Political pizazz

He goes to sleep after midnight and wakes up at 5 -- and for the rest of the day he rarely stops talking.

He likes dressing dapper, he said, because he grew up with holes in his clothes. He’s fastidious about his appearance; his hair is always moussed, his clothes always pressed. He’ll wear a sports jacket, even in 90-degree heat.

Los Angeles’ Mayor-elect Antonio Villaraigosa seems to be everywhere these days, on the cover of national magazines, in the national spotlight as the poster boy for the “new Latino Power,” at local schools and at Dodger games.

But even though Villaraigosa’s been around Los Angeles politics for a long time, the city is just getting to know him. One thing is certain: He will bring a dramatically different style to city politics than that of San Pedro homeboy -- and soon to be ex-mayor -- James Hahn.

The polls were clear: L.A. voters liked Villaraigosa’s pizazz. After four years with the low-key Hahn and eight years before that with the grandfatherly Richard Riordan, the city picked a mayor with energy and charisma, even if they didn’t know that much about what he stood for or how he differed from Hahn.

At age 52, Villaraigosa is pure razzle-dazzle -- although he claims he’s not. At one campaign event, Villaraigosa -- a fit 5-feet-8 -- promised to roll up his sleeves and get to work on the city’s problems. To emphasize his point, he tossed off his black jacket, revealing the label: Armani.

He visits a celebrity throat doctor, who has a client list of famous singers, to monitor the condition of his vocal cords, which required surgery after months of campaigning for mayor four years ago. The throat problems persist; when he’s not talking to groups or voters, he’s on the cellphone.

His tastes reflect those of the power elite he has hung around with in the state Legislature and at City Hall, more than his barrio upbringing. He frequents some of the city’s most posh restaurants, dining at the Water Grill, Patina and Morton’s. His meal of choice is steak and he prefers red wine. Occasionally, he smokes mild cigars.

He recently broke an expensive Starbucks habit. (He was drinking five extra-large lattes a day.) Now, he stops at Swork in Eagle Rock for cups of green tea with honey (his doctor said it was good for his throat).

He’s had his teeth professionally whitened and he works out at 5 most mornings, climbing the hills of Mount Washington, where he lives in a two-story house with wife, Corina; 16-year-old son, Antonio Jr.; and 12-year-old daughter, Natalia. (Villaraigosa’s campaign consultants would jokingly threaten to make out-of-favor journalists walk the hills with the candidate before dawn if they wanted access.)

Villaraigosa sends his two younger children to Catholic schools, where the tuitions together top $20,000 annually. He would like to someday amass a collection of art. Until he can afford it, he said, he has come to appreciate public murals, especially those painted by Diego Rivera.

He likes to live well -- on a budget (his salary as mayor will be $186,989 a year). Villaraigosa has a tailor who comes to his house to fit him in jackets. He shops for dress shirts (size 16 1/2 by 32) and ties at the Nordstrom Half-Yearly Sale. “Honestly, I don’t wear a lot of suits,” he said. “And I don’t buy real expensive. I can’t afford it.”

Appearances matter

Villaraigosa’s personal style reflects where he’s been -- and where he’s going.

He grew up poor in City Terrace. The son of a single mother, he would put cardboard in the soles of his shoes to make them last longer. His clothing was tattered, and the neighborhood kids made fun of him. He started working odd jobs at a young age so he could buy a new wardrobe.

In addition to polishing his appearance, he also learned the fine art of charm, mostly from his late mother, an outgoing woman whom he adored.

Villaraigosa is gregarious, but he’s not exactly funny. If the mayoral voting were based on laughs, the droll Hahn would have won handily. Villaraigosa is not one to tell jokes, especially the self-deprecating sort, whereas Hahn quipped on election night that he suffered from “charisma deficit disorder.”

“Antonio knows how to relax, he knows how to have fun but he’s very conscientious about how people perceive him,” said former Assemblyman Richard Katz, a longtime friend who is serving on the mayor-elect’s transition team. “Because of who he is and where he comes from, he feels people are constantly judging him.”

Even so, Villaraigosa loves the spotlight of politics. He was elected to the state Assembly in 1994, eventually becoming speaker. He ran unsuccessfully for mayor against Hahn four years ago, then staged a comeback by defeating Nick Pacheco in a race to represent the 14th Council District in 2003.

He relishes the current attention, but said he knows it is fleeting.

“I remember what it was like when I wasn’t speaker anymore and when I lost the mayor’s race,” Villaraigosa said. “You have to stay centered and know who you are and never forget where you came from in life.”

For months, Villaraigosa has been making appearances in locales around the city. Some days, he’ll spend an hour or more posing for pictures and signing autographs. He’s genuinely comfortable talking with people from all walks of life, said Katz.

His life has always been busy; these days, it’s crazy. He moves so fast -- and changes subjects so quickly in conversation -- that one Internet blogger nicknamed him “ADV,” Attention Deficit Villaraigosa.

Since winning the race against Hahn on May 17, Villaraigosa’s staff has received more than a thousand calls from people requesting time with the new mayor. More than 500 reporters from around the world have called for interviews.

The party invitations and congratulation notes arrive daily, by the crate load.

It can all be a little dizzying. Operating on just a few hours sleep, Villaraigosa guzzles tea and takes calls at a makeshift office at Los Angeles City Hall. The Dodgers asked him to throw out the first pitch of their Friday night game last week. Mexican crooner Pepe Aguilar wanted him to stop by his concert at the Gibson Amphitheatre at Universal CityWalk. Villaraigosa accepted both invitations.

New York City Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg and Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-N.Y.) called to offer words of praise. His son’s high school paper asked to interview him for the next issue. His staff wondered when he’d slow down long enough to get some rest.

Prisila, Villaraigosa’s 27-year-old daughter, who manages a restaurant in New York, called her father crying early in the week after she spotted his picture on the cover of the new Newsweek while walking down a Manhattan street.

“I wanted to surprise her,” Villaraigosa said.

The new mayor said he is humbled, and a bit amazed, by all the attention. “Obviously, you have a national stature when you are the mayor of New York or Chicago or Los Angeles,” said Villaraigosa, who officially takes office July 1. “But my priorities have to be Los Angeles.”

No place like home

In his rare downtime, Villaraigosa said, he’s something of a homebody. When asked to name his favorite place in Los Angeles, Villaraigosa thought for a moment and said, “It’s my own backyard.”

Situated on top of Mount Washington, the Villaraigosa home has wide views of the San Gabriel Mountains and Los Angeles. “On a clear day you can see all the way to the ocean,” he said. “I like the tranquillity and the serenity.” (He said that he and his family plan to spend some time at the Getty House, the mayor’s official residence in Hancock Park. But they’re not fully moving in, at least for now.)

Villaraigosa said he’s looking forward to slowing down a bit when the whirlwind surrounding his election eases up. He wants to spend some time at home listening to his favorite music (old-time R&B; masters and pop jazz), and making his favorite recipe (stir-fried vegetables with teriyaki).

He loves to read nonfiction and watch movies based on real events, because he finds them inspiring. “Schindler’s List” and “Gandhi” are two of his favorite films. He has a stack of books he’s trying to finish, among them biographies of Winston Churchill and Fiorello La Guardia, his favorite politician.

Last weekend, he finally was able to spend some time with his wife and children. He went to see “Star Wars: Episode III Revenge of the Sith” at the Grove with Antonio Jr. Last Sunday evening, he and Corina went to the Aguilar concert, and the musician called him up on stage. After the show, they went to a 10:55 p.m. viewing of the movie “Crash” at the ArcLight in Hollywood. The new mayor found the movie, which underscores the racial divisions in Los Angeles, “very disturbing.”

“It shows things that I have been talking about for some time,” Villaraigosa said. “It talks about racial polarization in Los Angeles, but it also shows people reaching beyond it.... Our strength is the diversity of the city. We have to figure out how we talk to one another.”

He promises to find ways to bridge the gap. His supporters think he can deliver, if for no other reason than his outgoing style that provides a stark contrast with his predecessor.

“At the minimum, people want to see you,” Villaraigosa said. “Whether I’m throwing out the first pitch at a Dodger game or at a Little League game I want to be out there.”