Mayor Villaraigosa to Deliver Final 'State of the City' Address

After eight years in office, Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa will deliver his last "state of the city" address Tuesday.

"I am honored to give my last State of the City address," tweeted Villaraigosa.  

Mayor Villaraigosa is coming to the end of his eight years in the mayor's office. (ATVN)

His speech, which is scheduled for 5 p.m. at UCLA's Royce Hall, will highlight his efforts in public safety, education, business, transportation, and the environment.

In a news conference with Police Chief Charlie Beck last week, Villaraigosa addressed public safety, stressing that his efforts to increase the size of the police department resulted in the reduction of violent crime by 50 percent since he took office.

After taking office in 2005, he added nearly 1,000 police officers.  During the news conference, he encouraged the next mayor to continue this trend.

Villaraigosa is expected to use the speech as an opportunity to advise his successor, who will take over on July 1.

He will "take to task" the two mayoral candidates, Eric Garcetti and Wendy Greuel, "for their lack of vision and leadership thus far on the issue of education, an issue that cuts across the City and has broad implications to thousands of current and future students," said mayoral spokesman Peter Sanders.

Villaraigosa expects to see "comprehensive vision on education, not just a few sound bites worthy of an attack ad or a mailer," said Sanders.

The mayor is also expected to talk about rail construction, carbon emissions, business attraction, and other challenges that he has faced during his eight years in office. 

A group of city employees are expected to protest the mayor's speech and demand that the city put more funding into city services and the hiring of workers. The group is demanding an end to contracting out for services.

The speech will most likely focus on the city's budget, which is still over $150 million in debt. Villaraigosa will release his budget plan for the city later this month, however he may reveal some of these plans in his address this afternoon.

The address is scheduled for 5 pm at UCLA's Royce Hall. Watch live here.