WASHINGTON — When Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa visited the nation's capital shortly after being elected in May, he was treated like a rock star. On Wednesday, he was back on Capitol Hill, but in a more modest role.
"I'm a supplicant," he said. "I'm here to ask for funding."
The new mayor, who took office July 1, may be a comer on the national political scene, but the first of his two days in Washington was tightly focused on issues that matter to Angelenos: traffic and public safety.
Villaraigosa went to Washington looking to maintain threatened homeland security funds for Los Angeles. And he made the case for a carpool lane project on the San Diego Freeway.
Fulfilling a campaign promise to employ his charm on the holders of the federal government's purse strings, the mayor met with numerous congressional leaders, mostly in private, giving the day a workmanlike air that contrasted with his June visit. During that trip, he received standing ovations at a national conference for Democratic activists and signed copies of a Newsweek magazine cover with his image and the headline "Latino Power."
Villaraigosa had lunch with California's Democratic congressional delegation and met separately with California power players, including House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-San Francisco) and Democratic Sens. Dianne Feinstein and Barbara Boxer. He also consulted with lawmakers who have little name recognition in California but have considerable influence over federal spending priorities.
Democrats said the mayor was making a strong impression in Washington, even when the meetings were little more than informal chats and backslapping "attaboys."
"He's doing a spectacular job," said Rep. Brad Sherman (D-Sherman Oaks), who caught the end of Villaraigosa's lunch. "It's a little too early for him to have brought policy changes to a conclusion, but he's doing the right thing."
At $400 million, a project like the 405 carpool lane may be a footnote in the massive federal budget, but it is important for Villaraigosa politically. If funding is approved, construction could begin in three to four years, while he is in office. Some of Villaraigosa's grander transportation plans, such as expanded subway lines, may not come to fruition until he has left City Hall.
