Congratulations Antonio Villaraigosa

The City of Los Angeles was founded in 1781 by the Mexican provincial governor, Filipe de Neve. In September of that year, El Pueblo de Nuestra Señora la Reina de Los Angeles (The Village of Our Lady, the Queen of the Angels) came into being, and the pueblo became the capital of the Mexican province, Alta California. It was the last place to surrender to the invading United States army in 1847. Since those days LA has had many majors, with Antonio Villaraigosa being the latest. He will become the city’s 41st mayor come July. His knockout win on election day made him the first mayor of Mexican decent to hold that office in over a century. The last was Cristobal Aguilar, a two term mayor first elected in 1866 when the population of LA was less than 6,000. Aguilar’s most notable act in office was the defense of the city’s water rights. The city council had proposed to sell those rights to the highest bidder in order to raise revenues, but Aguilar vetoed the proposal. Villaraigosa’s big win is the buzz all across the nation, and many see it as an omen for the future. The National Council of La Raza (NCLR), the largest national advocacy organization for Latinos in the U.S., hailed the victory of Villaraigosa, saying that "Villaraigosa's election marks an historic moment for Latinos throughout the nation, who join with the entire Los Angeles community in celebrating the long-awaited return of a Latino mayor to the city with the largest Latino population in the country."

In one of many post-victory speeches, Villaraigosa said that he was proud to be of Mexican American heritage, but that he would be the mayor for all of LA’s people. With the deep divisions and problems facing LA, that will be no small accomplishment. The victory party’s will soon be over, and the new mayor will have to deliver the goods. We congratulate Villaraigosa for his triumph at the polls, and we sincerely hope that he will govern the city in the interests of its people - and that’s the crucial point. His predecessor, Cristobal Aguilar, fought those with deep pockets who coveted LA’s water, and we hope that Villaraigosa will follow in Aguilar’s footsteps when it comes to protecting the people’s rights and well-being. All politicians must be held accountable to the people - and our trust, allegiance and faith is ultimately with the masses. (posted by M.J. Valenzuela.)