California Gov. Gavin Newsom on Thursday appointed onetime nemesis and rival Antonio Villaraigosa, the former Los Angeles mayor, to a new post of serving to to steer a gusher of federal {dollars} to street, port and transit tasks.
These days, the 2 are extra associates than frenemies.
Newsom introduced that Villaraigosa would assume the post of “infrastructure czar,” an advisory place during which he could be pursuing billions of federal {dollars} and serving to pair it with wants within the state.
“Money is not our problem anymore,” the governor mentioned, referring to a lately enacted $1 trillion federal infrastructure deal that guarantees to ship billions for enhancements to the nation’s most populous state.
California has to “go out and get it,” Newsom added, which is the cost Villaraigosa has within the new post.
Villaraigosa mentioned: “We got to build. We got to invest. And that’s what this is all about.”
The appointment marks the newest chapter in a long-running relationship that has veered from open hostility to, now, taking part in for a similar workforce.
Newsom was mayor of San Francisco when Villaraigosa was in command of City Hall in Los Angeles, a time when every was typically wanting to outshine — if not rattle or embarrass — the opposite. The two Democrats later confronted off in a 2018 major race for governor, a contest gained by Newsom that turned so nasty the 2 later made a public look collectively to dispel any notion of lasting enmity.
As mayor in L.A., Villaraigosa was credited with kicking off a transit buildup that continues as we speak. Newsom mentioned he would convey in depth know-how in capturing federal {dollars} and getting shovels within the floor.
Technically, Villaraigosa won’t be a state worker. This place is funded by means of a partnership with California Forward, a nonprofit that seeks to promote job progress and cost-effective authorities.
During their 2018 marketing campaign matchup, Villaraigosa depicted Newsom as a rich elitist, out of contact with Californians left behind by the surging financial system. Newsom’s marketing campaign adverts recalled a six-figure ethics superb paid by Villaraigosa, and his time as adviser to dietary supplements and weight reduction firm Herbalife, which the adverts referred to as a “pyramid scheme.”
They later sought to mend the connection. At a news convention shortly after the election, they traded compliments and shared a lunch. Villaraigosa, a former state Assembly speaker, mentioned it was vital to “transfer past no matter variations we would have had.”
“This wasn’t personal,” he added on the time.
Villaraigosa served as L.A. mayor from 2005 to 2013. In 2021, there was hypothesis that Villaraigosa may develop into a candidate in a recall election that sought to take away Newsom from workplace. Villaraigosa by no means entered the race, and Newsom simply beat again the try to take away him.