Today’s Guest: Antonio Villaraigosa … in two parts
Hello Enthusiasts –
Well, here it is. The end of season one of this little side project.
And I don’t want to say I’ve saved the best for last … but I’ve certainly saved the most in-depth and most well-known for last.
Almost anyone reading this knows who Antonio is by his titles: former Speaker of the State Assembly, Mayor of Los Angeles, candidate for Governor of California. And many of you might know the basics of his story: tough upbringing in City Terrace, high school dropout, labor activist, all leading to a tremendously successful political career.
But I would venture to say you’ve never heard Antonio’s whole story – and certainly not like this.
Antonio originally agreed to sit down with me more as a favor than anything else – sit down for an hour or so, tour through the greatest hits, call it a day. But the more we got into it, the more there was to talk about. So, we ended up talking for nearly four hours over the course of three separate interviews. Which leads to my first guest to appear in 2 parts.
I know these episodes are a little long and, believe it or not, they are a bit edited down. But when you’ve lived a life as rich and full as Antonio, there’s a lot to talk about, and a lot to learn.
The first part is the more personal of the two, with a lot of anecdotes and stories that at least I have never heard anywhere else. The second part is the more “political” of the two – from how he whipped votes for Speaker (with the help of Willie Brown) to how he decided to run for Mayor … both times.
So, as always, you can listen right here by clicking above, or by subscribing on Apple podcasts (or wherever you get your podcasts).
I hope you enjoy it – and if you do, I hope you’ll give me a nice review on the Apple podcast app. Now, here’s to figuring out Season 2!