The last time he ran, Antonio Villaraigosa seemed like a sure bet. Ahead of then city attorney James K. Hahn in the polls, he ended up on the losing end of a rough campaign by the end of it. Since his defeat, Villaraigosa has waged a successful campaign to represent the city’s 14th district as a councilman,, and seems to be running neck and neck with the incumbent on the way to the March primary election, although campaign watchers have pointed out that he doesn’t generate the same electricity he did in 2001. Villaraigosa, known for his personal charms, has emphasized the specifics of his plans for the city less than the other four major candidates, seemingly preferring to let his reputation as an able leader and compromiser to pull him into a runoff election. It seems unlikely that any candidate will win a majority vote in the March 8 primary. As Speaker of the Assembly, Villaraigosa says he led the fight to expand the Healthy Families program and secure a $2.1 billion bond for urban parks. As a councilmember, Villaraigosa is widely credited with helping to end the 2003 MTA strike, while more than one of Hahn’s opponents has criticized the mayor for failing to show up for many MTA board meetings. Last week, in an effort to reach out to San Fernando Valley residents, Villaraigosa spoke at a meeting of Valley VOTE, and received a somewhat warmer reception, and a significantly smaller turnout, than the mayor did when he attended. Villaraigosa said that although he was against secession, he fought in the Assembly to allow Angelenos to vote on the issue. In announcing his plan for the Valley, Villaraigosa spoke to the most hotly debated issues of the day, including development, traffic and public safety. He cited his opposition to the Ahmanson Ranch development, and promised to phase out Stage II jets and impose stronger curfews for helicopters at Van Nuys Airport. Villaraigosa promised to fully staff the new North Valley police station and put more officers on patrol. He said he would improve delivery of basic city services, repair more potholes and repave Valley streets after utility and cable companies have installed pipes or cables. He promised to work regularly in the city’s Van Nuys offices, and hire a full-time Valley deputy mayor who is a “grownup” rather than a kid right out of college. Seizing on the closest thing that this election has to a scandal, the pay-to-play controversy centered around some of the mayor’s staff, Villaraigosa said he would remove lobbyists from city boards and commissions, ban contributors from receiving “no bid” contracts, and require independent expenditure committees to file in advance. Villaraigosa said that building new industries around alternative energy technologies, while recruiting major employers and working to stop runaway production will be centerpieces of his plan to bring jobs to the Valley. Question: Why do you want to run? Answer: I’m a native Angeleno, and on my mother’s side my family has been here for 100 years. I’m running for mayor of Los Angeles because I believe in Los Angeles and its promise (but) the city needs strong leadership, with a vision for its future. Q: What should the city be striving for, and, in particular, where in your view has Mayor Hahn fallen down? A: People come here, not just from every corner of the earth but every region of the United States, and they come here because their opportunities are second to none. The city needs someone who understands that and who has the wherewithal to prepare us for a 21st Century economy. Q: Are there opportunities or possibilities you think the mayor has missed? A: We have tremendous opportunities in many ways, Los Angeles is today like the Venice of another era; it is a crossroads for trade and tourism, and we need a mayor who can take advantage of that you add in the universities, USC, UCLA, and Caltech, the great universities, and realize those are assets that can be used to bring us a vibrant biomed, biotech industry. The mayor of this city should be looking at the airport and port as opportunities to build up the logistics industry, across the region and across the country. The present administration spends no time on this it is time for a change. Q: In an era of real concerns about security in terms of international trade, that is under federal and state control, so can the city, can anybody, really work to use those resources in a different way? A: It’s about leadership. Do you ever hear the mayor talk about any of those things? There’s not the passion about this city, there’s not the wherewithal to take the lead and create the environment that nurtures these industries the film industry? Where’s the advocacy for the film industry? The mayor of this city needs to realize the film industry is a bedrock industry in Los Angeles, in the San Fernando Valley, and it is an industry that has seen too much in the way of runaway production over the last few years and there has been absolutely no leadership to advocate and support federal, state, and local policies to keep production here at home. Q: Certainly biomed seems to be on everybody’s radar (and) certainly film is very important, but there are other legacy industries in Southern California, and aerospace is one of them. The largest manufacturer left in Los Angeles is Rocketdyne (which was sold to United Technologies on Feb. 22), and either L.A. or Palm Beach, Fla. (location of United Technologies’ Pratt & Whitney’s space propulsion division) is going to end up with that business. What can the mayor’s office do to try and persuade Boeing in Chicago or NASA or the DOD in D.C., to make sure that whatever company ends up making rocket engines here in the U.S., it’s going to be here in L.A.? There are 3,000 jobs on the line in the Valley. A: As mayor of the City of Los Angeles, I would go to Boeing and NASA and personally speak with decision-makers and make the case for why Los Angeles is the best place for those jobs; part of the job of the mayor is to be an advocate four our city, and why they should keep those jobs here. Los Angeles needs a mayor who can make the case as to why the city is a great place to do business. Q: How do you make it through the primary and to the general? The mayor is the incumbent, he has all the advantages of that position, and he has an existing relationship with business in the city and the Valley; how do you make your case to that audience? A: Someone who is a city council member also has a track record, and I have relationship with business as well, which builds on what I did when I was in Sacramento. When I was speaker, we were able to get the Health Families program expanded; $9.1 billion effort to renovate our urban schools; pass a $2.1 billion bond measure for urban parks and open space, and that shows what can be accomplished with a vision and leadership, and I have a track record with business and in the Valley I was at the (annual gala) of the Economic Alliance of the San Fernando Valley in Universal City. Remember, three years ago I won the vast majority of endorsements from Valley leaders, and I’ve built on those relationships. Q: You faced a campaign in 2001 that, from the mayor’s side, was very rough on you and your record. Did that leave you sadder but wiser? Do you expect to see those same sorts of tactics again? A: They were attack ads, period, and those types of ads mischaracterized my record. Reporters always ask that question, and in the same fashion, that those ads went beyond the pale. Q: Last time around it was essentially a two-person race; this time there are several qualified candidates and two of them, former Speaker (Robert) Hertzberg and Sen. (Richard) Alarcon, have roots in the Valley; how do you think you will do in the Valley in that situation? A: I’ll leave the handicapping to the pundits; this is a campaign of hope, a campaign of vision. I will run hard and seek every vote. When all is said and done, that’s what I offer. Q: If you are elected, you would be the first Latino mayor of this city, but this is a city where (ethnic and racial) fault lines run deep. A: You know, I just don’t think that matters to most people note I say most people. But I do believe that every time you open up the door, you provide leadership that is very important but I think a great city deserves a great mayor, no matter what their background. Q: Who is a great mayor? Who do you see, whether in Los Angeles’ history or across the country today, or both? And why? A: I think in Los Angeles’ history Tom Bradley was a great mayor. In history, I think Fiorello La Guardia was a great mayor. Both were reformers (both) were focused on economic prosperity. Contributing Reporter Brad Smith added to this article. Antonio Villaraigosa Title: Los Angeles City Councilman Age: 51 Education: Bachelor’s degree, University of California, Los Angeles; law degree, People’s College of Law. Personal: Married, four children, one granddaughter. Turning Point: (As a teenager), “realizing I had to take responsibility for my life and taking advantages of the great opportunities I had here in California.” Most Admired Person: “My mother; she raised four kids on her own and put all of them through college.”