Quote:

L.A. mayor endorses Clinton campaign
By Duke Helfand and Steve Hymon, Times Staff Writers
6:30 PM PDT, May 30, 2007

Saying Hillary Rodham Clinton was a leader who offered a new path, Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa today formally endorsed the New York senator and former first lady in her race to become president of the United States.

Villaraigosa will also serve as one of the four national chairs of Clinton's campaign for the Democratic nomination for president, it was announced.

At a televised news conference from the UCLA campus in Westwood, Villaraigosa praised Clinton's approach to domestic issues, particularly education, and her pledge to help end the war in Iraq. The pair earlier toured the preschool at UCLA's Krieger Center.

The 2008 election represents an important opportunity for the country to change direction from the years of President Bush, the mayor said.

"We will choose whether to perpetuate the disastrous policies of the last six years that brought us war and division, debt and diminished expectations," he said. Or voters can choose "a new course and a brighter path."

The mayor's announcement had been expected, but it could help Clinton in her race for the Democratic nomination. Polls show her running ahead of her chief challenger, Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.), nationally and in California.

Running against the Iraq war, Democrats wrested control of Congress from the Republicans and are expected to continue that strategy in 2008. Villaraigosa praised Clinton's current stand against the war. As a senator, she had voted to authorize the invasion.

"Hillary Clinton has a plan to end the war in Iraq," Villaraigosa said. "No candidate in the race for president" is better positioned "to accomplish this mission and restore American prestige around the world."

Villaraigosa cited Hillary Clinton's eight years as a key advisor in the administration of her embattled husband, President Bill Clinton.

"We should not lose sight of the fact that there's only one candidate for the presidency of the United States that has literally been there," the mayor said.
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LA Times

Fair play!