Biography

Antonio R. Villaraigosa was elected mayor in the historic election on May 17, 2005. Known for his ability to bring together diverse groups of people to address common challenges, he is considered one of the country's leading progressive voices.

Villaraigosa and his three younger siblings were born in the Boyle Heights neighborhood to a single mother, Natalia Delgado. He grew up learning to work hard, beginning his lifelong involvement with the labor movement as a volunteer with the farm workers movement at only 15. Later, he graduated from Theodore Roosevelt Senior High School, UCLA (where he received his B.A. in History), and the People's College of Law.

Afterwards, Villaraigosa continued to stay involved with labor issues, becoming a field representative and organizer for United Teachers Los Angeles. He was also later named President of the Los Angeles chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union and the American Federation of Government Employees.

Villaraigosa was first elected to the California State Assembly in 1994; in 1998 he became Assembly Speaker, the first from Los Angeles in 25 years. During his tenure, the Assembly passed important legislation modernizing public schools, taking assault weapons off the streets, creating green spaces in urban neighborhoods, and giving healthcare to over half a million California children through the "Healthy Families" program.

In 2003, he was elected to the Los Angeles City Council representing the 14th District. While a councilman, he worked on many of the issues he continues to address today as Mayor, including education, public safety, and transportation. Villaraigosa also used his good working relationship with the labor movement to help resolve the MTA transit strike, continued to work for more green spaces in our neighborhoods by creating the largest passive park on the Eastside, and fought to protect LA's place as a cultural center by securing funding for the Arts.