Word: villaraigosa
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Dates: during 2001-2001
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...endorsements and all the political bigwigs were not enough to win this one for Villaraigosa. He had the Republican mayor endorse him, the Democratic governor and lieutenant governor, and the biggest county labor organization on his side. But the voters made up their own minds, and in the end, they decided that soft-spoken and efficient Jim Hahn would make a better mayor than the handsome and colorful Villaraigosa...
...Actually Villaraigosa got Mayor Riordan's endorsement too. I think the endorsements by the LA Times and by Riordan were in part a recognition of growing Latino clout in the city. And Latinos are growing as a percentage of the population. They are not a majority, but they are the biggest minority, certainly bigger than the black population...
They support him for the same reason that black Democrats do: he supported causes that were popular with minority voters. Polls show he has more than 35 percent of the Latino vote, whereas Villaraigosa has a much smaller percentage of the black vote...
...With both candidates sharing many of the same issues, the race may well come down to issues of character. And Hahn has targeted that issue head on, reminding voters that Villaraigosa lobbied on behalf of a convicted drug-dealer who was later pardoned by Clinton. Villaraigosa has charged that the ads are unfair, but Hahn says that they are accurate and he points out the first person to launch attack ads in this campaign was Villaraigosa. They've really gotten under Villaraigosa's skin, but they accurately represent what happened. He did write the letter (for the pardon...
...other issue in this race is leadership. And Hahn has the best record there. He has served in high city positions, including city attorney for two decades, and he is well known in Los Angeles. He knows all the players. Villaraigosa is less well known in the city, although by all accounts he did a good job as speaker of the Assembly. But some voters still wonder whether he's up for the mayoral job. Los Angeles has had a Latino mayor before, but it was 130 years ago. This has not been a race about Latino politics...