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The New Face of L.A.
"We’re waiting to see if he can get to the root of some of the problems L.A. youth are facing in schools and on the streets."
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to this Commentary!
By Luis Sierra
80 percent of Latino voters voted for Antonio Villaraigosa- mainly because he’s Chicano and supports the concerns of our community, like immigrant rights. But the reality is his connection with people my age crosses ethnic lines. I know a lot of young African Americans who voted for him. That made me confident that Villaraigosa’s win was not just "a Latino thing”.
Our new mayor speaks to issues my generation cares about. He pushed for the "Dream Act" so that undocumented immigrant high
school students who do exceptionally well in school could qualify for scholarships and in-state admissions. Some people might not agree with that, but it shows that Villaraigosa doesn’t only care about registered voters, but about all Angelinos.
When I ask my friends about what they think about Villaraigosa, my friend Ana said, "Well my mom likes him because he’s cute.”
But Ana likes him because he’s proof of the contributions Latinos have made to Los Angeles.
At the beginning of the mayor’s race, I didn’t even know there had once been another Latino mayor of L.A., but then we were reminded that in 1872 Cristobal Aguilar was mayor.
Most youth I’ve talked to don’t really know much about Villaraigosa’s record in the city council. On the campaign trail, Antonio Villaraigosa spent time at some of our local high schools where racial tension has become common. His campaign did manage to unite Latino and African-American voters, so now we’re waiting to see if he can get to the root of some of the problems L.A. youth are facing in schools and on the streets.
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