Political Elite Parading to Mayor-Elect

A parade of high-profile figures, including former Democratic presidential candidate John F. Kerry, Sheriff Lee Baca and Police Chief William J. Bratton, has met with Los Angeles Mayor-elect Antonio Villaraigosa, according to interviews and an office calendar he released Friday.

The city councilman has also spent much of his time giving interviews to media outlets, including the BBC, CNN, Telemundo, the Barcelona Daily, the New York Times and the Washington Post. On some days, interviews made up the bulk of his schedule.

Villaraigosa, who was elected May 17 and takes office Friday, has also met with major political backers, including John Perez, head of United Teachers Los Angeles, and Brian D’Arcy, chief of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 18.

The mayor-elect had dinner with former U.S. trade representative Mickey Kantor and met twice each with Baca and city Fire Chief William Bamattre. And he has met with every member of the City Council, as well as political allies, including state Sens. Richard Alarcon and Gloria Romero and state Assemblywoman Cindy Montanez (D-San Fernando).

Villaraigosa consulted frequently with Assembly Speaker Fabian Nunez, meeting with him June 3, 5 and 18. On another day, he dropped by a reception for the speaker.

Between meetings, Villaraigosa has found time to attend community events, including a Greek festival, school graduations and church services.

On Friday, for example, Villaraigosa attended an event in Watts to discuss summer jobs programs. He called for more federal funding for summer youth employment.

Villaraigosa and other officials said there are 93,000 young people out of school and out of work in Los Angeles, and the city can provide only about 4,000 summer jobs.

“In the 1960s, we had a safety net of programs,” he said.

The mayor-elect made his comments as he accepted a $10,000 donation from the Colgate Palmolive Co. for the Los Angeles Youth Opportunity Movement, which helps young people develop job skills.