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Villaraigosa, Antonio

Villaraigosa, Antonio (vē"yärīgō'sä) [key], 1953–, American politician, b. Los Angeles as Antonio Villar; he changed his name in 1987 when he married Corina Raigosa. A liberal Democrat and labor lawyer, he was elected to the California state assembly in 1994, becoming majority leader in 1996 and assembly speaker in 1998. In 2001 he was a candidate for mayor of Los Angeles but lost to James Hahn. He won a Los Angeles city council seat in 2003, and two years later he defeated Hahn to become the city's first Hispanic mayor since 1872.

The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th ed. Copyright © 2007, Columbia University Press. All rights reserved.

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