What do LA Natives or long time residents think about mayor villaraigosa (Los Angeles: 2009, apartments)

[katenik]

why was he at the oscars? is he afraid that AMPAS will move the ceremony to fresno if he doesn't put in an appearance on behalf of the city? what a media *****!

[Prince of Lombards]

Originally Posted by fastfilm

and if I'm not being clear

If those smilies had spiffy hairdos they'd look like Tony Vivalaraza himself.

[Desertho]

He was elected partly because he was seen as more 'exciting' and 'personable' than the Gray Davis clone that is James Hahn. However, LA got seedy scandals from Tony. He doesn't inspire to move the City forward. He's just another in a long line of mediocre local Latino politicians.

The fact of the matter is, LA Mayors run NOTHING. They don't run the school, the utilities, and the transportation system. He's essentially the 16th councilman representing literally his office in City Hall.

[fairweathergolfer]

Yep. Says it all right there! My sentiments exactly.

Originally Posted by fastfilm

and if I'm not being clear

oh wait nearly complete . . .

CESpeed posted: I can't think of a better response. But I'd like to add

There much better. Together fastfilm and CESpeed summarize Vile and gross huh? for me.

[happ]

Villaraigosa is presiding over a period of great growth in downtown LA [even during current republican national regime when everything is crumbling from negligence and incompetency]. The mayor was able to get funding for the new light rail/Exposition Line & is working on putting one-way streets [Pico & Venice, etc] doing something to help traffic on Wilshire, upgrading Broadway downtown by bring back street cars.

He and the governor have made it clear to the republicans that clean air will not be negotiated, universal health care is mandated, coastline preserved. We live in one of the most progressive states in the nation [considered a major economic world power].

Some of the comments are either racially-based or conservative/Bible belt types who disagree with the vast number of Californians & then gripe & wallow in self-pity. Maybe Bakersfield would suit your political bent

[fastfilm]

happ, I don't know whom you were referencing but I can vouch for my own five decades in L.A. observations beyond the emoticons.

We have a mayor who thought his job description should be CEO (used facetiously as LAUSD's open court system considers students to be factory products produced by a manual, and its teachers to be superfluous) of every public school in the L.A. basin. He wasn't elected to to fulfill this function, and which of the two fulltime vocations was he planning to slight?

We have a mayor who believes tax-paying citizens should support an exponentially increasing influx of illegals. Imagine the true improvements of quality of life urban living to American citizens, both naturalized and born, if the city and its services were geared to them instead of the problems caused by 300 illegals entering daily?

We have a mayor who supports relentless population density, no matter the cost. To wit, last month's support of recent building code proposal to throw open building density and height limits ever upwards and denser as long as a token of "affordable" (to which I have to answer "ha") units are present.

I have personal experience, with both longtime neighborhood activism and a recent public legal matter (pm me if interested- it's involved and horrendous) swift-boated by the city council and the mayor which proves that they refuse to accept documented facts by their city's citizens and constituents, only by their donors and backroom buddies.

True civic improvement would abandon the tired old emphasis of Downtown Uber Alles. L.A.'s uniqueness rests upon its widespread nature of clusters of mini-downtowns and their respective workforces therein, not central location: that's an eternal quality of uniqueness here, no matter how the demographics mutate. The best genuine improvement to L.A's nominal downtown would be reform of business and small business taxation, which still place Los Angeles overall as one of the most business-unfriendly in the U.S. The mayor is not seriously addressing business taxation to any measurable extent, and is heedless of the concerns of the 9 and 1/2 million other taxpayers outside of downtown who are charged for it to the detriment of local business, infrastructure and civic concerns. All of the public transport revitalization plans preceded this headline-addicted mayor. And newsflash: the Calif. governor is Republican.

Those more nihilistic than me might claim all politicians are so: we have a showboater who can be counted on to come down on the wrong side of anything that's really of help to citizenry, and to support that which makes the quality of life worse here overall, except this version makes sure we know he has better dental work. Finally, because he only stands up for his Latino constituents, and not the whole of the citizenry whether born here or legally immigrated here and from any possible racial or cultural background, and their/our legitimate concerns here in L.A., he could be seen as a prejudiced individual, a terrible quality for any politician, from the bad old days of Jim Crow to right now this second.

and

Originally Posted by CESpeed

Tom Bradley was a wonderful man who actually cared about the city. When he went to homeless shelters, it wasn't a photo op.

Here, here. Notice how everybody loved Bradley, the doer for EVERYONE in L.A.

[happ]

fastfilm

Much of what you write is superficially connected to Villaraigosa. The mechanism that has turned downtown into a very desirable residence began well before Villaraigosa even returned to Los Angeles [after serving as Speaker of the state assembly]. You seem a bit nostalgic for what it was rather than with what it is. All cities across the nation are growing & forced to take certain measures to accommodate more people. LA can't stay spread-out & not be confined by impossible commutes. Once, I worked in San Dimas & watched in horror the traffic crawling into Pasadena on its way to the Basin [thankfully I was going the opposite way That's why wise city "fathers" planned/built & continue to expand light rail. It’s great knowing I can take the train into downtown & only walk 5 blocks to where I work.

What's so wrong with any mayor acknowledging the need for better/safer schools? Because of an historic restriction, mayors of LA have had limited powers. Now that the city is very large/unwieldy Villaraigosa wisely attempted to help centralize administration of schools [there are more charter schools w/ great results under the mayor's limited influence of LAUSD. Enrollment has lowered enough for reducing school construction.

LA has two great universities & 4 state universities [add Cal Tech/Pepperdine & education is flourishing. Incredible museums/reopening of observatory/great sports/world-wide recognition, the list goes on. All of this while Villaraigosa is mayor.

Unfortunately, the tenor of what you express is insecurity & frustration based on resentment and perhaps isolation. Look around you, the majority ethnicity is Latino as it always has been since the establishment of El Pueblo de Nuestra Señora la Reina de Los Angeles de Porciúncula [later shortened to La Ciudad de los Angeles & finally just Los Angeles. That the city's mayor can speak another language should be considered a plus [our president can't even speak one language

Also your remarks about immigration & how Villaraigosa should do something about it appear naive in a country that cannot control it [& a president who wants a totally open border. The working class is vital to any city, that's why democrats organize labor so that everyone gets a piece of the pie.

[whitechocolate86]

Originally Posted by Prince of Lombards

If those smilies had spiffy hairdos they'd look like Tony Vivalaraza himself.

Ha Ha, nice one, yeah, I was assuming that to the middle-class (legal) american citizen, he wasn't looked upon favorable, I really want to go to either LA or OC am preparing for the...well those that come from down south to be all over the place.

[fastfilm]

I'm aware there is no possibility of conversion to fanatics, so I'll merely retort that no, the most vital component of American cities would be the middle class, that which provides services and tax bases.

Los Angeles has the lowest percentile of middle class in a major American city, something like 26%, with the rest a majority of poor and a small percentile rich. The norm for major American cities is 50% middle class. It is therefore not correct to claim that L.A., particularly under the present mayor and his policies, represents utopia. Middle class families cannot make a go of it here, predating even the current housing crisis, because they are taxed to pay for services for illegals, services which they themselves will never receive.

Forgive the assumption, but you write as if A) you do not pay property taxes in Los Angeles; B) you accept all propaganda offered from La Raza extremists; C) do not believe in the American ideal of e pluribus unum but wish to reverse the solidarity of same; and D) are young enough never to have voted beyond the current mayor's tenure. It is sad that you seem not to accept American principles of equality, and instead wish for cultural segregation, staking the secessionist flag in L.A. as not being for any others.

This country has worked too hard to want any sort of segregation to return. I'm sure most posters here do not conform to or believe in A through D as you seem to, and therefore join me in disapproval of mayor who espouses tenets similar to B and C.

[katenik]

Originally Posted by fastfilm

I'm aware there is no possibility of conversion to fanatics, so I'll merely retort that no, the most vital component of American cities would be the middle class, that which provides services and tax bases.

Los Angeles has the lowest percentile of middle class in a major American city, something like 26%, with the rest a majority of poor and a small percentile rich. The norm for major American cities is 50% middle class. It is therefore not correct to claim that L.A., particularly under the present mayor and his policies, represents utopia. Middle class families cannot make a go of it here, predating even the current housing crisis, because they are taxed to pay for services for illegals, services which they themselves will never receive.

Forgive the assumption, but you write as if A) you do not pay property taxes in Los Angeles; B) you accept all propaganda offered from La Raza extremists; C) do not believe in the American ideal of e pluribus unum but wish to reverse the solidarity of same; and D) are young enough never to have voted beyond the current mayor's tenure. It is sad that you seem not to accept American principles of equality, and instead wish for cultural segregation, staking the secessionist flag in L.A. as not being for any others.

This country has worked too hard to want any sort of segregation to return. I'm sure most posters here do not conform to or believe in A through D as you seem to, and therefore join me in disapproval of mayor who espouses tenets similar to B and C.

great post, fastfilm. if i could rep you again, i would. you have an amazing capacity to counter nonsense with truth, and do it with patience and grace. me, not so much, but i am waiting to read about how mayor vile-gross hung the moon, too!