Report on Antonio Villaraigosa's Inauguration

The City of Los Angeles has a new Mayor today: Antonio Villaraigosa. Mr. Villaraigosa defeated incubment Mayor James K. Hahn in a "runoff election" on May 17 - four years earlier, Mr. Hahn defeated Mr. Villaraigosa when they were both vying for the Mayor's job after Richard Riordan was termed out. Mr. Villaraigosa bounced back: he was elected to City Council in 2003 (to represent District 14) and was in a position to again challenge Mr. Hahn, whose winning coalition of 2001 had fractured greatly.

This year's Mayoral election was a watershed development for several reasons:

1) The fact (very well publicized) that Mr. Villaraigosa is the first Latino to hold the position since Cristobal Aguilar left office in 1872 (the city's population then was about 6,000).

2) Mr. Villaraigosa effectively overthrew the "Hahn dynasty" with help from the African-American community - James K. Hahn's father was Kenneth Hahn, a legendary politician who represented the Second District on the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors for an unbelieveable 40 years (1952-1992). The elder Hahn was able to connect with the African-American constituency that came to dominate the Second District, building loyalty his son drew upon in the 2001 election. Hahn's decision soon after being elected to remove Bernard Parks (an African-American) as L.A. Police Chief alienated that constituency. Mr. Parks, like Villaraigosa, regrouped and was elected to City Council in 2003 (representing District 8). Mr. Parks also ran against Mr. Hahn for Mayor and endorsed Mr. Villaraigosa after he failed to qualify for the runoff election.

3) An incumbent Mayor hadn't been "turned out" since 1973 and no incubment had been denied a second term since the Great Depression. Many have drawn parallels between this year's election and the 1973 election that denied Sam Yorty a fourth term. In 1973, Mr. Yorty had a rematch with African-American politican Tom Bradley (Mr. Bradley had lost in 1969 in a racially charged campaign, much as Mr. Villaraigosa did in 2001). Mr. Bradley became a popular Mayor and held the office for 20 years.

4) Mr. Villaraigosa was elected in a "landslide" that (despite dismal voter turnout) drew support from every group in the city: Latinos, Blacks, Asians, and Caucasians; the Westside, the Eastside, South L.A., and the Valley.

Since Mr. Villaraigosa's election was remarkable, his inauguration today attracted extensive international media attention (as evidenced by this photo, this photo, and this photo). Among the dignitatries who attended: Former Vice President Al Gore; fromer Governor (current Mayor of Oakland) Jerry Brown; fromer Governor Gray Davis; former Mayors Hahn and Riordan; Cardinal Roger Mahony of the Los Angeles Archdiocese of the Roman Catholic Church; Governor Aronld Schwarzenegger and his wife Maria Shriver; the Rev. Jesse Jackson, and former Secretary of State Warren Christopher. I also attended the inauguration; this entry in "Paradox Unbound" shares what I heard and saw.

All of the photographs I took today can be seen here.

I arrived at the Civic Center at about 9:20 a.m. The "interfaith service" at the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angeles had concluded and a procession from the Cathedral to City Hall was already underway. By the time I got to the "south lawn" of City Hall (where the actual ceremony was to take place) the anticipation was palpable. While walking around City Hall, I learned what some of Los Angeles' "Sister Cities" are - now you can too!

At about 10:15 a.m., the inauguration began. Here's a photo of Mr. Villaraigosa taking the oath of office:

In this close-up view of the same photo, former Mayor Hahn is at left, with the orange-ish tie:

Here's a photo of Mr. Villaraigosa making his inaugural address:

In this close-up view of the same photo, Maria Shriver and Governor Schwarezenegger are sitting to the right of Mayor Villararigosa (at podium). Al Gore is at far right (with blue tie); Cardinal Mahoney is next to him. Mr. Villaraigosa's wife, Corina, is sitting between Mr. Schwarezenegger and Mr. Mahoney:

Mr. Villaraigosa's speech was fantastic - I strongly suggest you read it for yourself. It spoke to me in a very personal way; however, I doubt I was the only one in the audience who was moved listening to his rhetoric. Here are the finer points, according to me:

1) The Mayor shared his compelling personal story in the context of the "vast difference" that exists between City Hall and City Terrace (the rough-and-tumble East L.A. neighborhood he grew up in) despite the "short way" between them (City Terrace is just a couple miles east of the Civic Center). He gave props to his late mother, who raised him and three younger siblings largely alone (Mr. Villaraigosa has shared the few memories he has of his father - most of them involve his mother being a victim of domestic violence). Mr. Villaraigosa, far more than Mr. Hahn, Mr. Riordan, and even Mr. Bradley, understands the struggles of the city's working class.

2) The Mayor has the "right" priorities: crime, education, and traffic. Furthermore, Mr. Villaraigosa, while pledging to hire many more police officers, seems to understand that to get at the "root" of crime (especially gang violence), we must fix the city's educational system (a third of the city's students drop out before high school graduation). Although the Mayor has no authority over the autonomous Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD), he is committed to using the "bully pulpit" to wrestle power away from LAUSD, which over the last several years seems to have lost any and all respect and credibility it once had. The Mayor has somewhat more authority over the autonomous Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA), which operates the transit system, but today he did not go so far as to say he would "push" the expansion of the Metro Rail system "to the beach" (meaning Santa Monica), as he often did during his campaign.

3) The Mayor painted a beautiful comparison between the Watts Towers (one of my favorite "only in L.A." monuments) and the city itself in order to encourage "all Angelenos" to "dream with me." Mr. Villaraigosa was quite candid in admitting that there is a duality to L.A. today - he said the city represents the nation's "greatest hopes" but also its most "daunting challenges." He is absolutely right, the conflicting realities of "sunshine" and "noir" continue to go "hand in hand" in defining what may be the most fascinating metropolis in the world. I believe L.A. has reached a crucial juncture in its history and Mr. Villaraigosa convinced me today that he's the person to lead it to continued greatness. Perhaps he caught me at an overly optimistic time in my life, but as a resident of the City of Los Angeles I am fully committed to "dreaming" with him and doing what I can to make those dreams into reality.

Bear in mind that James K. Hahn was not necessarily a "bad Mayor." Mr. Hahn ran the city like the seasoned politican that he is but he lacked the "vision thing" and the "leadership thing." It is entirely true that Mr. Villaraigosa is utterly ambitious and will probably make a move towards higher office soon; when elected to City Council 2 years ago, he swore he'd serve his full term (4 years) and broke that promise by running for Mayor. Of course, constituents expect politicians to break career promises and let their "dreams" run away with them, but in the meantime, I believe L.A. will hold its new Mayor to his lofty rhetoric. The pressure is on to actually "get something done." It won't be easy, whether he keeps the office for 2 years or 8. All I can say is that he made me doubt my desire to leave L.A.! Truly, the City of Los Angeles is in able hands.

After the inauguration ended at about 11:30 a.m., we Angelenos were treated to entertainment and free food (provided we could wait in line). Overall, it was a great way to spend my Friday morning off (though I did miss "The Price is Right"). Congratulations Mayor Villaraigosa!