Villaraigosa Will Finally Get His National Presence

For months, Villaraigosa has taken pains to minimize the historical importance of his candidacy. But on Tuesday, Los Angeles became the most populous city in America to elect a Latino mayor, its first in 133 years. That distinction magnifies the political power that Villaraigosa acquired by ousting incumbent James K. Hahn.

"Both symbolically and tangibly, he almost becomes an effective prime minister for Latinos of the Southwest," said David Diaz, a professor of Chicano and urban studies at Cal State Northridge.

Villaraigosa, a city councilman and former state Assembly speaker, has labored for years to establish a presence in national politics. A Democratic National Committee member, he was co-chairman of Sen. John F. Kerry's presidential campaign and the committee that wrote the party's 2004 platform.

But none of those posts gave Villaraigosa the high visibility he will attain as mayor of Los Angeles.

In an instant, his victory Tuesday bestowed on him the prominence of the party's highest-ranking Latinos, among them New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson and Sen. Ken Salazar of Colorado. By virtue of the city's size, Villaraigosa also leaps ahead of the Latino mayors of San Antonio, San Jose, Miami and Albuquerque.

"Under any circumstances, the mayor of Los Angeles has the potential to be a major player in state and national politics," said Dan Schnur, a Republican political consultant. "But Villaraigosa's biography and ethnicity give him even greater potential. All he has to do now is perform."

Doing so, however, may not be easy. Villaraigosa will be operating at a time of federal, state and city budget constraints. The presidency, Congress and the governor's office are held by Republicans.

In the campaign, Villaraigosa set a high bar for himself by promising a costly subway expansion -- without saying how he would pay for it -- and by naming the city's cash-starved public schools, not under the mayor's control, as top priorities for his four-year term.

Some are skeptical. Bill Carrick, a Hahn campaign strategist, dismissed Villaraigosa this week as a "political cheerleader who enjoys running around the country campaigning all the time" but who has no foundation in public policy.