chosen by his colleagues to be the Speaker of the Assembly. He left the Assembly in 2000 after serving three two-year terms.Los Angeles Almanac
2001 Los Angeles mayoral campaign
Villaraigosa ran for election as Mayor of Los Angeles in the 2001 citywide contest, but was defeated by Democrat James Hahn in a run-off election. In 2003, Villaraigosa defeated incumbent Councilman Nick Pacheco to win a seat on the Los Angeles City Council representing the 14th District.
Mayor of Los Angeles
Elections 2005
Villaraigosa placed first in the primary for the Los Angeles mayoral election of March 8, 2005, and won the run-off election on May 17, receiving 58.7% of the vote."Villaraigosa cruises to victory", The San Diego Union-Tribune, May 18, 2005 On July 1, 2005, Villaraigosa was sworn in as the 41st Mayor of Los Angeles.
2009
Villaraigosa was re-elected in 2009, receiving 55.65% of the vote against his most prominent challenger, attorney Walter Moore who won 26.23% of the vote. Villaraigosa drew controversy by refusing to debate any of his opponents, before the election.Los Angeles Times, February 4, 2009The Occidental Weekly, February 18, 2009Mayor Sam's Sister City, June 3, 2009
Tenure
Transportation One of Villaraigosa's main transportation-related goals was to extend the Purple Line subway down Wilshire Boulevard to Santa Monica. Proponents dubbed the project the "Subway to the Sea."
On November 4, 2008, Los Angeles County voters passed Measure R, an additional half-cent per dollar sales tax that increased the sales tax rate in Los Angeles County from 8.25% to 8.75% and is projected to generate up to $40 billion over 30 years for transportation. Measure R included funding for the portion of the "Subway to the Sea" between Wilshire/Western and Westwood/VA Hospital; a project known as the D Line Extension. Its passage was credited in large part to Villaraigosa, who lobbied the Metropolitan Transportation Agency and County Board of Supervisors to place it on the November ballot, and helped organize the fundraising efforts.#reflatimesblogs1
In February 2010, Villaraigosa traveled to Washington, D.C. in order to promote a "Ten/Thirty" plan that requests an $8.8 billion bridge loan to augment the $5.8 billion expected from Measure R tax revenues. The loan would be repaid with continuing income from Measure R funds. Villaraigosa's 30/10 plan eventually morphed into the America Fast Forward program and was passed by Congress.
On Sunday, July 18, 2010, Villaraigosa fell from his bicycle after being cut off by a taxi driver; Villaraigosa broke his elbow in the fall, and the taxi driver fled the scene. The accident converted Villaraigosa into "a new champion of cyclists' rights", when he declared a bicycle safety summit, and announced that he would push for the passage of a "3 foot passing rule" in California. The summit meeting, held in August, was criticized for not including input from Los Angeles' Bicycle Advisory Committee. Villaraigosa later issued an executive directive that mandated the construction of 40 miles of bikeways each year and requires city agencies to include bicycle-friendly features in their programs and expand public education and training campaigns.
Public safety Villaraigosa vowed to hire 1,000 new police officers. On March 6, 2009, Mayor Villaraigosa and Police Chief Bratton announced that the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) had expanded to its largest force in city history.Los Angeles Sentinel, March 9, 2009 On May 14, 2009, the Los Angeles City Council approved a LAPD/LAFD (Los Angeles Fire Department) hiring freeze.
Education
In his first State of the City address, he announced his intention to assume full control of the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD), through a bill passed by the state legislature.The Economist, July 25, 2005 The school board and teachers' union immediately protested.The Economist, October 27, 2005
Because he campaigned on the issue of education, Villaraigosa sought the legal authority to do so through AB 1381 which shifted power from the Board of Education to the mayor. AB 1381 was passed by the state legislature and signed by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger.See LAUSD, AB1381 In December 2006, AB 1381 was ruled unconstitutional.
In response, Villaraigosa founded a non-profit entity called the Mayor's Partnership for Los Angeles Schools to take control of the district's lowest-performing schools and transform them into high-performing schools. The Partnership eventually managed 21 LAUSD campuses, which operate under the same labor contract as LAUSD. In June 2009, teachers at eight of the ten campuses cast a vote of "no confidence" in the Partnership.Lopez, Steve. "lopez24-2009jun24,0,5362412.column L.A,'s mayor getting schooled." Los Angeles Times. June 24, 2009. Retrieved on June 24, 2009.
Taxes Villaraigosa tripled the city's trash collection fee from $11 per month to $36.32 per month for single-family homes, stating: "Every new dollar residents pay for trash pickup will be used to put more officers on the streets," in a press release dated April 12, 2006. A 2008 L.A. City Controller audit by Laura Chick determined that "only $47 million, or about one-third of the new trash-fee revenue then pouring into city coffers, went to hiring police, and only 366 officers were hired instead of the promised 1,000."
Villaraigosa then lobbied to place Proposition S on the ballot to fund new police officers. This generated some controversy among tax activists, as Villaraigosa and his negotiating team had recently reached a salary agreement resulting in a 23% pay hike. Controller Laura Chick noted that Proposition S language does not restrict expenditure to police and firefighters, and instead deposits the money into the general fund.
Villaraigosa also supported Proposition O and two education bond measures, which increased property tax assessments.Los Angeles Times, April 23, 2009
On March 23, 2010, Villaraigosa, in a leaked memo warned the Los Angeles City Council that their potential failure to support a series of four proposed rate increases totaling 37% and already approved by the city's Department of Water and Power would be "the most immediate and direct route to bankruptcy the city could pursue".
International publicity
In October 2006, Villaraigosa traveled to England and Asia for a sixteen-day trade mission. In England, he visited London and Manchester, at the invitation of then-Prime Minister Tony Blair, and spoke about Los Angeles' efforts regarding global warming, homeland security and emergency preparedness, and its bid for the 2016 Olympic Games. Prime Minister Blair had visited Mayor Villaraigosa a couple months prior to that in Los Angeles.Los Angeles Times, September 20, 2006
Villaraigosa traveled to Israel in June 2008 to meet with experts in homeland security, counter-terrorism, and green technology. He also signed an agreement with the International Institute for Counter-Terrorism (ICT – part the Interdisciplinary Center in Herzliya) on behalf of the LA police department. Under the agreement, the ICT will train US homeland security officials.The Jerusalem Post, July 19, 2008
Criticisms and controversies In June 2009, Villaraigosa made the cover of Los Angeles Magazine, titled "Failure," with an accompanying article, which claimed that Villaraigosa often confused campaigning with governance, wasted 22 weeks in his first term trying to take over the school board, and did little to help education in the City of Los Angeles.
Ethics violations On May 2, 2007, the Los Angeles Times reported that Villaraigosa was under investigation for ethics violations: "The executive director of the Los Angeles Ethics Commission...accused Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa of 31 violations of campaign finance and disclosure laws stemming from his 2003 campaign for the City Council."Los Angeles Times, May 2, 2007
In June 2010, a formal ethics investigation of Villaraigosa was launched due to his unreported acceptance of 81 tickets to concerts, awards ceremonies and sporting events. Estimates—including the 13 Lakers courtside tickets valued at $3,100 each and Academy Awards and Governor's Ball tickets at $21,000 each—suggest that the value of the tickets could amount to tens of thousands of dollars.
2012 DNC controversy On the second day of the 2012 Democratic National Convention, September 5, former Ohio Governor Ted Strickland introduced an amendment on the floor of the convention to re-insert language invoking God and recognizing Jerusalem as Israel's capital. Convention Chairman Villaraigosa put the amendment to a voice vote requiring a two-thirds majority for passage. After the first vote had greater volume of "nays", Villaraigosa called for a second vote, which was again met with greater volume of "nays" than "yays". A woman standing to his left said, "You've got to rule, and then you've got to let them do what they're gonna do." Villaraigosa called a third vote, with the same result. Despite not receiving a two-thirds majority, Villaraigosa still declared the amendment passed, causing an eruption of boos on the floor.
Herbalife advisor In February 2015, while Villaraigosa was considering a run for the United States Senate, the Los Angeles Times reported on Villaraigosa's work as an advisor to Herbalife Nutrition, a controversial multi-level marketing company that sells vitamins and supplements. The story questioned whether Villaraigosa's relationship with Herbalife would become a significant hurdle in a statewide run, given the company's checkered reputation and ongoing U.S. Federal Trade Commission investigations. Herbalife has been strongly criticized as being a pyramid scheme that specifically targets Hispanics.