When Villaraigosa took office, he quickly began talking up the idea of establishing mayoral control over L.A. Unified, a sprawling bureaucracy that serves children in Los Angeles and 25 other cities.
Within two years, a considerably watered-down concept that had made it through the state Legislature was thrown out by a Superior Court judge.
The mayor had far more success with his public safety initiative, tripling trash pickup fees for residents in single-family homes and smaller apartment buildings and using the proceeds to begin hiring 1,000 police officers.
Although the LAPD has added more than 820 officers, the economic downturn will not allow the mayor to expand the force unless the city gets money from Washington.
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BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX
Villaraigosa's promises
Over the next four years, Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa pledges to:
* Turn failing L.A. Unified campuses into charter schools
* Remake LAX's Tom Bradley International Terminal
* End the DWP's reliance on coal by 2020
* Get 40% of the DWP's power from renewable sources by 2020
* Build 12 Measure R rail projects on time or sooner
* Keep LAPD staffing at more than 10,000 police officers
* Attract business with a "concierge service" and lower utility rates
Source: Villaraigosa inaugural address
