Antonio Villaraigosa

Vocation

Family

American politician, first Latino mayor of Los Angeles in over 130 years, elected on May 17, 2005 and sworn in to the office on July 1st. Villaraigosa is the eldest of four children born to a Mexican immigrant father and raised by a single mother with Mexican heritage. The disadvantaged family lived in East Los Angeles, a neighborhood known for its toughness. In his teens he became familiar with the lives and social issues of farm workers, joined the movement of Cesar Chavez, and subsequently became involved with the United Farm Workers and the American Civil Liberties Union. After his graduation from the University of California where he continued his work as an activist, he earned a law degree in 1985 (one report stated that he did not pass the bar exam). Continuing his work on labor issues, he worked as an organizer for the United Teachers of Los Angeles. In 1994 he entered mainstream politics by getting elected to the state assembly. Four years later he was named Assembly Speaker. In 2001 he lost his bid for mayor, joining the faculty of UCLA. Two years later he won a City Council seat, successfully running for mayor in 2005. He is a founding member of the Cesar E. Chavez Foundation. He and his wife Connie, née Raigosa, married in 1987 and joined their last names (he was born Antonio Villar). They have four children. She filed for divorce in June 2007. He was re-elected to the office on March 3, 2009. Link to Wikipedia biography