...it's not dark yet, but it's gettin' there...
i don't live in L.A. anymore (though i hope to return after i graduate), but i'm apparently still on the voter list down there. Which is why i've received an email from none other than the next mayor of Los Angeles, Antonio Villaraigosa.
i've never received an email from a major politician before, it's kind of exciting. Here is what Tony (if i may call him that) wrote to me.
Dear Annika,i confess that i haven't followed the mayoral election in our beloved 2nd largest city very closely, mainly because i won't be voting in it. Something about a scandal and that the current mayor sucks eggs. Everybody piling on the Villaraigosa bandwagon. Whatever.I love Los Angeles. It has already given me so much -- a strong education, a loving family, a lifelong career in public service.
That's why I have set out an ambitious new vision for LA, because I believe the Mayor must have a plan for the future. I want to build more schools for our children and reduce classroom sizes. I want to make Los Angeles safer and greener. I want to create better jobs for our workers, provide better health care and more affordable housing for our families, and develop a 21st Century transportation system for all of us.
I know this has been a tough and negative campaign, but I pledge on my first day in office to begin to bring our city together for real, positive change.
Los Angeles deserves a better Mayor. Someone with big dreams, bold ideas, and an ambitious vision for the future -- a strong leader with a proven record of accomplishment who will roll up his sleeves and work hard to fix our city's problems, large and small.
As Mayor, I pledge to work with you and all of our neighbors to build a better Los Angeles. But I need your help to do it.
I ask your vote on Tuesday, May 17th!
To make our city a better place, we must restore the people's trust in Los Angeles city government. After four long years of waste, fraud, and scandal, I am committed to cleaning house at City Hall and putting an end to the 'pay-to-play' system under Jim Hahn. Because let's be clear: Honesty and ethics at City Hall start at the top, with the Mayor.
I am proud to have received the endorsements of [blah blah blah...].
But today, I am asking you for the most important endorsement of all: your vote.
If you agree that we can and must do better in Los Angeles, I ask for your vote on Tuesday.
It's time to get Los Angeles back on the right track. And I am committed to doing just that. I pledge to you that I will work to bring all residents of our city together and solve the tough problems we face.
But I can't do it alone. I'm going to need your help, along with hundreds of thousands of our friends and neighbors, to get the job done. And it all starts on Election Day.
I look forward to working with you to build a better Los Angeles!
Sincerely,
Antonio Villaraigosa
i hope he'll be a good mayor. L.A. has big big problems challenges, but it is a great town. i notice that transportation is at the end of the list in paragraph three, almost like it was an afterthought. To my mind, light rail should be the priority for the next mayor. Incredibly, nowhere in the email was there any mention of illegal immigration, a subject that seems to be on everybody's lips these days. Progress on that issue would take care of half the other problems he mentioned in that second paragraph.
Anyways, i hope the coronation goes well.
Nice to hear support for public transportation from the right side of the aisle... It's clear that LA will grind to a halt one day if they don't get on the bandwagon. (I'm not advocating bandwagons as public transportation though...)
Posted by: Preston on May. 16, 2005Unfortunately, it's often the left that's holding up a sensible light rail solution in L.A. The "bus-rider's union??!" environmentalists, slow growth people, plaintiff's lawyers, and NIMBYs.
Posted by: annika on May. 16, 2005Hell if you got rid of the illegals, the trans problem would solve itself.
I think this is priceless, in a couple months California's three biggest cities will all have fucktards as Mayors. V in LA, that simpering asshole in SF, and the old burnout hippy union whore Donnay Frye in SD. I'm comforted by the knowledge that the electorate of these cities did NOT vote for dubyah.
Posted by: Casca on May. 16, 2005I disagree - L.A.'s problems won't be solved by light rail or any oter mass transit program. The problem with L.A. (& to varying degrees the rest of the state & country) are ideaological not material. Look at any of those "problems" the mayoral candidate seeks to address & then think of a non govcernmental solution for them. Now not all are best served by the private sector, but that's the problem - everyone thinks government is a problem solver. In general government is a problem creator.
We could debate the merits of any public transportation system or this specific one but that'd just be adressing a symptom, not the problem. Ditto with everythign else except the governmental corruption thing. & let's be honest - in the closest thing to a welfare state we have in this country there's not going to be an end to corruption.
BTW, if he wants to make L.A. safer then I assume he's going to be rolling back some of the assinine gun control laws they have there & then push for cutting back the state level gun control?
Anyway, the problem is th emindset of the people. Till that cna be adressed then anything else will only be a temporary fix. & no place has that problem completely under control, but L.A. & Cali seem to be worse off than the rest of the nation (well with certain exceptions, such as D.C., Chicago, NY, Mass. etc...)
Posted by: publicola on May. 17, 2005publicola:
"We could debate the merits of any public transportation system or this specific one but that'd just be adressing a symptom, not the problem."
What's the problem?
annika:
That's interesting. But I wouldn't classify NIMBY's as liberal.
I don't know any thing about the Bus Rider's Union- why would they slow down mass transit?
"fucktards"?????
merriam-webster comes up empty..............
don't sugar coat it Casca....tell us what you really think. :)
Posted by: louielouie on May. 17, 2005Hell if you think he'll do anything that will in any way shape or form discourage illegal immigration you are nuts. If anything he will do everything he can to make LA the most illegal immigrant friendly town in the US!
Posted by: Skippy on May. 17, 2005that's what i'm afraid of
Posted by: annika on May. 17, 2005I haven't really followed the election in Los Angeles - heck, I've barely followed the mayoral election in Ontario. In fact, I'm writing this at 10:33 in the evening; polls presumably closed 2 1/2 hours ago, and I haven't made an effort to see who actually won. I'll do my homework in a moment.
I would think that both candidates would try to avoid mentioning illegal immigration at all costs. Candidates try to be all things to all people, and any mention of illegal immigration, pro or con, is bound to anger somebody.
Posted by: Ontario Emperor on May. 17, 2005OK, I did my homework. From the Daily Breeze:
Updated, 10:28 p.m. Bruising runoff between two Democrats is a rematch of the 2001 election, in which Hahn rallied to win....
Los Angeles Mayor James Hahn and Councilman Antonio Villaraigosa were locked in a close race tonight as the incumbent struggled to hold onto his job and his opponent sought to become the city's first Hispanic mayor since the 19th century.
With 228 of 1,599 precincts reporting, along with about 120,000 absentee ballots, Villaraigosa had a lead of 56 to 44 percent.
Villaraigosa had 90,660 votes, compared to Hahn's 72,024.
Here's a live link to city election results.
Posted by: Ontario Emperor on May. 17, 2005Close race? Did that fool at the Breeze say "close race"?
A "close race" is when it is 50.2 to 49.8%.
The numbers I am seeing are like 58.6 to 41.4%.
Where I come from, that's an "old fashioned whupping".
So much for Jimmy Hahn and his sleazy, anti-hispanic buzzword campaign. Live by the sword, die by the sword.
And so much for Bill Carrick and Kam Kuwata and Bill Wardlaw and their sleazy, down and dirty mudlinging campaigns.
In this one, the best man won...
As my grandson says "Antonio rules; Jummy drools".
Posted by: shelly on May. 18, 2005