Antonio Villaraigosa

My vote

Democratic Party

Public Policy Advisor

Antonio Villaraigosa is a Democratic candidate for Governor of California and former Mayor of Los Angeles. Villaraigosa was elected to the California State Assembly in 1994 and as the Speaker of the Assembly in 1997. He also worked in Los Angeles municipal government, winning election to the city council in 2003 and as mayor in 2005.

A graduate of the University of California at Los Angeles and People's College of Law, Villaraigosa worked as a union organizer after his graduation, working with the Service Employees International Union and United Teachers Los Angeles and serving as president of the American Federation of Government Employees and the Southern California chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union.

Semi-Offical Result: 544,099 [13.46%] - 3rd place

Endorsements

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Top Issues

Top issues taken from the official campaign website Antonio for California.

Economic Prosperity & Equality

It’s a tale of two Californias, one coastal and thriving, one inland and still suffering the effects of the Great Recession. That’s why we need to rethink our one-size-fits-all approach to economic policy and regulation. A policy that might make sense in Silicon Valley doesn’t necessarily make a difference in Fresno. A regulation that is a small annoyance for a thriving business on the west side of Los Angeles could be a job killer for an industry in the Inland Empire. Here’s a plan that will solve it.

Equality in Education

Education is often called the great equalizer — putting all kids on a level playing field and giving them an equal shot at a good life. But American education is still unequal and inadequate for too many young people. But the good news is with the right mix of smart policies – and a little courage – we can fix it.

Building Affordable Housing

California has the highest effective poverty rate in the nation, in large part due to our high cost of housing. But the good news is that addressing our housing shortage will help lift millions of families into the middle class – because it will lower the overall cost of housing for everyone and will also create hundreds of thousands of new high-wage construction jobs.

Professional Experience