LOS ANGELES (AFP) – Los Angeles’ new mayor Eric Garcetti promised to keep the entertainment industry in the city as he was sworn in Sunday to replace Antonio Vallaraigosa, local media reported.
Saying the city is “a place where you can’t be pessimistic even if you want to be,” Garcetti vowed to end the flight of productions from LA — such as The Tonight Show, which has moved to New York City, the Los Angeles Times reported.
He promised to lobby hard in the state capital and with county leaders on behalf of the entertainment industry to cut down on red tape.
“I’ll set an example in L.A., by working to eliminate the tangle of fees and rules that make filming here more like ‘Les Miserables,’ instead of ‘Fast and Furious,’ like it ought to be,” the new mayor said at the ceremony at City Hall, as quoted by industry magazine Variety.
Garcetti, 42, defeated Comptroller Wendy Gruel in a vote on May 21 to replace Vallaraigosa, who had served since 2005.
Vallaraigosa, 60, a Democrat and a Hispanic, became during his tenure one of the most influential politicians in the United States — but he was barred by law from seeking a third term.
Garcetti, the city’s first Jewish mayor in 100 years, also has Mexican origins. He studied at Oxford University and the London School of Economics.
