At his 2006 State of the City address, Antonio Villaraigosa officially announced that he was going to attempt to assume oversight of Los Angeles Schools—a bid that crashed and burned when the local Superior Court declared the mayor’s plan counter to the state constitution, an opinion that was affirmed by the State Court of Appeals.
In 2007, the SOC speech focused on gang violence with a plan that featured such PR ploys as the 10 most wanted gang members list and the 11 Worst gangs list. Yet, despite much talk about millions for gang prevention and intervention programs, little new money few new programs actually materialized.
At 5 pm today at Parker Center Villaraigosa will give one more State of the City address to announce, among other things, his new new gang prevention/intervention and suppression strategy.
This morning’s LA Times editorial has some appropriate tips and cautionary notes for the mayor as he lays out his plan to address this and other issues that will face the city during the final year of his term.
The mayor is on the spot as never before. He has taken direct control of gang programs previously scattered across the city organizational chart. The total cost comes in at about $19 million — a tiny fraction of the investment that’s needed, and a mere sliver of the city’s budget — but those programs now become a test case for mayoral leadership, not simply for decreasing the scourge of gang violence but for demonstrating that he can make City Hall work. Villaraigosa must, once and for all, publicly set criteria and a timeline for evaluating each of those programs. That runs against his nature: He champions many initiatives but rarely offers benchmarks for judging their success.
This time, the mayor should be prepared, in six months at most, to demonstrate which programs work and eliminate those that do not. He cannot simply present one more report expressing exasperation at the lack of accountability. He cannot, as he did after his State of the City speech a year ago when announcing the “10 most wanted,” resort to gimmickry. He must demonstrate that City Hall can be effective not just with programs within his own office, or in the LAPD, but in every city department. And he must do this while articulating clearly for wary residents where he intends to take Los Angeles development, transportation and education. As he begins the final year of his first term, Villaraigosa must demonstrate that he can deliver.
Yep.
UPDATE: For those who’d like to watch Antonio talk but don’t plan to show up at Parker Center at 5 PM, you can catch the mayor’s speech live via the web here. Or if you’re within LA City, you can watch it live on LA Cityview 35 (check your local cable carrier to find out what channel that is in your area).
Some say Obama “has no plan but sells hope”. Mayor Villaraigosa has no plans or hope to solve the problems in Los Angeles. The LAUSD has an approximately 50% drop-out rate; Los Angeles has the distinction of being the “Gang Capital” of the world. And the Mayor and City Council openly welcome more illegal immigrants, which only add to the cities problems of poverty, gangs, lousy schools, and no health care.
The Mayor and City Council are NOT capable of solving any of Los Angeles’ problems. No new businesses are willing to bring jobs to Los Angeles, especially with it’s distinction as gang capital who can’t educate its youth. California manufacturing jobs rare and the rest are dying like dinosaurs.
Some hold some hope that a Los Angeles based gang intervention program will stem the tide of gangs, well the dam broke years ago and the sureno/EME loyal gangs are all over California and the country. Too little to late.
Hey I like that!
“Ten Worst Gang Memebers”
“Eleven worst Gangs.”
LA magazine and the WEEKLY could compete to who would compile the lists first. Announcements could be tied into TV special on FOX or Tribune Broadcasting (“The CW”) with Eddie Olmos handing out awards!
And they say Antonio has no ideas!