Antonio Villaraigosa

Antonio Villaraigosa
41st Mayor of Los Angeles
In office July 1, 2005 – July 1, 2013
Preceded by	James Hahn
Succeeded by	Eric Garcetti
69th President of the United States Conference of Mayors
In office 2011–2012
Preceded by	Elizabeth Kautz
Succeeded by	Michael Nutter
Member of the Los Angeles City Council from the 14th district
In office July 1, 2003 – July 1, 2005
Preceded by	Nick Pacheco
Succeeded by	José Huizar
63rd Speaker of the California State Assembly
In office February 26, 1998 – April 13, 2000
Preceded by	Cruz Bustamante
Succeeded by	Robert Hertzberg
Majority Leader of the California Assembly
In office December 2, 1996 – February 26, 1998
Preceded by	Jim Rogan
Succeeded by	Kevin Shelley
Member of the California State Assembly from the 45th district
In office December 5, 1994 – November 30, 2000
Preceded by	Richard Polanco
Succeeded by	Jackie Goldberg
Personal details
Born	Antonio Ramón Villar Jr. (1953-01-23) January 23, 1953 (age 71) Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Political party	Democratic
Spouses	Corina Raigosa ​ ​ (m. 1987; div. 2007)​ Patricia Govea ​ (m. 2016)​
Children	4
Education	East Los Angeles College University of California, Los Angeles (BA) People's College of Law (JD)
Signature
Website	Campaign website

Antonio Ramón Villaraigosa (/ˌviːəraɪˈɡoʊsə/; né Villar Jr. on January 23, 1953) is an American politician who served as the 41st Mayor of Los Angeles from 2005 to 2013. A member of the Democratic Party, Villaraigosa was a national co-chairman of Hillary Clinton's 2008 presidential campaign, a member of President Barack Obama's Transition Economic Advisory Board,^[1] and chair of the 2012 Democratic National Convention.^[2]

Before becoming mayor, he was a member of the California State Assembly (1994–2000), where he served as the Democratic Majority Leader (1996–98), and the Speaker of the California State Assembly (1998–2000). As Speaker, Villaraigosa was an advocate for working families and helped to write legislation protecting the environment, expanding healthcare access, and increasing funding for public schools.

He ran for mayor in 2001 against Los Angeles City Attorney James Hahn, but lost in the second round of voting. Villaraigosa ran for and was elected to the Los Angeles City Council in 2003. In 2005, he ran for mayor again in a rematch against Hahn and won. During his tenure as mayor, he gained national attention for his work and was featured in Time's story on the country's 25 most influential Latinos. He was the first Hispanic in over 130 years to have served as Mayor of Los Angeles. As Mayor, Villaraigosa spearheaded policies to improve student outcomes in the Los Angeles Unified School District, reduce city and highway traffic, and enhance public safety.

Since leaving office in 2013, Villaraigosa has continued to be actively engaged in education, civic engagement, water, immigration, transportation, and economic development issues. He speaks nationally and throughout California on these issues. In November 2016, Villaraigosa announced his candidacy for Governor of California in 2018.^[3][4] In June 2018, Villaraigosa came in third in the blanket primary election, losing to Gavin Newsom and John Cox.^[5]