Following Council President Eric Garcetti’s installation as mayor of f Los Angeles, the outgoing (leaving office, and always with flair) former mayor Antonio Villaraigosa made last-minutes stops and visited with as many Angelenos as he could on his last day in office.
Mayor Villaraigosa accomplished some good and bad. Los Angeles still needs a mayor like Richard Riordan, who will bring back business and give residents more power in their city. Then again, former mayor James Hahn acknowledged that being mayor is not all that much fun, since he gets all the complaints, and no one tells him (still no “her”, yet. Sorry, Wendy!) that he has done a good job. Hahn preferred serving as City Attorney, and may have breathed a sigh of relief when he left office after one term. Villaraigosa now shares than sentiment, certainly.
Unlike former mayor Sam Yorty, Villaraigosa never got drunk on TV (then again, Villaraigosa’s final days partying with Charlie “Winning!” Sheen were not high moments). Unlike Tom Bradley, he never faced city-wide domestic disturbances like the LA Riots, and the stain of Rampart has been wiped away. Villaraigosa attempted to reform public education. He pushed a massive initiative through the State Legislature so he could have direct control over all LA Schools. While the measure was ultimately ruled unconstitutional in a lower court, the mayor received control over some of the most challenged schools. His leadership was a necessary stop-gap measure as Los Angeles Unified School District struggled with one superintendent after another leaving the top post. Crime is down in Los Angeles, yet police and fire have good numbers. Transportation has improved, yet still there is no “Subway to the Sea” (Congressman Henry Waxman, what do you say to that?)
Not bad, but not great, Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa was good enough.