Antonio Villaraigosa, California's Next Governor?

CAN THIS LATINO LAWMAKER HELP STOP TRUMP’S WHITE HOUSE?

BY CARLOS BALLESTEROS ON 11/25/17 AT 6:10 AM

Antonio Villaraigosa has a shot at becoming California’s first Latino governor since 1875. But he doesn't want to hear that. “I’m an American, not only a Latino,” Villaraigosa said in a recent interview with Newsweek. “I love this country.”

With the election still a year away, Villaraigosa, who appeared on the cover of Newsweek after becoming Los Angeles’ first Latino mayor in 2005, already faces a long road to Sacramento. His chief opponent, former mayor of San Francisco and current Lieutenant Governor Gavin Newsom, a so-called “golden boy of California politics,” is out-polling and out-fundraising him.

Villaraigosa’s tenure as mayor also left a negative impression in the minds of many voters, with profiles depicting him as self-interested and single-minded. His life after public service hasn’t helped scrape this image: It was revealed this week that Villaraigosa made $4 million in consulting and speaking fees for Herbalife, Banc of California and other corporations since leaving office in 2013. Villaraigosa has also made enemies on the left, particularly the powerful California Teachers Union for his positive stance on charter schools.

But Villaraigosa is doing his best to change that. Last month, his campaign released a 12-minute video created by Mark Putnam, the director behind one of Barack Obama's famous 30-minute campaign video during the 2008 presidential election. In the video, Villaraigosa celebrates his working-class and Latino background while blasting the Trump administration’s onslaught of anti-immigration policies. The video also goes into detail on the domestic abuse Villaraigosa’s mother suffered at the hands of his father when he was a child. It features interviews with Villaraigosa's two daughters, who vouch for their father as a "good man" despite his missteps. (In 2007, it was revealed that Villaraigosa had extramarital affairs with a broadcaster from Telemundo, ultimately leading to a divorce.)