Antonio Villaraigosa '77

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On July 1, 2005, Antonio Villaraigosa '77 was sworn in as mayor of Los Angeles. He is the city's first Latino mayor since Cristobal Aguilar left the office in 1872 when L.A. was still a frontier outpost of just 6,000 people.

Villaraigosa won office in a landslide decision, besting incumbent James Hahn by more than 17 points with 58.6% of the votes. Villaraigosa found support throughout the city, taking decisive wins in the San Fernando Valley, East Los Angeles, most of the Westside, Central Los Angeles and South Los Angeles.

A native of Los Angeles, Villaraigosa grew up in City Terrace, a largely immigrant community on Los Angeles' Eastside. He is the oldest of four children raised by a single mother. Villaraigosa overcame tough challenges to graduate from high school and UCLA, and went on to earn a law degree at People's College of Law.

Since graduation, Villaraigosa has dedicated his life to public service. He won a seat in the State Assembly in 1994 and became Assembly speaker in 1998. In 2001, he finished first out of six candidates in the first round of elections for Los Angeles mayor, but lost the runoff election to Hahn. Two years later, Villaraigosa was elected to city council, representing District 14, which stretches from Eagle Rock to Boyle Heights and includes Mount Washington where he currently resides.

According to the Los Angeles Times, the 2005 mayoral contest “produced a striking parallel with the city's last breakthrough election in 1973, when Tom Bradley won a rematch against incumbent Sam Yorty to become the first black mayor of Los Angeles. That race also marked the last time a mayor was turned out of City Hall.”

Tom Bradley '41 was named UCLA Alumnus of the Year in 1974.

Villaraigosa now leads a city council that includes three fellow Bruins: Ed Reyes '82, M.A. '85, District 1; President Pro Tempore Wendy Greuel '83, District 2, who is also an Alumni Association past vice president; and Jack Weiss J.D. '92, District 5.