Mayor Villaraigosa to Deliver State of City Address
Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa will address tax and transportation plans in his last 'State of the City' Address Wednesday night.
In his seventh-annual speech, Villaraigosa will urge Los Angeles voters to turn the “Measure R” half cent sales tax increase, approved in 2008, into a permanent fixture.
This plan is expected to produce about $36 billion for transit, road and transportation improvements, as well as 152,000 jobs, through 2039.
“Mayor Villaraigosa will speak to Angelenos and tell them it’s time for some common sense for the common good,” said Press Secretary Peter Sanders. “By continuing Measure R, we will be creating jobs, relieving highway congestion, and completing light rail and subway projects in one decade instead of three.”
More than two-thirds of the county’s voters supported this sales tax in 2008.
The mayor is also expected to call for $2.5 million to create a new city-funded economic development center to take the place of the city’s past tax-funded redevelopment agency.
Villaraigosa is also expected to ask city workers to pay more for their own health benefits to lower city costs. This request has upset workers, who are planning to protest outside Paramount Studios, where the speech will be delivered.
This will be Villaraigosa’s last year in office, since by city term limits, he is ineligible to run for a third term. Since being elected mayor in 2005, Villaraigosa has brought crime down to historic lows, quadrupled L.A.’s use of renewable energy, and been a champion for funding long term solutions to traffic congestion.
His State of the City address will be streamed live at 5 p.m. on lacityview.org or on his home page.
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