Posted on 05/18/2005 1:04:53 AM PDT by RWR8189
LOS ANGELES - Councilman Antonio Villaraigosa unseated Mayor James Hahn on Tuesday to become the city's first Hispanic mayor in more than a century, confirming the rising political power of Latinos in the nation's second-largest city.
After a lackluster term tainted by corruption allegations at City Hall, Hahn was turned out of office in favor of a high school dropout and son of the barrio who turned his life around to become speaker of the California Assembly and then a member of the Los Angeles City Council.
With 70 percent of precincts reporting, Villaraigosa had 202,861 votes, or 59 percent, to 140,416 votes for Hahn, or 41 percent.
"You all know I love L.A., but tonight I really love L.A.," an exuberant Villaraigosa told supporters.
Villaraigosa will become the first Hispanic mayor of Los Angeles since 1872, back when the city was merely a dusty outpost of only about 5,000 residents on the edge of the Western frontier. Hahn, the scion of a prominent political family, becomes the first Los Angeles mayor in 32 years to be bounced from office.
Villaraigosa, 52, positioned himself as a unity candidate who would bridge racial and ethnic groups in a city that is 48 percent Hispanic, 31 percent white, 11 percent Asian and 10 percent black. The Democrat lined up marquee endorsements from John Kerry to basketball legend Magic Johnson.
The bruising runoff between the two Democrats was a rematch of the 2001 election, in which Hahn rallied to defeat Villaraigosa and win his first term. But Villaraigosa came back strong this year, nearly ousting Hahn in the March primary.
Elsewhere, Pittsburgh held a primary for mayor with the city mired in worst financial crisis since the collapse of the steel industry during the 1980s. And voters in Dover, Pa., picked their candidates for the school board in a community that has been roiled by a new and apparently first-in-the-nation policy requiring that students learn about the "intelligent design" theory of creation.
Hahn's family has been active in Los Angeles politics for decades; his father, Kenneth, was a beloved county supervisor. He touted Los Angeles' dropping crime and argued that he is the man to cure such urban ills such as failing schools and gridlock.
But the coalition of blacks and moderate-to-conservative San Fernando Valley voters that put him in office four years ago broke apart this time. He lost black support because he backed the ouster of Police Chief Bernard Parks, who is black, and suffered fallout from allegations that his administration exchanged city contracts for campaign donations.
And Hahn's lawyerly — some say drab — image left him open to criticism that he isn't up to being the public face of star-studded L.A.
"People want substance rather than style. I think they want results rather than rhetoric," Hahn, 54, said after voting early Tuesday. "You know, maybe I have a charisma deficit disorder, but I've done the job people have elected me to do."
Villaraigosa, who once wore a "Born to Raise Hell" tattoo before turning his life around, promised to bring a fresh start to the city.
"I will never forget where I came from. And I will always believe in the people of Los Angeles," he said Tuesday night.
In other races Tuesday:
_ Former City Councilman Bob O'Connor beat a crowded field of Democrats in the Pittsburgh mayoral primary. O'Connor will be heavily favored to win in November because Pittsburgh is predominantly Democratic. Mayor Tom Murphy is not seeking a fourth term.
_ In Dover, Pa., a party-line split emerged in a school board primary that has made national headlines because of the board's October decision to require that ninth-grade students be told about "intelligent design" when they learn about evolution in biology class. Republicans picked seven incumbent school board members who support the policy, while Democrats favored a slate of seven challengers who say intelligent design doesn't belong in science class. Intelligent design holds that the universe is so complex, it must have been created by some kind of guiding force.
_ Philadelphia District Attorney Lynne Abraham, once called "America's Deadliest D.A." for her pursuit of the death penalty, took a big step toward winning a full fourth term by cruising to victory in the Democratic primary. The 64-year-old prosecutor defeated a 38-year-old lawyer who accused Abraham of being soft on City Hall corruption.
_ In Erie, Pa., Mayor Rick Filippi, who is under indictment on charges of using insider information to try to profit from real estate deals, lost his re-election bid in the Democratic primary. The primary came a day before he faced a preliminary hearing in the corruption case.
Of the 48% Latino population how many are US citizens and thus were eligible to vote?
One of the worst RINOs there is. Riordan is a gold-plated idiot, a typical rich dimwit who isn't personally affected by all the enormous damage the radicals do to (most of) society. Maybe that's why people like Riordan have no problem endorsing radicals ... they don't even know what they are.
Bill Simon took a lot of grief, much of it deserved, after his bumbling campaign against Gray Davi$ in 2002. But he sure performed a public service by beating the krapp out of Riordan in the '02 primary. Otherwise, this jerk might have been governor, and the GOP would have been in a state of civil war ... or utter demoralization.
I hope it's not David Dinkins, the Second, but history is not encouraging. Surprises with cronyism, racism and nepotism are not politically correct.
THIS is SCARY. 31% white -- whites are in a serious minority.
I believe political minorities are leaving gerrymandered districts, and that they're doing so with increasing frequency. Currently, so-called red states are getting a lock on Congress, IMHO.
Final Bulletin 2:25:04 AM
VOTES PERCENT
MAYOR
ANTONIO R. VILLARAIGOSA 260,721 58.66
JAMES KENNETH HAHN 183,749 41.34
COUNCIL DISTRICT 11
FLORA GIL KRISILOFF 20,439 43.44
BILL ROSENDAHL 26,613 56.56
Isaiah 2 And it shall come to pass in the last days, that the mountain of the LORD's house shall be established in the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills; and all nations shall flow unto it.
YOu been to L.A. lately? And not the valley or pasadena, I mean down in the pit we call L.A? It is little more then a war zone at night. And a craphole during the day.
Don't know why anyone would want to run this nasty place.
The article never told us where he came from, but we were told the ethnic/race percentages.
Considering the recent L.A., Mexico billboard and the majority of Mexicans in L.A. .... well, it's not too difficult to figure this one out.
After Klamath, if I survive, I'll head south.
I'll bite, what's the problem with this? Are whites supposed to be guaranteed a majority status or something? Does too much melanin make you break out or something? What's the deal here?
Fair analysis there pal.
According to the 2000 census the city of Los Angeles has a population of 3,694,820 people. If let's say 50% are possible voters that's a voter turn out of 20%.
Man your right that seems like a very small turnout indeed.
Viva Aztlan?
Do you know how much in welfare and social services LA pays out each year?. I was wondering, for I here it is very easy to get on the dole there if you fit the profile. NSNR
Or North Mexico.
There are Latinos in Los Angeles who are US citizens? Gee, I thought that was just a quaint old custom! How 20th century!
You can thank two decades worth of treasnous Amerikan political and business "leaders".
LA now under Communist/Mexican rule.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.