Los Angeles, the first 20 years: The role of Eric Garcetti in the city – from the Olympics to ICE and the Maldacena scandal
A few days before Karen Bass was sworn in on Sunday as the first female mayor of Los Angeles, term-limited Democratic Mayor Eric Garcetti was making his farewell tour through South Los Angeles.
He wore a hard hat to survey a massive affordable housing site, checked in on formerly unsheltered citizens at a motel housing conversion and toured another large campus with nearly 200 units for the formerly unhoused.
For more than a year, Garcetti was a bystander as LA’s mayoral candidates decried the city’s state, from the ongoing homelessness crisis to concerns about crime to corruption on the City Council.
As he leaves office, Garcetti’s nomination to be US ambassador to India – announced in July 2021 – is still in limbo. His nomination has been hold up for months because of concerns about allegations about sexual harassment by one of his former senior political aides. Garcetti has repeatedly denied that he ignored those allegations.
Garcetti: I mean, I can bear witness to that. I have conversations with her that are vital for the transportation of my city. There’s so many places – whether it’s the torture report or whether it’s the building of the Wilshire subway down in the heart of LA – where she has been an amazing representative.
When you think about your major accomplishments as a council member, do you see any difference today than you did when you first started?
The Olympics were won by us. It’s like the biggest civic prize in the world, which isn’t just about an amazing sports event. It’s about really showing who you are to the world. … Then transit. Our city has been where a car is king – the car capital of the world – and we’re building 15 transit lines off of one (ballot) measure. … We’ve tripled the pace of the housing, period. LA could become a place where you could want to live again, if we were to double that again, because it would put us in a position to overcome 40 years of not being in my backyard.
Reston: So, the other half of the equation – as you talked about – is not under your control as the mayor, and that’s the mental health space. There’ve been a lot of committee hearings in Washington about these issues, but nothing ever seems to emerge in terms of a grand plan. What do you want to see happen there?
Garcetti: This country is experiencing a mental health crisis and addiction crisis. We don’t have the right to mental health care in this country because there are not enough professionals who can help us. The American health care system doesn’t focus on trauma and mental health issues very much. And if people don’t treat this like a health crisis – together (with) the housing crisis, not either or, both – you’re not going to ever see the end of homelessness in America.
Reston: I want to pivot to politics. You’re waiting on your own confirmation. California Sen. For a long time, Dianne Feinstein has been in her office. There are people who worry about her mental acuity. Do you think California’s people are getting the full representation they need from that office?
There is a city called Reston She doesn’t have a lot of cash, but people think she will step down at some point. Is that office something that you would like to work in in the future?
Source: https://www.cnn.com/2022/12/12/politics/eric-garcetti-los-angeles-what-matters/index.html
Livin’ on a Prayer, by Bon Jovi and Kamala Garcetti: Something that I can’t say about Mayor Biden
Garcetti: I think I’m close to 100. One thing that was on my bucket list – I didn’t say it to anyone – but at our staff party, I finally got to crowd surf. They lifted me up and just started doing it. The song was called Livin’ on a Prayer, by Bon Jovi. On my bucket list (is) a sophisticated Netflix show with all these guys about City Hall. I would love to return to my creative side and make music or even create drama out of the world that I have lived in.
If Joe Biden were to not run for president, you could have both Vice President and governor running for president at the same time. Who would you give your support to?
Garcetti: I don’t answer hypotheticals. I have never said that to anyone. And by the way, look, I genuinely love both of them. Kamala has been a friend since she was district attorney (of San Francisco) and I was a council member and we were co-chairs of the Obama campaign. I got to know him well during thepandemic, and I think he is a very important leader for our country. I know him well but wartime leadership is a different level of bond.
Source: https://www.cnn.com/2022/12/12/politics/eric-garcetti-los-angeles-what-matters/index.html
What are your most excited about? How many countries do you want to see in the next 30 years? How did you learn about LA riots?
When you consider the things that are on your bucket list but aren’t ambassador related, what are you most excited about? I need an update on how many countries you have visited, since you mentioned you would be trying to get to all of the countries in the world.
I was working on a musical a long time ago that would be interesting in LA. The riots start as the internet first arrives and then the Northridge earthquake starts as the internet finally arrives. That moment kind of defined us. A group of young people are living together. … A lot of people said, Let’s develop a City Hall (series). ‘The Wire’ was good, but there’s not been, since that, a really good series about City Hall. That would be enjoyable.