Eric Garcetti Makes It Official: He's Running For Mayor

By Gene Maddaus Thu., Sep. 8 2011 at 3:14 PM

Eric Garcetti

Update 3:14 p.m.: Zev Yaroslavsky will jump in "sooner rather than later."

Councilman Eric Garcetti announced this morning that he's running for mayor.

Garcetti's entry into the race has been expected for months, and the chatter had been picking up lately that he would announce soon after Labor Day.

The announcement is likely to set off a succession battle for president of the L.A. City Council. The odds-on favorite for that job is Councilman Herb Wesson, but it's never a done deal until it's done.

There are still two big names on the sidelines...

... Rick Caruso and Zev Yaroslavsky. They've been quieter about their intentions than Garcetti has been, but they're expected to decide relatively soon. (Update: Rick Taylor, Yaroslavsky's id, tells the Times: "I think he's absolutely, unequivocally getting in.")

Update, 3:14 p.m.: Taylor, a veteran political operative, tells the Weekly that Yaroslavsky will get in "sooner rather than later."

"I've known him for 40 years. I think he's running. He hasn't told anyone that, but do I believe he's going to run? Absolutely," Taylor said. "He's making a Zev-Yaroslavsky-slow-but-deliberate decision... Sooner is a better idea... There's no question he needs to step up."

So there's that.

Garcetti joins a field that already includes Controller Wendy Greuel, former Deputy Mayor Austin Beutner, Councilwoman Jan Perry and radio host Kevin James.

In a statement, Garcetti said he's running "to get L.A. and our economy back on track." He stressed his experience as a councilman and his "willingness to embrace innovation."

"Los Angeles is the most dynamic city in the world," he said. "We need leadership that brings people together around a common vision that puts Los Angeles back on top."

Garcetti has hired Bill Carrick, who is Dianne Feinstein's political strategist.

He's a good communicator. He's also, for lack of a better word, a good facilitator -- the kind of guy who can get warring groups together, and write all their concerns down on a whiteboard and make them all feel respected and listened to.

Where he gets criticized is on bold leadership -- staking out a position and getting others to fall in line. That's not his style. He's also going to get hit for presiding over the City Council as it struggled mightily to come to grips with the recession. But he's a smart guy, and not to be underestimated.

For further reading:
Check out what the experts are saying about who will win the election, in "Zev Yaroslavsky Will Replace Antonio Villaraigosa as Mayor, Experts Predict."

Tags:

Eric Garcetti, Los Angeles mayor, Mayor, Rick Caruso, Wendy Greuel, Zev Yaroslavsky

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guest

I live and work in CD13. sigh. CD13 could be amazing, but no, because he doesn't care about his constituents' needs and concerns- safety, parking, parks... nope, he only cares about developers'- high density, billboards, congestion.... A slick talker, a used car salesman ( sorry used car salesmen), his staff: no better- mediocre at nodding their heads but fantastic at avoiding you again at all costs.

garcetti, my neighbors and I will NEVER vote for you, unless its to remove you. You failed us as a councilman. The current mayor is horrid but you are worse.

muckraker

GarSHADY. I'll be using that from now on. GarSHADY is more like Barney Fife, one bullet in his top pocket, fumbling to load his gun.

GGG

Garcetti is the vilest of all slimes- unable to administrate the simplest of things effectively & is likely to prove unflushable...8 more years+ of Napoleonic rule - hurrah! Garcetti can't even coordinate street cleaning down Sunset and Hollywood Blvds between 3-7pm (red Zones) when there are no cars parked and they can actually pick up street side trash. How about we crown him NightMayor?!

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Draimanformayor Losangeles

Y.J. "Jay" Draiman. - Candidate for Mayor of Los Angeles YJ Draiman who ran last year for councilmen at District 12 in Los Angeles,Draiman has formally filed paper to run for Mayor of Los Angeles – March 5, 2013. Y.J. "Jay" Draiman. - Candidate for Mayor of Los AngelesDraiman is an Energy Efficiency Advocate and the lead elected official with the goal of Energy Conservation for the Northridge East Neighborhood Council - NENC, from Northridge, California. Draiman is also the liaison between the NENC and LADWP. Draiman is known for his advancement of implementing Energy efficiency, Renewable energy and Water conservation in the Los Angeles Area. Draiman is promoting the theme of Made in America, bringing back Los Angeles's industrial base, increase employment and reduce government with fiscal responsibility. Draiman ran for Los Angeles City Council in 2010. A recent ambitious goal by Draiman is to create in Los Angeles an innovative renewable energy zone approach which will create 200,000+ new jobs with billions in investments over the next 5-10 years.Draiman is a former Real Estate developer with over 20 year’s experience. Draiman has extensive experience in the deregulation of Utilities and implementing energy and water conservation.In January 1996 Draiman was asked to run for U.S. Senate, but He declined. Draiman is currently working on his PHD in energy conservation.

anonymous

Hell will freeze over before I vote for this corrupt weasel who sold the city to developers, cooked the financial books to show they have a balanced budget even as the city is headed towards it's inevitable bankruptcy. Don't be fooled by his boy/man charm. I just hope his failed run for Mayor will end his political dreams of screwing whatever he represents ie. his future run for Assemblyman or Congressman. It is just amazing that anyone from the current crop in City Hall even dreams of a higher office when they have represented the most corruption I've seen in City Hall. Heck, where is that damn FBI who are supposedly in City Hall. We need to triple those agents to put these SOBs behind bars before they stink up more of the city.

whippersnapper

But he's a local San Fer Dude, speaks fluent Spanish, and his daddy-- former D.A. Gil GarSHADY-- is of partial Mexican descent, Those qualifications will surely get him elected

Yuval Kremer

Eric GarSHADY is the Poster Boy for Special Interests at City Hall, like Big Developers, the DWP Union, Billboard Companies, etc, etc, Just because he's good looking and well spoken doesn't been you should buy into the hype. I think it says a lot that an underdog, Gary Slossberg, ran against Garcetti's warchest of Special Interest Money, and pulled roughly 30 % of the vote...that's how much people dislike Garcetti in his own district. BTW, Garcetti is termed-out after 3 terms (he got himself a 3rd term by misleading the public into voting for an extra term in the name of lobbying/ethics reform...he has a habit of misleading the public and his colleagues into voting for things)...he can't run again...and Garcetti has been in charge of the City Council for years, flushing the City down the drain with his decisions (please don't be a sap and blame the economy...the City of LA has a Seven BILLION dollar budget) and gets to choose which Councilmembers serve on each committee...which is why the City's Land Use (PLUM) committee only has 3 members and is always pro-Developer (he also led the passage of the City's Density Bonus and Developer Incentives Ordinance). I'm probably going to vote for Kevin James, the Gay, Socially Moderate, Fiscally Conservative Republican...Jan Perry and Wendy Cruel are female versions of GarSHADY.