The Story:
Eric Garcetti, the Mayor of Los Angeles, California, has received a fair share of national attention in recent days as a potential Presidential candidate, and as the mediator of a teachers’ strike.
Background:
Garcetti has been Mayor since 2013. His tenure has been praised by admirers as both “progressive” and “pragmatic” and has involved a more business-friendly approach than other recent mayors. He says that his economic policies are focused on “helping business startups and entrepreneurs in Los Angeles grow.”
On January 14 the teachers in Los Angeles went on strike. Those who might support a Presidential campaign for Garcetti might have looked to his handling of this strike as a critical test of whether he had the stature for a serious run.
The Thing to Know:
The mayor passed that test. With the assistance of his mediation, the teachers and the school board reached an agreement on January 22 that included an immediate 6% across-the-board pay raise for teachers and a cap on the expansion of charter schools. Teachers returned to the classroom the following day.
Garcetti uses the hashtag #MayorsGetThingsDone on twitter. He may now be able to leverage his success as a mediator as an example of the sort of “things” he can get done.
