Eric Garcetti

Early life and education

Eric Michael Garcetti was born on February 4, 1971, in Los Angeles, and was raised in Encino in the San Fernando Valley. He is the son of Sukey (née Roth) and Gil Garcetti, the former Los Angeles County District Attorney.

Garcetti's paternal grandfather, Salvador, was born in Parral, Chihuahua, Mexico. Salvador was brought by his family to the United States as a child after his father, Massimo "Max" Garcetti, was murdered by hanging during the Mexican Revolution. Max had immigrated to Mexico from Italy. He married a Mexican woman and became a judge. His paternal grandmother, Juanita Iberri, was born in Arizona, one of 19 children born to an immigrant father from Sonora, Mexico, and an Arizona-born mother whose father and mother were both Mexican.

Garcetti's maternal grandparents were Russian Jewish immigrants. His maternal grandfather, Harry Roth, founded and ran the clothing brand Louis Roth Clothes. Garcetti's family celebrated Passover and Chanukah, and he attended a Jewish camp.

Garcetti attended elementary school at UCLA Lab School, formerly University Elementary School; and middle and high school at Harvard-Westlake School. While in high school, he was a member of the Junior State of America, a national civic engagement and political debate organization for students.

Garcetti majored in political science and urban planning, and received a Bachelor of Arts from Columbia University in 1992 as a John Jay Scholar. During that time, he lived in Carman Hall and Furnald Hall, served on the student council, was president of the St. Anthony Hall fraternity and literary society, founded the Columbia Urban Experience, and co-wrote and performed in three years of the Varsity Show, a student-written musical. He received a Masters of International Affairs from the School of International and Public Affairs at Columbia University, graduating in 1993.

He met his future wife while they were both studying as Rhodes Scholars at the University of Oxford, he at the Queen's College, Oxford and she at Wadham College, Oxford. While at Oxford, he was a member of the Oxford University L'Chaim Society founded by Rabbi Shmuley Boteach, along with future U.S. senator Cory Booker.

Professional career

Prior to his election to the Los Angeles City Council, Garcetti was a visiting instructor of international affairs at the University of Southern California, and an assistant professor of diplomacy and world affairs at Occidental College. His academic work focused on ethnic conflict and nationalism in Southeast Asia and Northeast Africa. During this time, he published articles and chapters of books on post-conflict societies, Eritrean nationalism, and non-violent action. He has served on the California board of Human Rights Watch, and currently serves on the advisory board for Young Storytellers, an arts education nonprofit organization based in Los Angeles. Garcetti is a member of the Inter-American Dialogue. In 2025 he was named Ambassador for Global Climate Diplomacy on behalf of C40 Cities Climate Leadership Group, which he had previously chaired while mayor of Los Angeles.

Los Angeles City Council (2001–2013)

Elections

City Council District 13 was left vacant after incumbent Jackie Goldberg was elected to the State Assembly in 2000. Garcetti ran for the open seat and was elected in 2001, narrowly defeating former city council member Michael Woo 52 to 48 percent. He was re-elected again in 2005 (unopposed) and 2009 (with 72% of the vote).

Tenure

Garcetti served as council president from January 1, 2006, to January 12, 2012. He was elected by his colleagues to succeed Alex Padilla, who resigned after being elected to the California State Senate. He was one of the first elected officials in Los Angeles to hold "office hours" each month, where constituents could meet with him face-to-face. He implemented a "Constituent Bill of Rights" that ensured that constituents' phone calls were returned within a single workday, that constituents are included in all land-use decisions in their neighborhood, and that all constituent concerns are tracked on a computer system that details all actions taken on that particular case. He ensured that the meetings started on time, and all past meetings were made available online. He has also helped more than 1,500 local constituents learn about the governmental process by hosting Government and Planning 101 courses throughout the city.

In 2004, Garcetti authored Proposition O, a city stormwater bond which sought to clean the city's waterways. Voters approved the bond with just over 76% of the vote, making it the largest clean water bond in the United States.

In 2005, Garcetti helped found the Los Angeles Neighborhood Land Trust. He authored two of the nation's most far-reaching municipal green building ordinances: the first requires all city buildings to be built to the LEED-certification standard, and the second mandates that all commercial buildings of more than 50,000 sq ft (4,600 m2) in Los Angeles be built to a LEED standard. He supported changes in the city's landscape ordinance and plumbing codes to promote water conservation.

In July 2010, Garcetti, then council president, weakened a 2009 lawn watering ordinance, allowing watering three days per week instead of two. The ordinance restricting watering to two days a week had been passed 13 months earlier by Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa. While it helped the city cut its water use and cope with ongoing drought, the measure was unpopular and was accused of causing pressure fluctuations and water main breaks. A Los Angeles Times editorial said that the city council's changes to the watering ordinance was a "death knell for one of the best collective environmental efforts made by the citizens of Los Angeles".

Garcetti worked to have Historic Filipinotown designated a Preserve America Community. He has also faced public scrutiny for developments that unexpectedly demolished and built over cultural and historic landmarks. One example is three small buildings at historic Sunset Junction that were demolished to make way for a large condominium development, but which in fact remained vacant land for more than a decade. A spokesperson for Garcetti expressed disappointment that the developer took action without first notifying the city council, which had discussed community concerns.

Mayor of Los Angeles (2013–2022)

Elections

With incumbent mayor Antonio Villaraigosa ineligible to run again because of term limits, Garcetti declared his candidacy on September 8, 2011. The election was held on March 5, 2013. As no candidate received a majority of the primary votes to be elected outright, the top two finishers (Garcetti and City Controller Wendy Greuel) advanced to a runoff. Bolstered by the Los Angeles Teachers Union's endorsement,

Garcetti was elected on May 21 with 53.9% of the vote, defeating Greuel. The next day, he met with Villaraigosa, who worked with him over the rest of his own tenure to better the transition. Garcetti's term began on July 1, 2013.

Garcetti was re-elected with 81.4% of the vote on March 7, 2017. Although he avoided a runoff election this time, voter turnout was relatively low at 20%. Due to a change in the city's election calendar to align mayoral elections with statewide elections, his second term was to be for five years and six months instead of the usual four years.

Tenure

Garcetti's tenure as mayor has been described by some authors as both progressive and pragmatic. He cites his method as striking a balance on delivering on liberal goals for the city, while simultaneously taking a more libertarian approach to government reform.

In a memo in October 2013, Garcetti instructed department heads to develop a "starting point" budget based on the 5% cut from the previous year. In April 2014, he unveiled a "hold-the-line" budget for the coming fiscal year, which proposed modest increases in a number of city services and zero reduction in the business tax. His financial proposal of $8.1 billion required approval from the city council and closed the $242 million gap "in part by relying on increased tax revenue projections and reductions in vacant positions". That August, he announced he would begin his annual review of every city general manager as part of his commitment to improve accountability among Los Angeles officials.

The financial plan assumed the city's workforce, which included police officers and firefighters, would not receive raises in the coming year. One of the proposed changes was to merge the city's police and fire dispatch centers to streamline and improve response time to 911 calls for emergencies and fires. Mayoral aides said such a change would take multiple years to complete. Garcetti said he hoped to increase funding for the Los Angeles Police Department, the department making up nearly 44% of the fund already and most of the increase would go towards new technology for officers. The plan was scheduled to go into effect on July 1, adding eight hours per week to the city's branch library operations. The number of code enforcement officers assigned to look for unpermitted construction and other neighborhood issues, would increase from 25 to 38. He also announced other changes, such as creating a $1.4 million innovation fund to transform city services, breaking the command structure at the Los Angeles Fire Department into four geographic regions, and hiring 140 firefighters to cope with attrition.

In 2014, Garcetti pushed California Governor Jerry Brown to expand the current film production tax credit (which awarded $100 million annually). He later reported that Brown had agreed to support expanding the tax credit, though it was unclear how large the expansion would be. He wanted $420 million, equal to New York's credit.

In 2014, Garcetti called for a minimum wage in Los Angeles that could reach $13.25 after three years. He received support from several members of the city council, who would have to approve of the increase. He released an economic analysis, which was prepared by academics at University of California, Berkeley, that stated an "L.A. wage of $13.25—$4.25 more than the state minimum of $9—would significantly improve the lot of low-income workers and impose minimal burdens on business." Business leaders warned that boosting pay too quickly could stifle the slowly rebounding local economy (California's minimum wage then was $9, having increased from $8 on July 1). His proposed ordinance would require businesses to increase workers' pay from the state minimum to at least $10.25 in 2015, $11.75 in 2016 and $13.25 in 2017. Beginning in 2018, additional adjustments in Los Angeles would be automatically tied to an inflation index. Later that month, he expressed his support for the city council to vote on a new citywide law requiring large hotels to pay $15.37 an hour, adding that it would not conflict with his drive to raise the city's minimum wage. He aligned himself with the Fight for 15 movement when he signed legislation in 2015 to gradually raise the minimum wage in Los Angeles to $15 per hour.

National and international politics

Garcetti endorsed Barack Obama in early spring 2007 and was the southern California chairman and one of six state co-chairs for the Obama campaign. He traveled to Iowa, Nevada, and six other states, and was a frequent surrogate (in English and Spanish) for the campaign. He served as a superdelegate during the 2008 Democratic National Convention and was elected to serve as the Chair of Democratic Municipal Officials, an organization affiliated with the Democratic National Committee that represents all local elected Democrats in the United States.

Garcetti is a vocal opponent of the Yes California secessionist movement, saying, "I love this country too much to even consider an exit. I want to be a part of an America that continues to stand up for all of us, not bail on all our friends across the country."

As early as 2017, speculation had swirled around Garcetti's potential presidential run in 2020. In 2018, rumors continued about his political ambitions as he made visits to early primary states. In April, he spent two days attending political events across Iowa. In May, he delivered the commencement address at Southern New Hampshire University in Manchester, New Hampshire. Garcetti came under wide scrutiny from Los Angeles residents, including the local chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America, for supposedly focusing on his presidential ambitions over his mayoral duties. However, on January 29, 2019, Garcetti announced he would not run for president in 2020, opting to finish his term as mayor.

On September 22, 2019, Garcetti attended the rally of Armenia's prime minister Nikol Pashinyan at the Grand Park. He stated, "With this prime minister, a new day of sunshine has come to Armenia, a day of democracy, a day of openness, a day of no more corruption, a day where we can say in Los Angeles, it is time for us to pick up to visit, invest, to support, to help the new Armenia rise, and rise, and rise under the leadership of this prime minister." In October 2020, Garcetti expressed support for Armenia in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, saying: "I urge our leaders in Washington to conduct the sustained and rigorous diplomacy necessary to bring peace to the Artsakh region. Turkey must disengage."

Biden administration

On January 9, 2020, Garcetti publicly endorsed Joe Biden for the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination. At the end of April 2020, Garcetti was named a member of the vetting committee for the selection of presumptive Democratic Party presidential nominee Joe Biden's running mate. In November, Garcetti was named a candidate for Secretary of Transportation in the Biden Administration, but faced widespread protests in Los Angeles against the nomination. Garcetti would claim to have turned down a position offered by President-elect Biden, though he refused to be specific on any details.

In May 2021, it was reported that President Biden was considering Garcetti as the Ambassador to India. On July 9, 2021, Biden officially announced his nomination of Garcetti to the post, with his nomination being sent to the Senate a few days later on July 13, 2021. Hearings on his nominations were held before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on December 14, 2021. His nomination was approved by the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on January 12, 2022.

On March 10, 2022, Senator Chuck Grassley placed a hold on Garcetti's nomination, citing allegations that Garcetti knew about the sexual misconduct committed by his top advisor, Rick Jacobs, and did not take proper action. On March 23, 2022, Senator Joni Ernst announced she would also place a hold on Garcetti's nomination while investigations were conducted as some depositions suggest Garcetti knew of Jacobs' egregious conduct.

On May 22, 2022, CBS News cited reports from U.S. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer acknowledging he did not have enough votes to get Garcetti's nomination passed by the Senate. On January 3, 2023, the Senate returned Garcetti's nomination to the White House as it had expired.

President Biden renominated Garcetti the same day. On February 24, 2023, Senator Marco Rubio placed another hold on Garcetti's nomination due to the sexual misconduct scandal. On March 8, 2023, the Senate Foreign Relations Committee advanced his nomination by a 13–8 vote, with Senators Todd Young and Bill Hagerty supporting his nomination. On March 15, 2023, the United States Senate invoked cloture on his nomination by a 52–42 vote. His nomination was confirmed later that day by a 52–42 vote.

Controversies

On January 14, 2014, Garcetti was in the passenger seat of an LAPD vehicle which struck a pedestrian. The mayor's office said that the mayor was on his phone, did not see the crash, and had been interviewed by investigators. Battalion Chief Stephen J. Ruda of the LAFD reported the female pedestrian "was stable and alert, responding to our paramedics" before she was rushed to Los Angeles County-USC Medical Center. Hospital spokesperson Rosa Saca said the woman was stable and had been admitted overnight. Garcetti visited the woman in the hospital the next day and stated "We had a nice conversation and I am very pleased that she is in good spirits. I wish her a speedy recovery."

On June 16, 2014, while speaking at the championship celebration for the Los Angeles Kings hockey team, Garcetti cautioned: "There are two rules in politics – never be pictured with a drink in your hand, and never swear." He then held up an empty beer bottle and said, "But this is a big fucking day", prompting a standing ovation from Kings players and the crowd. The incident attracted some controversy. When he appeared on Jimmy Kimmel Live! later that evening, Garcetti told the late night TV host, "It was hockey; it wasn't a match of lawn bowls." The following day, speaking at a luncheon at the Baldwin Hills Crenshaw Plaza, he apologized to those who found his statement offensive and suggested they lighten up. He argued that it was "something that plenty of people have heard in their lives for sure".

On November 5, 2015, Garcetti's office issued a statement endorsing Hillary Clinton in the 2016 presidential election. The situation was quickly acknowledged as an improper use of government resources to distribute a campaign-related proclamation.

In February 2016, local CBS affiliate KCBS-TV reported that in the month before Garcetti's State of the City address, where he praised landscaping company Turf Terminators, the company's employees, friends, and relatives donated $45,000 to his re-election campaign and his nonprofit Mayor's Fund for Los Angeles. Garcetti told KCBS-TV that the donations were legal and the sequence of events was a coincidence.

A 2019 Los Angeles County report on missteps in the government's handling of the 2018 Woolsey Fire cited the unavailability of firefighting units during critical times of the fire, which was the most destructive in county history. During this time, Garcetti personally requested fire officials check the status of a private residence in Bell Canyon. The report states: "a significant number of requests by political figures to check on specific addresses of homes to ensure their protection distracted from Department leadership to accomplish priority objectives."

Personal life

Garcetti is a photographer, jazz pianist, and composer. He served as a lieutenant in the United States Navy Reserve Information Dominance Corps from 2005 to 2013. On January 4, 2009, he married his longtime girlfriend Amy Elaine Wakeland. A Rhodes Scholar herself, the couple first met while studying at Oxford. They have one daughter, Maya Juanita, who was adopted. Her godfather is actor Evan Arnold, who has been a friend of Garcetti's since junior high school. Garcetti and his wife have also fostered seven children. Before being elected mayor, he and his family lived in Echo Park.

He attends services at IKAR, a post-denominational Jewish congregation founded by Rabbi Sharon Brous and studies Talmud with her twice a week. He has a daily call with her for religious guidance. Garcetti has said, "My parents aren't practicing (Judaism), either of them... we celebrated Passover and Chanukah. I went to Jewish camp. I think I have become more of a practicing Jew or observant later in life. I came to my faith in college." His sister, Dana Garcetti-Boldt, is a former Los Angeles County deputy district attorney; she later became an acupuncturist. She currently works as an advisor to Los Angeles County Supervisor Janice Hahn.

Garcetti has been the recipient of the Green Cross Millennium Award for Local Environmental Leadership in 2003, the New Frontier Award presented by the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum in 2006, the NAACP "Person of the Year" in 2014, and the honorary Doctor of Humane Letters (L.H.D.) from Whittier College in 2015.

From 2010 to 2012, then City Councilman Garcetti appeared as "Ramon Quintero", the mayor of Los Angeles, on the fictional TNT television show The Closer and its spin-off Major Crimes. His first appearance after becoming mayor was a 2016 episode of Major Crimes. His father, Gil Garcetti, is a consulting producer on both series. Eric Garcetti also made a cameo appearance as a desk security guard working in the mayor's office, in the pilot episode of the TBS series Angie Tribeca.

In 2016, Garcetti briefly appeared in a segment on The Late Late Show with James Corden called "Take a Break", where host James Corden pretended to take over his position for a few hours. At the end of the segment, Garcetti takes back control from Corden having him escorted away by some security officers.