MAYOR APPEALS FOR BACKING FOR HIS AGENDA HOUSING, TRANSIT, EDUCATION TARGETED FOR IMPROVEMENT.Byline: Rick Orlov Staff Writer Saying he wants to transform the attitude of the city, Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa Antonio Ramon Villaraigosa (born Antonio (Tony) Ramon Villar, Jr. on January 23, 1953) is the mayor of Los Angeles, California. He is the first Latino mayor of Los Angeles since Cristobal Aguilar in 1872. on Tuesday outlined a campaign to build support for his policies on homelessness, housing and transportation. ``During my inaugural, I told people we have to dream big,'' Villaraigosa said during an hourlong interview on radio station KFWB (980 AM). ``My biggest goal is to make Los Angeles Los Angeles (lôs ăn`jələs, lŏs, ăn`jəlēz'), city (1990 pop. 3,485,398), seat of Los Angeles co., S Calif.; inc. 1850. a place that really believes in itself. ``This is a great city, but a city that sometimes doesn't believe it - and we have to work to improve the quality of life for more people in this city.'' Villaraigosa said his efforts will focus on building support for expanding public transit and reforming the Los Angeles Unified School District The Los Angeles Unified School District (the "LAUSD") is the largest (in terms of number of students) public school system in California and the second-largest in the United States. Only the New York City Department of Education has a larger student population. . He also plans to focus on housing, particularly in the downtown, modeling it after projects built in Oakland under Mayor Jerry Brown For the whistleblower, see . Edmund Gerald "Jerry" Brown, Jr. (born April 7, 1938), is the Attorney General for the state of California. Brown has had a lengthy political career spanning terms on the Los Angeles Community College Board of Trustees (1969-1971), as California . ``He came up with the concept of elegant density - density that is smart and good-looking,'' Villaraigosa said. ``It has landscaping on mixed-used development with commercial and retail at the bottom and housing at the top. It is the kind of development you see in Chicago and New York New York, state, United States New York, Middle Atlantic state of the United States. It is bordered by Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and the Atlantic Ocean (E), New Jersey and Pennsylvania (S), Lakes Erie and Ontario and the Canadian province of and all the major cities.'' Villaraigosa proposed utilizing a variation of ``inclusionary zoning Inclusionary zoning, also known as inclusionary housing, refers to city planning ordinances that require that a given share of new construction be affordable to people with low to moderate incomes. ,'' which provides bonuses to developers who include low-income housing as part of a project. The concept has run into opposition around the city from homeowner groups and neighborhood councils Neighborhood councils are governmental or non-governmental bodies composed of local people who handle neighborhood problems. They can be found in many cities throughout the world. . Villaraigosa said he wants to see it used only in areas where it can be accepted but noted it's imperative that the city provide more affordable housing. ``Right now, we live in a city where only 12 percent of the people could afford to buy a median-priced house,'' Villaraigosa said. ``That has got to change if we are going to grow as a city.'' Last week, Villaraigosa said he would support a $1 billion bond issue to provide more housing for low-income and homeless residents, and he released plans to create a $100 million balance in the city's affordable housing trust fund. ``I am not willing to allow another generation of Angelenos feel they are forced to move elsewhere because they can't afford to live here,'' Villaraigosa said. Rick Orlov, (213) 978-0390 rick.orlov(at)dailynews.com |
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