Don't worry, be happy

You have to hand it to our mayor. L.A. is basically a mess - hovering near bankruptcy, congested beyond words, largely controlled by lobbyists, bureaucratized to death - and he's telling Rick Orlov that 2009 was "one of the best years we've had." He then went on to say that "I love my job and I have it three more years." See, here is where the mayor might be a bit confused on the difference between one of his best years and one of the city's best years. The unofficial class clown of U.S. mayors seems to be taking a "Don't worry, be happy" approach to governance - we'll just say that plans for mass transit on the Westside have been speeded up (nobody will remember in 10 or 20 years and for now it sounds impressive); we'll take care of our budget shortfall with an early retirement program that is depleting city government of the people who know how to get things done in the city; and we'll somehow benefit from all those mayoral junkets around the world because... well... hmmm....can l get back to you on that one? From the Daily News interview:

Villaraigosa's optimism flies in the face of the problems many see on the horizon, but he remains convinced only better days are ahead. As he looks back over the past year, Villaraigosa sees successes dating back to November 2008 with Measure R, the half-cent sales tax for public transit, and his efforts to prevent the state from taking more gas tax and sales tax funds from cities. Also, the city's youth jobs program has more than quadrupled to 16,000 young people, while crime - particularly gang crime - remains at historic low levels and reforms he has long sought at the Los Angeles Unified School District are beginning.

[CUT]

As he shrugs off the criticism, Villaraigosa said he is focused on his job and completing the goals he laid out five years ago in his inaugural "Come Dream With Me," speech. First on the agenda, as he says it has been the past year, is jobs. He has asked former Mayor Richard Riordan, billionaire Eli Broad, Playa Vista president Steve Soboroff and other business leaders to serve as a kitchen cabinet to look at what the city is doing, how it can become more business-friendly and bring in more private enterprise.

Sigh. Three more years...