10 Questions with Antonio Villaraigosa

Antonio R. Villaraigosa sits in an armchair at the Institute of Politics, his hair slicked back. The former Mayor of Los Angeles  and 2012 Chairman of the Democratic National Convention, now a visiting fellow at Harvard's Institute of Politics, is ever the genial politician as he sits down with Fifteen Minutes.

1. FM: Other than this [fellowship], how have you been spending your time since your term as mayor ended?

Antonio R. Villaraigosa: Well I thought it was important that I share some of the lessons learned in eight years as mayor, six years in [the California] State Assembly, two years as Speaker of the [California State] Assembly and two years as a council member, so I signed on with the Harry Walker Agency. I think it’s also important, at a time when our economy is struggling to move ahead, to figure out how we create more jobs, and understand the needs of America’s businesses so I’m involved with Herbalife, [...] a health and nutrition company focused on empowering people to change their lifestyles [and] addressing the epidemic of obesity and diabetes.  [I've been] working with the Bank of California as a senior adviser […] around mortgage lending, affordable housing, and small business lending programs. I’m a senior adviser with Edelman International, the largest public affairs company in the world. [It’s a] company focused on trust and integrity as important, corporate values. [I’m a] senior fellow with the Bipartisan Policy Center and [I’m] about to announce an affiliation with a major university.

2. FM: So, in short, not much.

ARV: I’ve always been known for long days. I think I’ve had about 42 hours of sleep in the last 11 days. I’ve been been to France and Korea, New York multiple times, back in LA, New York and then Boston. I’ll be back in LA Monday […] continuing the pattern of long days I’ve established over the years.

3. FM: You're speaking on Latino leadership later this week. Who might you say is an act to follow in  the United States’ Latino community?ARV: One of your fellow graduates Henry Cisneros. Great leader. In many ways I patterned my role as mayor after his. He was a mayor for all the people […] I ran on and understood the role is first just to be a uniter […] and a coalition builder.

4. FM: The end of your final term as mayor was the tipping point for Prop 8, in terms of going through the courts. What was the lead up to that like for you?

ARV: I’ve supported marriage equality since 1994. During my speakership I authored the anti-discrimination bill in housing and employment that really protected LGBT students from […] discrimination they found in public schools. I was always someone who was focused on ... LGBT civil rights and played a leading role in the effort to defeat Prop 8. I was very supportive of the litigants in Prop 8 in that case. [I] actually married two of the litigants right after we won.      So, if you remember when I was chairman of the Democratic Party Convention, one of the first questions they asked was did I believe [gay rights] should be part of the platform and I said, ‘Absolutely.’ That didn’t go over so well with some, [but] I said to everyone, when you’re the face of the party, (and I was the face of the convention as the chair of the convention), I couldn’t do a capable job in that regard if I wasn’t authentic. Everybody knew since 1994 that I was for marriage equality, so why wouldn’t I support it being included in the platform? So this is an issue I’ve been involved with my entire public life.

5. FM: You served as a national chairman of Hillary Clinton's 2008 presidential campaign. Should the opportunity arise again, can you see yourself joining her, whether in that same capacity or in another one?

ARV: Absolutely, are you kidding? You know, I’ve worked on a lot of campaigns, but I was with her in Iowa, New Hampshire, Nevada, and Texas. I was proud of her candidacy, her courage, her indefatigability, and I’m a big supporter of Hillary Clinton.

6. FM: So you mentioned you were the chairman of the 2012 Democratic National Convention. What exactly does that mean?

ARV: You’re the face of the convention, a spokesperson for the party and the platform. And a surrogate, one of the more active surrogates for the campaign.

7. FM: Was there anyone that you were particularly excited to have speak?

ARV: Always excited to hear President Obama, Bill Clinton. Those were two of the people that you’re always excited to hear and see.

8. FM: Is a gubernatorial campaign still something you're considering?

ARV: I’m not really focused on five years from now. I am focused on using this time to reflect, to share experiences and lessons, to develop a business acumen, to learn. [I'm focused on being] involved in issues of public policy, particularly around the idea of fixing this dysfunctional, broken, hyper-partisan [political] environment.

9. FM: Is there anything that you wish you could have gotten done as mayor, but weren’t able to for lack of support or lack of time?

ARV: I don’t think a whole lot about what we didn’t do. I put everything I had into my job as mayor, as a  councilmember, as assembly member, as Speaker of the Assembly. I gave it all I had and I don’t look back too much.

10. FM: What do you intend to focus on in the future?

ARV: The one area that I’ll continue to focus on is the issue of improving our public schools. It’s the most important issue of our time: preparing our kids for jobs of the 21st century and ensuring that the pathway to that opportunity in America, which has always been our public schools, remains a pathway without the kind of hurdles to overcome that you see today for so many kids who are poor or of color.