The Manner and the Message of Villaraigosa's $2.3 Million War Chest

DOWNTOWN LOS ANGELES - It is impossible these days to escape talk of the financial crisis. With downward-angling graphs the new national art obsession and Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson getting more air time than Paris Hilton, it is clear that the boom is over for everyone.

Why is this mayor smiling? Possibly because five months before his next election he has raised $2.15 million more than his closest competitor. Photo by Gary Leonard. Well, almost everyone. Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, gearing up for his next election, appears to be recession-proof.

Consider recent weeks. At a time when the economy was trying to regain its footing like Apollo Creed after Rocky Balboa landed his first round haymaker, Villaraigosa was actually making money. On Thursday, Oct. 9, the same day the Dow dropped 678 points and Fortune 500 companies were shedding value like Sam Zell sheds reporters, Villaraigosa raised thousands at a Yom Kippur (the day, not the theme) fundraiser in San Antonio, Texas.

This was amazing, in part because the last time I checked, San Antonio wasn't part of Los Angeles, and San Antonionians don't get to vote in our local elections. Thirteen percent of me believes AnVil made the trip simply because he already views himself as Saint Antonio, and thus thought he should travel to the motherland.

Why is this mayor smiling? Possibly
because five months before his next
election he has raised $2.15 million
more than his closest competitor.
Photo by Gary Leonard.

The other reason this is amazing is because Villaraigosa is building up a war chest for an election in which it's virtually impossible for him to lose. Already backed by labor and business groups, and with no significant opponent signed on (the closest thing to a competitor, Walter Moore, finished sixth when he ran for mayor in 2005, which is about as ominous as a mommy-and-me showing of Beverly Hills Chihuahua), Villaraigosa would need a Herculean effort to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory.

Folks may fear the next Great Depression, but Villaraigosa looks like he has the keys to Fort Knox. According to filings with the city Ethics Commission, by Oct. 10 he had raised more than $2.3 million, and that's with almost five months until the March 3 primary. That puts him more than $2.15 million ahead of Moore.

What Financial Crisis?

So the question is, why oh why is Villaraigosa raising money in a manner that makes it seem that the recession is something for the little people to worry about? He's certainly aware of what's happening, as on Sept. 29 he felt compelled to release a statement on the financial crisis. Issued the day Congress rejected the $700 billion bailout (which passed a few days later), it closed with the line, "It's time for Congress to get back to work," which is as bold as suggesting the sun rise tomorrow morning.