When Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa asked the city on the day of his inauguration to “dream with [him],” it was unclear how Asian Americans would fit into that dream. He was the city’s first Latino mayor in 133 years, and Time magazine named him one of the 25 most influential Hispanics in America.
Now, four months since entering office, the mayor is building bridges with the APA community. Villaraigosa has been in Koreatown, Little Tokyo, and on Veteran’s Day, he paid tribute to Filipino veterans at Historic Filipinotown.
“The mayor has great energy,” said David Gee, president of the Chinatown Public Safety Association. “And he’s no stranger to the Chinese community.”
Addressing members of the Asian print media recently, Villaraigosa said, “I’ve been to immigrant communities more in the last four months than my predecessor had in four years.”
That claim may be hard to verify but those following the mayor would certainly agree he’s a busy man. Since he has been in office, Villaraigosa has filled up his schedule with events spread throughout the city, at times appearing as though he were in two places at once. He has even made a cameo appearance on The George Lopez Show.
But the mayor has proven it’s not all for show. Fifteen percent of his appointments have been to APA community leaders, with many serving in key commissions. Two of the mayor’s five deputy mayors are APA: Kevin Acebo and Maurice Suh. Jimmy Blackman, who is of Chinese and Anglo descent, was appointed deputy chief of staff.
Warren Furutani, a Los Angeles Community College trustee and an adviser on the mayor’s transition team, said Villaraigosa not only picked a diverse staff but one with immense talent.
“His staff doesn’t have the proverbial black deputy mayor, Asian deputy mayor, etc., his selection was based on subject matter and expertise,” he said.
And earlier this month, former Councilman Michael Woo was appointed to the Planning Commission.
“I have more Asians than Latinos working for me,” Villaraigosa chuckled.
The APA appointees come despite studies showing that Villaraigosa did not garner a high number of Asian votes. Post-election analysts say incumbent James Hahn took 58 percent of the APA votes compared to just 42 percent for Villaraigosa.
Some speculate Hahn might have gotten Korean American votes because his last name is also a surname in the Korean language. Others say Hahn had a loyal base from the days of his father, supervisor Kenny Hahn, who served the city for over four decades as a staunch civil rights advocate.
But Villaraigosa points out that although he didn’t clinch the Asian vote, many Asian leaders and organizations endorsed him, including the Asian Pacific American Labor Alliance, Assemblywoman Judy Chu, and Michael Woo, a former mayoral candidate.
Villaraigosa’s attraction to the APA community is no doubt buttressed by economic promises.
“My grand vision,” said the mayor, “is to leverage the city’s diversity and create wealth.”
He is planning his first trip abroad as Los Angeles mayor to Asia next April, and is looking to visit at least China, Korea and Japan. He said those three countries and Taiwan are the four biggest trading partners with Los Angeles, and it is crucial to build close relationships with them.
“He sees the importance in the prosperity of Asia,” said Gee about the mayor. “He recognizes that to have economic growth in L.A., you have to develop relationships with Asian communities.”