LAT: Villaraigosa's 'State of the City' Pledges Transformation

[DeepModem Mom]

Villaraigosa's 'State of the City' Pledges Transformation
By Duke Helfand, Times Staff Writer

Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa delivered his first State of the City address today, promising to transform Los Angeles by hiring 1,000 more police officers, reducing traffic gridlock, eliminating the city's budget deficit, planting 1 million trees and remaking the public school system.

But Villaraigosa, who gave his speech at a South Los Angeles charter school known for innovation, devoted the bulk of his remarks to his controversial school takeover plan....

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Villaraigosa's agenda for the city and its schools is wildly ambitious — and some observers say unattainable, particularly at a time when he faces a budget shortfall projected at more than $270 million this year.

It is an agenda that could help propel Villaraigosa onto larger state and national political stages. He is often mentioned as a potential future candidate for governor or U.S. senator, although he insists that he is focused only on being mayor....

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For his speech, Villaraigosa chose the Accelerated School, about a mile southeast of USC. The mayor said he picked the new charter school — a college-like campus filled with amenities such as high-tech science labs, top-of-the-line workout equipment and an outdoor amphitheater — because it "demonstrated what can be achieved when high expectations and accountability are coupled with hard work and leadership."...

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-mayor19apr19,0,4080493.story?coll=la-home-headlines

[realFedUp]

1. If the voters had wanted Tony for school board....

I'm already tired of Tony's face in front of
every camera...he'd better start producing
some results.

[goclark]

2. I had the pleasure of meeting him last month

He is magnetic and so is his wife.


He reminds me of Clinton in the ease and comfort that he has with people.

And, he is SMART!

I do know something about the Los Angeles School District,with the fellow from Utah at the helm, the schools are in need of someone that cares.

Antonio loves this city with all his heart and he is a listener, he is not a DECIDER without input.