MAYOR'S REVIEW IN AT MIDPOINT OF TERM, ANTONIO RECEIVES MIXED MARKS FOR SETBACKS, SMALL GAINS.

Byline: RICK ORLOV

Staff Writer

At the midpoint of his first four years at Los Angeles' helm, Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa finds himself at a personal and professional crossroads.

In contrast to a first year burnished with high-profile successes such as winning funds for a 405 car-pool lane and a legislative measure giving him more control of Los Angeles public schools, his second year has seen smaller gains and some setbacks.

Courts struck down the school legislation; he failed in a bid to make Los Angeles the host city for the 2016 Olympic Games; and personal troubles have taken their toll on his marriage.

But Villaraigosa likens any setbacks to bumps in the road as he maintains a nearly breakneck pace of appearances across the city and continues to press an optimistic outlook.

"For every setback, I have had a victory," Villaraigosa said. "You are not going to win everything. But when you lose something, you find a new way to do things."

And there have been successes: He won a majority of seats on the Los Angeles Unified school board. He reduced the city deficit from $296 million to $130 million. And he announced a major initiative to quell the spread of gang violence.

His office has compiled a 38-page book detailing Villaraigosa's accomplishments during his first two years in office. And officials say polls done for the mayor show he has a 70 percent approval rating among residents, one of the highest of any public official.

Yet there also have been losses, with perhaps the biggest being his separation and impending divorce from his wife of 20 years, Corina.

In the June announcement, Villaraigosa said he took personal responsibility for the breakup, but he refused to answer any personal questions.

Since then, he has stuck to that policy in interviews.

"All I will say, it has not been a distraction in my job as mayor," Villaraigosa said. "My concern is my family, and my kids have been great about this."

Villaraigosa said he and his family are aware of the rumors and rampant speculation about his personal life, but he said he ignores it and considers it part of the territory that comes with the job.

And he has his supporters in that.

"Aren't we all over that sort of stuff?" asked Bob Scott of the Valley Industry and Commerce Association. "It's not like he's the first official to get divorced. And, for all the speculation, I thought we got past that with Bill Clinton."

Democratic political consultant Joe Cerrell said there is a certain titillation factor over anyone Villaraigosa might have a relationship with, but it should have no long-term impact.

"When 50 percent of marriages end in divorce, everyone understands what he and his wife are going through," Cerrell said. "Look at the people running for presidents. A lot of them are divorced. There is no lasting impact."

For Villaraigosa, challenges also have come from a May Day confrontation with police at MacArthur Park and losing his effort to block a Metropolitan Transportation Authority fare increase.

But Villaraigosa is undaunted, saying school reform remains at the top of his agenda. Losing in court only spurred him to work harder to elect a new majority to the LAUSD board that now is expected to give the mayor a greater role at the district.

And in the May Day melee, Villaraigosa cut short a trip to Mexico to return to the city and restore calm by accepting blame for the incident and ordering a series of inquiries.

Since the incident, Villaraigosa also has made a concerted effort to remain in the city. When he does travel to Sacramento or Washington, D.C., he generally has returned within 36 hours. For this coming year, he has no plans for any trips that would take him out of the city for an extended period.

Villaraigosa also maintains that the loss of the 2016 Olympic Games unfairly places much of the fault on him because most of the work on the bid occurred before he was elected mayor.

And the mayor points to a broad range of accomplishments, leading with public safety -- where he can boast of a sharp drop in crime the past two years and successful efforts to hire more police officers.

"I did something that no one has been able to do for years, and that was get a steady stream of funding to hire new cops," Villaraigosa said of his successful increase in the trash fee.

"We are at 9,500 now, and that's the most we've had since 1995. We will get to 10,000 in 2009, and that's the most we will have in history.

"Crime is at all-time lows. We made gang crime our No.1 target this year, and gang homicides are now down 46percent."

Villaraigosa also ticks off a construction boom downtown, developments such as the l.a. live sports-retail-entertainment complex, a balanced budget for two years, filling more potholes and planting more trees.

Villaraigosa said his intent now is to continue to focus on his job, allow any speculation on his personal life to continue, and to push his vision of Los Angeles as the Venice of the 21st Century.

Venice was the center of commerce for its time, and Villaraigosa said much of his efforts this year will focus on the economy.

"I really want to figure out how we can bring more revenue to the city," Villaraigosa said.

"That means bringing more development and focusing on jobs. We made a deal to bring a tortilla factory to the Valley that will create hundreds of jobs. We are looking to see what we can do to bring in more high-tech industries, more hotels, more tourists and conventions.

"With that will come more work on education and public safety. And traffic."

Traffic. It is the bane of the city and has sparked some of the loudest criticism of Villaraigosa and his broad promises to get the city moving.

The mayor and his staff say they are continuing to review potential solutions, citing current efforts including expanded light synchronization, street improvements, traffic officers at clogged intersections, a ban on rush-hour construction and lobbying for more state and federal funds.

Even frequent Villaraigosa critic Joel Kotkin gives him high marks for his efforts.

"I think he has been very good -- he has a master's degree on this -- in putting on a very good show with the limited powers he has," said Kotkin, Irvine Senior Fellow at the New America Foundation.

"Politically, he dominates the field, and he has been able to do it without the money of a Michael Bloomberg (of New York City) or the political machine of Richard Daley in Chicago.

"He has been able to almost eliminate all political opposition by giving people what they want."

What worries Kotkin is the economics of the city.

"What's happening is the grass-roots is really lost with public money going to big developers," Kotkin said. "And, I might be out of my mind, but I think investing in the downtown market is absurd. I think some of the things we're building will have no market -- and what happens then?"

Commentator Earl Ofari Hutchinson also gives the mayor fair to poor marks.

Hutchinson said Villaraigosa has failed at police reform, economic development in South Los Angeles, traffic and education reform.

"Villaraigosa's trademark charisma, charm and political acumen are still his strong suits," Hutchinson recently wrote. "But those qualities alone do not make great mayors, and neither does the knack of making big promises that are difficult if not impossible to keep....

"Villaraigosa ultimately will be judged a success or failure based on his ability to fix the things in the city that can be fixed."

Political analyst Sherry Bebitch Jeffe said Villaraigosa might be a victim of aiming too high.

"He has raised expectations of himself so high that when he delivers the regular city services, people aren't paying attention and he doesn't get the credit for that," Jeffe said.

"He is so good at selling himself and his ideas that people believe it can be achieved. And when it doesn't happen immediately, they are disappointed."

rick.orlov(at)dailynews.com.

[phone]

Two years in office

On July 1, 2005, Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa was formally sworn in as the city's 41st mayor and the first Latino mayor since 1872. Here are some of the high and low points in his second year in office:

DEVELOPMENT

Signed off on subsidies for the multibillion-dollar Grand Avenue redevelopment project, as well as the l.a. live convention center hotel.

Launched major renovation of Los Angeles International Airport.

Failed in bid to host the 2016 Olympic Games.

TRADE

Led two-week trip to Asia to boost trade and tourism.

Cut short a trade trip to El Salvador and Mexico because of a May Day melee in which LAPD officers fired rubber bullets into a crowd that included women and children.

ENVIRONMENT

Boosted efforts to clean the Port of Los Angeles.

Increased renewable-energy goals at the Department of Water and Power.

LAUSD

Won majority seats on the LosAngeles Unified school board.

Lost a bid for legislative control of the district, with courts

ruling that his plan was unconstitutional.

BUDGET

Reduced the city deficit from $296 million to $130 million.

CRIME

Announced initiative to quell spread of gang violence.

Appointed gang "czar" to analyze and coordinate programs.

Launched crackdown of crime on Skid Row.

PROFESSIONAL/POLITICAL

Endorsed Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, D-N.Y., for president.

Hosted U.S. Conference of Mayors in Los Angeles.

PERSONAL

Separated from his wife of 20 years, Corina.

CAPTION(S):

6 photos, box

Photo:

(1 -- color) Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa listens to the crowd chant before joining protesters in a march denouncing the actions of Los Angeles riot police at a May Day immigrant-rights rally at MacArthur Park.

David McNew/Getty Images

(2 -- 6) LOS ANGELES HAS A BUSY MAYOR

Box:

Two years in office (see text)