Antonio Ramon Villaraigosa (born Antonio Ramon Villar, Jr. on January 23, 1953) is the mayor of Los Angeles, California and third Mexican American to have ever held office in Los Angeles, California. He was elected on May 17, 2005, defeating incumbent mayor James Hahn, and then re-elected for a second term in 2009. Prior to his election as mayor, Villaraigosa was the California State Assemblyman for the 45th District, the Speaker of the California State Assembly, and the Los Angeles City Councilman representing the 14th District.
Before being elected to public office, Villaraigosa was a labor organizer. Villaraigosa served as a national co-chairman of Hillary Rodham Clinton's 2008 Presidential campaign, and as a member of President Barack Obama's Transition Economic Advisory Board.[1]
Born Antonio Ramon Villar in the City Terrace neighborhood of Los Angeles County's eastside, Villaraigosa attended both Catholic and public schools.[2] Villaraigosa's father abandoned the family when he was 5 years old. At the age of 16, a benign tumor in his spinal column briefly paralyzed him from the waist down, curtailing his ability to play sports. His grades plummeted at Cathedral High School. The next year, he was expelled from the Roman Catholic institution after getting into a fight after a football game.[3] He graduated from Roosevelt High School,[2] and with the help of his English teacher Herman Katz, went on to attend East Los Angeles College.[4] Villaraigosa eventually transferred to University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) where he completed a bachelor's degree in history. Villaraigosa was a leader of MEChA at UCLA.[5][6] At this time, he went by the name "Tony Villar", but began using his birth name "Antonio" in the 1980s.[2]
After UCLA, Villaraigosa attended the People's College of Law (PCL), an unaccredited law school in Los Angeles. Villaraigosa failed the California Bar Exam four times and is not licensed to practice law. [7]
After PCL, he became a field representative/organizer with the United Teachers Los Angeles (UTLA). He later served as President of the Los Angeles chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union and the American Federation of Government Employees.[8]
Villaraigosa placed first in the Los Angeles mayoral election of March 8, 2005, and won the run-off election on May 17, receiving 58.7% of the vote. On July 1, 2005, Villaraigosa was sworn in as the 41st Mayor of Los Angeles. He is the first Latino mayor of Los Angeles since 1872, when Mayor Cristóbal Aguilar (mayor from 1866 to 1868 and again from 1870 until 1872) served as mayor. The swearing in ceremony involved an interfaith prayer service at the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels, followed by a large procession to nearby City Hall. On the South Lawn of the facility, he was administered the oath of office by Stephen Reinhardt, judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. The audience of political figurers included Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, former Governors Gray Davis, Pete Wilson, and Jerry Brown. Also attending were former Vice President Al Gore, U.S. Secretary of State Warren Christopher and New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg.[15][16]
The Nation attributes Villaraigosa's success in 2005 to his adding a significant number of African Americans to his earlier coalition of "Latinos, labor and white lefties", noting 2005 endorsements by Representative Maxine Waters (a Hahn supporter in 2001), influential resident and basketball star Magic Johnson, and City Council member (and former police chief) Bernard Parks.[17]
