Garcetti Pledges To Back 'City Hall That Gets Along'
LOS ANGELES (CBSLA.com) — Mayor Eric Garcetti pledged Tuesday to work closely with the City Council to tackle some of the city's biggest issues.
Garcetti spent much of his first day as successor to Antonio Villaraigosa in meetings with local business leaders and a dozen constituents, discussing issues ranging from LA's economic struggles to sidewalks in the San Fernando Valley that residents say are in desperate need of repair.
The mayor has signaled he would like to meet with residents at least once a month to hear about various issues in their communities.
But Garcetti told KNX 1070 NEWSRADIO he wants to also make it a priority to reach out to City Council members in order to establish better cooperation at City Hall.
Mayor Eric Garcetti
"I'll be the first City Council president elected at least in modern history as mayor, and people want a City Hall that gets along, not one that's fighting," said Garcetti. "I'm not looking for division and fractious moments, I'm looking for where we can come together."
The mayor was scheduled to continue building his team and will spend a block of time calling businesses on Tuesday.
Garcetti also hopes to revisit the city's failed attempts at landing a pro football team.
"There's no question that the second-biggest city in America needs an NFL team, and the NFL needs Los Angeles," he said. "It's really in the hands of those owners and somebody who would want to come to Los Angeles."
However, Garcetti called any proposal to subsidize an NFL stadium "non-negotiable."
"We can't afford to do that," said Garcetti in an apparent reference to talks surrounding Farmers Field, the proposed football stadium from entertainment giant AEG, which fell apart in March.
