Antonio Villaraigosa

Antonio Villaraigosa (born Antonio Villar in Los Angeles, California on January 23, 1953) is a California politician and attorney. Born in East Los Angeles of Mexican-American parentage, Villaraigosa rose up from a poor, unstable childhood and unsettled young adulthood to become a labor lawyer and California State Assemblyman and Assembly Speaker, and one of the leading liberal and Hispanic voices in the state. In 1987, he married Corina Raigosa (his second wife) and combining their names, changed his name from Villar to Villaraigosa. He ran for mayor of Los Angeles in 2001 but was defeated by 8% by fellow Democrat James Hahn in a run-off election. In 2003, Villaraigosa defeated incumbent Councilman Nick Pacheco, a fellow Latino, to win a seat on the Los Angeles City Council representing the 14th District.

In the Los Angeles mayoral election that took place on March 8, 2005, Villaraigosa placed first and is continuing to the run-off election scheduled for May 17, 2005.