More than a thousand people turned out Thursday night to celebrate Antonio Villaraigosa, hours before he becomes the 41st mayor of Los Angeles, at a downtown gala that raised about $1.5 million for an after-school program.
A who's who of the city's political, business and development communities filed into the Music Center, where pale purple and white lights illuminated the trees and jazz music played in the plaza.
But it was the cooks, waiters and others working at the event whom Villaraigosa praised first as "the backbone of Los Angeles" in his prepared remarks.
"This is a night for celebration ... in that spirit, I'm going to save my speech for tomorrow," when he takes the oath of office after a service at the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels and a walk to City Hall.
"I've been waiting for this for a long time," a grinning Villaraigosa said. The podium was set up so that the white tower of City Hall glowed behind him as he spoke.
Officials close to Villaraigosa said Thursday that he would begin making appointments to key city commissions as early as today.
One of those, sources said, would be Mary Nichols to the Department of Water and Power Commission. Nichols is a former California resources secretary and a pioneer of the state's environmental movement.
At the gala, Villaraigosa talked about the importance of after-school programs, saying, "That's what tonight is all about."
The event was a fundraiser for LA's BEST, an after-school program at 130 public schools. Carla Sanger, chief executive officer of LA's BEST, said about $1.5 million was raised.
Added to an increase in city funding of $1.3 million and a gift from billionaire Eli Broad's foundation of $3.6 million, LA's BEST will be able to expand to up to 10 schools next year, officials have said.
The gala's master of ceremonies, actor Jimmy Smits, cited the "excitement in the air" and thanked other big donors who gave $100,000 or more: AmeriQuest Capital Corp., DreamWorks SKG, KB Home, L.A. Arena Co., Stephen Bing and Maguire Properties Inc.
"It's a great way to bring everyone together," former Mayor Richard Riordan said. "They'll raise well over twice what I did" for the same program when he was sworn in.
"Tom Bradley would be smiling today," said Councilwoman Wendy Greuel of LA's BEST's founder and former mayor. Greuel was one of many City Council members at the celebration.
