Promises, Promises Could Cost L.A. Millions, Billions

Hiring 1,300 additional police officers: $130 million.

Planting 1 million trees: $140 million.

Extending the Red Line subway to the beach: $2.7 billion.

All those officers, all those trees, all that track and the more than three dozen other major promises that Antonio Villaraigosa made to the people of Los Angeles during the mayoral campaign will not come cheap.

Just after midnight he became the 41st mayor of the nation's second-largest city, an ascension that will be marked today by an elaborate inauguration ceremony.

Now, Villaraigosa comes face to face with one of the harsh inevitabilities of politics: It's easier to make grand pronouncements than to carry them out.

Even before today, Villaraigosa confronted the city's budget realities, learning that he may have to deal with a potential deficit that could balloon to $278 million within three years. And his agenda faces skepticism from some observers who, though confident in his abilities, say he may have promised too much to deliver in four -- or even eight -- years.

"In my lifetime, I'm not expecting to be able to get on a subway on the Sunset Strip and go to the beach," said Allen Hoffenblum, a Los Angeles-area political consultant who zeroed in on the new mayor's most ambitious proposal, extending the Red Line to the beach in Santa Monica.

As a candidate, Villaraigosa drew criticism for touting lofty goals without offering specific plans to achieve them. Villaraigosa acknowledges his agenda will face financial, political and bureaucratic obstacles, but he insists that Angelenos want a mayor who will lay out a clear path to greatness for their city, not tinker with its problems.

"I've never said that expanding the subway to the ocean would be something I would do in the first term," Villaraigosa said. "What I've said is the next mayor has got to have a vision, to put together a plan for Los Angeles that includes expansion of the subway all the way to the ocean."

Villaraigosa said he would not announce any initiatives or detail how he plans to carry out his many promises in today's inaugural address. "I am going to ask people to dream and think big about Los Angeles," Villaraigosa said. "I am committed to the idea that a great city is a city where we are growing and prospering together."

His speech, titled "A City of Purpose," will address broad themes, including education reform, the need for the city's diverse ethnic groups to come together and the hope that the public will become more involved in improving Los Angeles, said Robin Kramer, the mayor's chief of staff.