In three months, Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa has become a continual crisis manager, as his city has been buffeted by one disaster after another.
In September, Villaraigosa dealt with the Metrolink crash in Chatsworth, where a gruesome train collision left 25 people dead. Just weeks later, he returned to the San Fernando Valley as fires burned 49 structures, many of them in Lake View Terrace.
And over the last 72 hours, the mayor provided regular updates on local and national television on the Sayre fire in Sylmar, which burned more than 500 homes, making it the city's most devastating in decades.
Villaraigosa has been criticized during his first term for his high number of news conferences, including for funding for DNA rape kits and for his recent promotion of waterless urinals.
But the mayor's penchant for political stagecraft, long considered his trademark, is now being viewed as crucial during local emergencies.
Former Mayor Richard Riordan, who drew praise for his handling of the 1994 Northridge earthquake, said that in the immediate wake of a crisis, a mayor's job is "99% showmanship" aimed at giving the public a reassuring message.
"It's legitimate because people want to know their leaders are on the ground," he said. "People want to know their leaders are making sure things get done."
Villaraigosa held three news conferences Saturday to discuss efforts by the fire and police departments and the Department of Water and Power to cope with the blaze. He appeared with Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and declared a state of emergency -- the first step toward securing relief funds.
The mayor went to a Sylmar High School emergency shelter, where families anxiously waited to learn if they had lost their homes. During one visit, he expressed his sympathy to the 300 evacuees, embracing some who had been sitting forlornly on the gymnasium's metal folding chairs. A few wept on his shoulder.
Those efforts set exactly the right tone, said Councilman Richard Alarcon, whose northeast San Fernando Valley district has been ravaged by fires.
"The mayor's primary role is to send the right message and convey the right information that the community needs, and I think the mayor is doing an outstanding job," he said.
Los Angeles is a city where the response to emergencies -- local or national -- can be politically perilous.
In 2000, Riordan was criticized for taking a bike trip in France during a protracted transit strike that stranded bus riders.
