But what happened to that first wave of African American mayors is instructive to Latinos. Although African Americans were able to hold the mayor's office in cities that became majority African American, such as Detroit, Atlanta and Washington, they soon lost representation in cities where they constituted a minority and coalitions were required.
Only one African American mayor served in Los Angeles (Bradley), New York (David Dinkins), Chicago (Harold Washington) or San Francisco (Willie Brown). Each was succeeded by a white mayor.
For The Record
Los Angeles Times Thursday May 05, 2005 Home Edition California Part B Page 13 Editorial Pages Desk 2 inches; 74 words Type of Material: Correction
Latinos in politics -- A biographical note in a commentary Tuesday about Latinos in politics described the author, Fernando J. Guerra, as director of the Center for the Study of Los Angeles and an associate professor at Loyola Marymount University. It should also have noted that his firm, Guerra & Associates, does strategic planning for clients including real estate developer Richard Meruelo, who is a large contributor to the mayoral campaign of Antonio Villaraigosa.
In Los Angeles, Latinos make up nearly 50% of the population and already hold numerous public offices. The chair of the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors, the president of the City Council and the president of the school board are all Latino, as is the speaker of the state Assembly. But none of these positions, as powerful as they are, have the visibility of the mayor's office.
In the end, Villaraigosa's success -- and his ability to win reelection to a second term -- will be determined not just by what he does for Latinos but what he does for Los Angeles.
It is tough to govern in urban America, and Los Angeles is no exception. The next mayor faces an era of constrained public authority due to diminished tax revenues, narrow term limits and mandates placed on the city by local initiatives, the state and the federal government. But despite that, the mayor's job is critical. The mayor alone has the potential to bring the disparate possessors of authority to act in concert.
Villaraigosa -- if he is elected -- has the ability to coalesce other decision makers to build a powerful office out of a weak institution. It is the city in general, not just Latinos in particular, that will benefit from a mayor with broad support and experience in bringing people together.
