Poll: Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa right to stay in L.A.? [UPDATED]
Putting more than full term's worth of speculation to rest, L.A. Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa announced this afternoon that he will not join state Atty. Gen. (and former two-term governor) Jerry Brown and San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom in seeking the Democratic Party's nomination in 2010 for California governor. Having grown up in Southern California, I can't help but point out the most profound implications of Villaraigosa's decision: The 2010 gubernatorial will lack a viable candidate from Southern California (Newsom's fealty to the Bay Area is obvious, Brown was Oakland mayor from 1998-2006, and Republicans Meg Whitman and Steve Poizner are both techy gazillionares from the Silicon Valley.) Perhaps we should ask the candidates to promise not to chant "Beat L.A.!" at Giants-Dodgers games.
Apologies; I had to get that out of my system.
There's been much speculation on our pages -- online and in print -- about Villaraigosa's extra-mayoral ambitions. A few days before the mayor was re-elected to his second term in March, Marc Cooper implored Villaraigosa to "unequivocally declare he will absolutely, positively not run for governor next year," a position echoed by The Times' editorial board in its endorsement of the mayor for a second term. Weighing on the other side was former state Sen. Tom Hayden, who wrote that in a race against Brown and Newsom, voter demographics favor Villaraigosa. Later this afternoon, The Times will post its editorial on the announcement, in which the paper's editorial board reacts favorably to Villaraigosa's decision.
What do you think about the mayor's decision to stay in L.A. (for now, anyway)? Take our poll, leave a comment or both.
UPDATE: The Times' editorial is up; click here to read it.
Photo: Stephen Dunn / Getty Images
Um, he hasn't been the most effective and productive mayor and it appears as though he likes to appoint corrupt people. He also hasn't lived up to previous campaign promises such as cracking down on gangs and their violence. (Extermination is the preferred method.) L.A. city schools are a disgrace and tripling waste disposal fees for single family homes and small apartments goes against everything the U.S. supposedly stands for. Those tripled fees should have been levied on commercial properties and big condo developments - not on middle class citizens. Corporations are given way too much favor and this type of pandering to special interests is revolting.
It would be a nightmare to see him as governor, he made the right decision and I congratulate him for that.
Posted by: elleneyegreen | July 01, 2009 at 03:37 PM
Just who took this poll? Surely, not Californians that care about their state! Villaraigosa would be the most effective and productive governor the state of California has ever seen. And as for Brown and Newsom, he would have blown them to smithereens, out of the ball park! They should be relieved not to have this giant in the competition.
Posted by: Barbara Aguirre | June 24, 2009 at 12:10 PM