Tom Bradley was being sworn in as the first African American mayor of Los Angeles. His inauguration was not without controversy.

The year was 1973.

Photo from the Los Angeles Public Library

I am now being followed by the Mayor of Los Angeles.

Do I consider this my crowning achievement as a Metblogs contributor? Yes. Do I think it will end well for either party? Probably not.

Consider my most recent tweet regarding @Villaraigosa, after the jump.

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As the battle heats up over who should foot the bill for the Michael Jackson memorial held last week at the Staples Center, the Mayor returned from vacation to throw in his 2 cents.

Today, he spoke with reporters, while his press secretary, Angry Matt Szabo, tweeted from the sidelines:

Mayor just told reporters he will not ask AEG or the Jackson family to cover city expenses for Michael Jackson memorial.

Mayor: Los Angeles is a “world class city.” Providing police and fire protection is “what we do.”

Good to know.

Should a member of your family pass on, rest assured that the LAPD will clear a lane on the freeway for your procession – free of charge.

San Francisco Mayor and California gubernatorial candidate Gavin Newsom will be visiting the San Fernando Valley next week for a Conversation about California’s Future.

Every day, it seems, we read about more bad news coming from Sacramento.

We read about cuts to schools, cuts to colleges and universities, cuts to health care, cuts to transportation projects, cuts and more cuts. But what we don’t see is any sustained attempt to cut out the politics and replace it with the kind of bold and honest leadership we need in Sacramento at this moment of crisis.

That’s why I am inviting you to join me on Wednesday, July 15 for a conversation about how we can all participate in the struggle to get California back on track.

Don’t you kind of wish this guy could be Governor and the Mayor of Los Angeles at the same time?

For RSVP info. and map to the Town Hall, go here.

As I’ve been saying, voter turnout is expected to be AROUND TEN PERCENT today -

PATHETIC!

Please take a moment to go and vote – I voted for Moore (yeah bring on the attacks; I can take it) and against all the Props, especially B which gives a monopoly to the unions and does pretty much the opposite of what it claims (another shock).

Lastly, if you don’t vote, I don’t want to hear any of your bellyaching about what goes on around here. I’m disgusted that our motto has gone from “E Pluribus Unum” to “Can’t Somebody ELSE do it?”

Yes there’s been a lot of talk here about Walter Moore, but let me tell you something -

I went to his website, read what he had to say, and got his email address. I sent him an email.

Within an hour he answered me, and Hold Onto Your Hats, he answered my questions.

We exchanged several emails, and he was direct in answering all my questions. No shit. Many emails.

A decent honest exchange between two people. Of course it could all go to hell with him too once he’s elected, but hey AT LEAST HE’S NOT TONY V.

Remember, as few as 500 votes – in a city of MILLIONS – will win this election.

I’m doing your research for you! Don’t sit around and bitch about it – CHANGE IT.

Villaraigosa has a new Facebook app asking you to pledge allegiance to him. Behold:

It is not the fact that he claims to be “bringing us together,” or that he is “getting things done,” that bothers me most. Instead, it is the disturbing trend in political head shots featuring the coat over the shoulder. The one that says, “Hey, I’m just like you, voter. I’m taking off the tweed and rolling up the shirt sleeves to make this a better city.”

It should be noted that Antonio isn’t the first to channel his inner 80’s. Tom LaBonge of District 4 does it on his $25,000 website:

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It’s good to know that all the problems of Los Angeles have been solved. This frees up much needed time for city leaders to travel the world on “fact-finding” missions.

The Modesto Bee reports that Los Angeles County Sheriff Lee Baca is in Israel this weekend, becoming the latest elected official to show support for the military invasion of Gaza.

What?

Baca condemned Hamas’ rocket attacks on Israeli towns and expressed support for Israel’s military action in the Gaza Strip.

The sheriff is the latest local public official to declare support for Israel. Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and four City Council members did so in a press conference…

The Bee goes on to say that it was LA County Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky who asked the sheriff to make the trip, which Baca himself is paying for.

Funny. When we were growing up, my brother and I used to beat the crap out of each other in the backyard. I don’t remember any non-family members showing up to tell us who was right and who was wrong.

LA Tweeps giggled with glee when Antonio Villaraigosa, the Mayor of Los Angeles, started Twittering. Many, including our own Sean Bonner questioned the legitimacy of the account. After all, @villaraigosa‘s updates consisted of nothing more than “thanks for the follow.” What is this, amateur hour?

Anyhoo… I just noticed his last update, from December 12:

Sounds like the baton has been passed to an intern. So, any hope of Tony the Tiger tweeting about hitting the Galleria with some hot side action has gone completely out the window.

The problems with LAUSD have been corrected. The Subway to the Sea has been finished. Ånd one million trees have been planted.

Having solved every other major issue facing the city of Los Angeles, the Mayor now wants to address housing.

Today, Antonio Villaraigosa announces his $5-billion plan to build housing for the poor and middle class. The Times gives us a quick rundown of what this plan will include, like more mixed income housing along the Metro Gold and Expo Lines.

It will also include this nugget:

Redeveloping the Jordan Downs housing project in Watts into a mixed-income housing development with some units for very poor people and some units of market-rate housing.

If you happen to be one of the candidates looking for market-rate housing, and should you decide to relocate to a swanky new loft at the Jordan Downs projects development, might I recommend an affiliation with the hometown 103rd Grape Street Watts Baby Loc Crips?

Photo from Ilpo’s Sojourn’s photostream