6.04.2005
Los Angeles Mayor-elect Says Democrats Need to Diversify (CNN.com)
Antonio Villaraigosa: 'I'm unabashedly a progressive'
Thursday, June 2, 2005 Posted: 1954 GMT (0354 HKT)
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Los Angeles Mayor-elect Antonio Villaraigosa told Democrats on Wednesday they need to diversify.
"We need to look long and hard within our movement," said Villaraigosa, the former California Assembly speaker who was elected mayor in mid-May.
"Look at this room today," he told a largely white crowd at a rally for the liberal group Campaign for America's Future. "You don't see the kind of diversity that we need to build a strong movement in America."
Villaraigosa becomes the first Hispanic mayor in Los Angeles in more than a century. While his victory has been hailed as a sign of the rising political power of Hispanics, Villaraigosa said it was about more than that.
"It wasn't just a Latino victory," he said. "It was about building a coalition."
(More ... CNN.com - Los Angeles mayor-elect says Democrats need to diversify - Jun 2, 2005) ¶ 10:55
Thursday, June 2, 2005 Posted: 1954 GMT (0354 HKT)
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Los Angeles Mayor-elect Antonio Villaraigosa told Democrats on Wednesday they need to diversify.
"We need to look long and hard within our movement," said Villaraigosa, the former California Assembly speaker who was elected mayor in mid-May.
"Look at this room today," he told a largely white crowd at a rally for the liberal group Campaign for America's Future. "You don't see the kind of diversity that we need to build a strong movement in America."
Villaraigosa becomes the first Hispanic mayor in Los Angeles in more than a century. While his victory has been hailed as a sign of the rising political power of Hispanics, Villaraigosa said it was about more than that.
"It wasn't just a Latino victory," he said. "It was about building a coalition."
(More ... CNN.com - Los Angeles mayor-elect says Democrats need to diversify - Jun 2, 2005) ¶ 10:55
