Hilda L. Solis: “today I rise very proudly to congratulate Antonio Villaraigosa as the newly elected mayor of the City of Los Angeles.…”

“today I rise very proudly to congratulate Antonio Villaraigosa as the newly elected mayor of the City of Los Angeles. Believe it or not, the last Latino mayor elected in the City of Los Angeles, which is overwhelmingly Latino and African American and Asian, was back in 1872. Can we imagine what a whirlwind of change has occurred? Antonio Villaraigosa is one of the Nation's most promising leaders of our country. I served with him in the State assembly and he served as the assembly speaker for the great State of California, where he helped to expand the Healthy Families program, which we know here as at the Federal level as the S-CHIP program, and helped to pass one of largest park bonds in the State of California which helped to identify areas in low-income communities to establish urban conservancies. And my district was a proud recipient of one of the largest urban conservancies in California. Antonio is one of those individuals who will bridge the gap in our communities. He is about empowering people, empowering our communities, putting public safety and education first, and helping to fight crime. I look very much toward his leadership and know that the country is looking at our great State of California, and especially Los Angeles; and I am proud to say that a portion of my district, he and I have similar jurisdiction in the community of El Serreno. So he is a champion, someone I continue to work with, and I extend the best wishes to him and his family.…”