Rafael Perez: Antonio Villaraigosa’s time in politics is likely at an end

Villaraigosa: “We’ve got to deal with zoning changes. And we’ve got to address the fact that we have to have a first time buyer program. It’s on the left side of your face. What’s on the left side of my face? Raquel?” 

Raquel (Campaign Staff): “Just a little crumb. A little crumb.”

Villaraigosa: “Oh, he didn’t care about that. He didn’t comb his hair today, man. He’s good. I’m just kidding.”

I had indeed failed to comb my hair that day. That was an excerpt from a Zoom interview I had with former Mayor of Los Angeles, Antonio Villaraigosa last weekend. The mayor was eating during the interview and a piece of food was stuck on the edge of his lip for about 7 rough minutes. A campaign staffer also present at the meeting privately texted him to let him know about it and he reflexively read the text out loud. 

It would be ridiculous to conclude too much from that but it is certainly in line with what one would expect from a well-ripened 72-year old who did not have the benefit of growing up with a smartphone in their pocket. With that said, it wasn’t the only time that Villaraigosa’s statements prompted me to remember his age. 

When I asked him about his plans for California, his thoughts were scattered erratically. He went from talking about his track record on the environment, to housing and affordability, to cleaning crumbs off of his face and delivering a friendly jab, to a quick word on public safety, back to the environment, once more to affordability, another go at public safety, then on to education, and concluding with homelessness. 

Somewhere in the middle of all of that he took an abrupt detour to ask me if I was recording and to inform me that they were recording as well to protect against inaccurate quotes: “One out of three schools were failing when I became mayor, and by the time I was done, one out of ten. And by the way, are you recording? Good. So are we, just so you know. I’d rather have you record because then you don’t forget stuff. When they write it down, man, they don’t get it right. Then you challenge them and they say, ‘I don’t remember that’.” 

It was a hectic response that jumped unpredictably between topics. In some ways, Crumbgate and his response were endearing but frankly, they also suggested that the ex-mayor is a bit past his prime politicking years. 

On policy, Villaraigosa often said what every candidate is promising – that he will cut red tape, eliminate pointless regulations and emphasized that in order to address the housing crisis, focus must be placed on building more rather than measures like rent control. Villaraigosa expressed opposition to raising taxes, particularly the property tax hikes proposed by fellow democrat Tom Steyer – all fair enough.

But quite often, his responses did not include concrete plans. I asked him how he would balance the budget given that he will oppose tax increases, and whether he has an idea of where the budget can be thinned out. 

“You’re going to put budget experts together, look at everything. Nobody has that. I just could tell you the four priorities to protect: safety, education, health care, housing, and homelessness. Those are four areas.” The state’s budget is almost entirely consumed by education, healthcare, and social services so if Villaraigosa is planning to avoid cuts to those, there isn’t much left to cut. 

Indeed, Villaraigosa’s plan is not to reduce government spending but to grow the economy: “Now, I also have said, we’re not just going to cut our way out of this. […] I do believe that we have to grow our economy. And that means we’re going to have to free up small businesses and small and medium-sized businesses.”

Betting on the growth of the economy played a significant part in producing the budget deficit we are experiencing now – lawmakers overestimated revenue from income taxes. 

I asked Villaraigosa for his opinion on the self-serving influence that public employees unions have on California’s politics. During his time as mayor, Villaraigosa clashed with teachers’ unions to push education reform in LA. Here once more, Villaraigosa cited his record but failed to offer a clear-eyed assessment. 

“What I’ve said is this. I got a proveopn record. We went from, you know, 60% increase in the graduation rate. Nobody has contested that. When I ran last time, Political Fact looked it up. The LA Times looked it up. That’s a fact, okay? And they don’t even contest that […] I want to collaborate with the teachers. I wanted to collaborate. I believe that teachers, parents, and the community overall need to collaborate to make our schools great.”

The only sort of collaboration that unions typically want is one that increases their wages, protects them from accountability, and reduces their responsibilities. Ideally, a candidate would acknowledge the problem of special interest groups in our politics and commit to placing the public good above the needs of the few. 

The California Democratic Party Chair Rusty Hicks recently called for candidates with no reasonable path to victory to drop out of the race. I asked Villaraigosa about his prospects given that recent polls show him only at about 3-5%. 

According to him, other polls have him at 7% and his Latino and moderate voter base isn’t captured by online polls that place him lower in the race. “Rafael, your parents, our neighbors do not do internet polls. A lot of them are in English. […] What’s the path? 35 to 40% are undecided. Most of them, Latino and moderate.” 

My parents don’t vote but if they did, I’d advise them that although Villaraigosa seems like a fine gentleman, he had a mixed record as mayor and there are candidates offering more detailed and thoughtful plans for our state.

Rafael Perez is a columnist for the Southern California News Group. He is a doctoral candidate in philosophy at the University of Rochester. You can reach him at rafaelperezocregister@gmail.com.