L.A. Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa is getting in plenty of travel
He just got back from a homeland security trip to Israel and now he's off to Florida to, in part, raise funds for his reelection bid. One critic says there's 'plenty of work' for Villaraigosa in L.A.
Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa may have just gotten back from a week in Israel, but don't go looking for him at City Hall.
Only a day after returning from his homeland security mission to the Middle East, Villaraigosa flew to Florida late Thursday to spend three days at the U.S. Conference of Mayors -- and attend at least one fund-raiser for his reelection campaign.
Villaraigosa and other big-city mayors will get an audience on Saturday with Sen. Barack Obama, the presumptive Democratic nominee for president. On the same day, Villaraigosa will raise money for his reelection at the Indian Creek Island, Fla., home of Bernard Klepach, chairman and chief executive of the airport concession company known as DFASS Group, or Duty Free Air and Ship Supply.
The ramped-up travel schedule comes four months after Villaraigosa drew criticism for spending 18 of the first 65 days of 2008 campaigning out of state for New York Sen. Hillary Clinton in her presidential bid. The mayor will be out of Los Angeles at least 14 of 30 days this month, once his other out-of-town campaign fund-raising events are factored in.
Villaraigosa had a fund-raiser on June 3 in Chicago and another on June 9 at the home of New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg. On Wednesday, the mayor flies to San Francisco for a fund-raiser with former Assembly Speaker Willie Brown, hours after a noon fund-raiser in Los Angeles, according to documents filed with the city's Ethics Commission.
The travel schedule has drawn jeers from one Westside activist, who said there is "plenty of work" for Villaraigosa in Los Angeles, such as figuring out ways to cope with traffic congestion and the state's drought.
"This is something that really needs 100% attention by the mayor right here, rolling up the sleeves, getting together with the community," said Mike Eveloff, president of the Tract 7260 Homeowner Assn.
Villaraigosa defended his Israel trip earlier this week, saying he is a global leader, not the mayor of "some small town in the desert somewhere." Deputy Mayor Janelle Erickson said Villaraigosa remains focused on his job, including continuing the expansion of the Los Angeles Police Department and getting the Department of Water and Power to approve new water conservation rules.
"There's no big city mayor who works harder," she said.
