L.A. Mayor, Key Democrats Discuss Reply to Bush’s Address

Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa huddled Thursday with Democratic leaders from Congress to discuss his Spanish-language response to the president’s State of the Union address next week, and there were signs of some disagreement over how to present their case.

Villaraigosa, in Washington this week to attend a meeting of the United States Conference of Mayors, also made the rounds of national media outlets, appearing on C-SPAN, National Public Radio and MSNBC to talk about the task of rebutting President Bush and the mayor’s new role as chairman of a poverty task force for the mayors’ group.

On C-SPAN’s live show “Washington Journal,” the mayor complained about federal cuts in anti-poverty money, but without naming Bush.

“The federal government cannot afford to cut the safety net as they have for so many years,” Villaraigosa said.

He planned meetings with mayors from Atlanta and other cities late into the night and planned to take a 6 a.m. flight back to L.A. today.

At times on Thursday, his energy seemed to flag, despite standing out in the crowd in his pressed, dark suit.

Between broadcast interviews, Villaraigosa met with Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid, Senate Minority Whip Richard J. Durbin and House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi to discuss the party’s response to the State of the Union speech.

The mayor emerged from a meeting with Durbin and Pelosi saying that he did not want to be too negative about the president, on whom his city depends for federal financial help.

“My remarks depend, in part, on what the president has to say, but I think my focus will be more an alternative vision, as opposed to one that spends a lot of time criticizing the administration,” Villaraigosa told The Times.

“It will be one that focuses on opportunity and hope.”

The mayor’s comments were in contrast to speeches by Pelosi and Durbin at a luncheon attended by Villaraigosa at the National Press Club on Thursday. Pelosi said that on key issues the policies we have seen from Republicans in power do not match the priorities of the American people.”

Later, after meeting with Reid at the Capitol, Villaraigosa was pressed on his plans by Chris Matthews, the host of MSNBC’s “Hardball.”

Asked if his speech in Spanish would be different from the Democratic rebuttal in English, to be delivered by Gov. Tim Kaine of Virginia, Villaraigosa said he agreed to speak to the nation only if he could retain editorial control.

He repeated that the key words of his speech will be “hope” and “opportunity.”

The mayor, who was national co-chairman of John Kerry’s presidential campaign, said the Republicans have in recent years “been able to speak to America’s heart ... better than Democrats have. We are good at speaking to her head. They speak to her heart. They speak to America’s values in a way that I think has resonated in the last two elections. That’s clear to me.”

The mayor’s office is a nonpartisan post, and Villaraigosa said issues such as poverty are not owned by any party.

“It’s an American tragedy,” he said. “We have to speak to America’s heart, to her values.”

The mayor got a firsthand look at the different values held by some Americans as he was peppered with questions about immigration from callers on C-SPAN’s “Washington Journal.”

After saying that Los Angeles is not going to follow the lead of Costa Mesa and involve police officers more in identifying illegal immigrants, a caller from Arkansas said not enough was being done to counter illegal immigration.

The woman declared: “It’s only after the influx of illegals that you were elected, sir. How is this possible?”

Clearly stunned, Villaraigosa responded, “Are you kidding?” After a long silence, he added, “I was born in the United States.”