One year has passed since Antonio Villaraigosa was sworn into
office as the 41st mayor of Los Angeles, and in that time the L.A.
native has begun work on improving homeless services in the city,
but has also received criticism for his proposals regarding public
education.
A Democrat who grew up in East Los Angeles and the city’s
first Latino mayor in 130 years, Villaraigosa promised during his
campaign to be a catalyst for change.
As he began his term, Villaraigosa said he would concentrate his
efforts on issues such as transportation, economic development and
education.
Though he has lived up to certain public expectations and has
carried out plans of what he originally promised a year ago in his
platform, the Los Angeles Unified School District has been his most
harsh critic in reforming public education.
In the last year, Villaraigosa banned construction during
rush-hour traffic, saw the decline of citywide violent crime by 14
percent in 2005, and required all city employees to sign a
statement of the type of ethics one should live up to as a Los
Angeles employee.
In the area of economic development, Villaraigosa focused on
removing Los Angeles’ label, “the homeless capital of
the United States,” by focusing on providing affordable
housing for both low-income families and the homeless.
Villaraigosa established the Permanent Supportive Housing
Initiative, which funds $50 million “to rehabilitate
supportive housing linked with services to assist homeless
individuals and families,” according to a report from the
Office of the Mayor.
Though planning efforts have begun in areas such as Skid Row,
the mayor’s office admits they have not yet seen tangible
results since these actions require more time than Villaraigosa has
been in office.
“The money has been dedicated to the purpose, but this is
an area where Villaraigosa has not (done anything) other than
talk,” said Chuck Happold, assistant director of Saint
Vincent’s Cardinal Manning Center, a shelter for the homeless
in Skid Row.
But Happold acknowledged that Villaraigosa is moving in the
right direction and understands the process is “not something
that could happen overnight.”
In addition to actions he has taken regarding the homeless and
low-income families, Villaraigosa has turned his attention to
abandoned animals in the city.
Charlotte Laws, president of the Directors of Animal Welfare,
praised Villaraigosa’s proactive strides for animal rights so
far, especially with his proposal to stop the killing of animals at
city and county animal shelters.
Though Villaraigosa has succeeded in mapping out solutions to
some of the major issues of his mayoral platform, one of his most
important and ambitious goals ““ namely, his attempt to have
complete authority over LAUSD ““ has been unsuccessful because
of the school board’s opposition.
Villaraigosa later proposed a compromise in the form of Assembly
Bill 1381, an agreement between the mayor and the United Teachers
of Los Angeles that would shift substantial authority from the
school board to the mayor and his approved superintendent.
Villaraigosa said he believes his proposal would add
accountability to the LAUSD and improve the quality of
teaching.
Under Villaraigosa’s plan, schools would be in charge of
their individual curriculums and the school board would be in
charge of most student achievement. The mayor would control poorly
performing schools.
Yet Roy Romer, the superintendent of LAUSD, said in an opinion
article in the Los Angeles Times late last month that he believed
Villaraigosa’s plan would only cloud existing accountability
and make management more fractured and therefore less
efficient.
“Education reform is about establishing clear lines of
accountability, raising expectations, improving the quality of
teaching and the curriculum, and providing the training and support
that educators need,” Romer wrote.
“The mayor’s compromise with the teachers’
union not only fails to accomplish these goals, it threatens to
undercut many of the reforms we’ve put in place,” he
said.