Eric Michael Garcetti was born on February 4,1971 and is an American politician and diplomat who has been the United States Ambassador to India since May 11,2023.
83 Facts About Eric Garcetti
2.
Eric Garcetti previously served as the 42nd mayor of Los Angeles from 2013 until 2022.
3.
Eric Garcetti was born on February 4,1971, in Los Angeles, and was raised in Encino in the San Fernando Valley.
4.
Eric Garcetti is the son of Sukey and Gil Garcetti, the former Los Angeles County District Attorney.
5.
Eric Garcetti's paternal grandfather, Salvador, was born in Parral, Chihuahua, Mexico.
6.
Salvador was brought by his family to the United States as a child after his father, Massimo "Max" Eric Garcetti, was murdered by hanging during the Mexican Revolution.
7.
Eric Garcetti married a Mexican woman and became a judge.
8.
Eric Garcetti's 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.
9.
Eric Garcetti's family celebrated Passover and Chanukah, and he attended a Jewish camp.
10.
Eric Garcetti attended elementary school at UCLA Lab School, formerly University Elementary School; and middle and high school at Harvard-Westlake School.
11.
Eric Garcetti majored in political science and urban planning, and received a Bachelor of Arts from Columbia University in 1992 as a John Jay Scholar.
12.
Eric Garcetti received a Masters of International Affairs from the School of International and Public Affairs at Columbia University, graduating in 1993.
13.
Eric Garcetti met his future wife while they were both studying as Rhodes Scholars at Queen's College, Oxford.
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Eric Garcetti later began studying for a PhD in ethnicity and nationalism at the London School of Economics but as of 2022 does not appear to have ever completed the degree.
15.
Eric Garcetti 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.
16.
Eric Garcetti ran for the open seat and was elected in 2001, narrowly defeating former city council member Michael Woo 52 to 48 percent.
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Eric Garcetti was re-elected again in 2005 and 2009.
18.
Eric Garcetti served as council president from January 1,2006, to January 12,2012.
19.
Eric Garcetti was elected by his colleagues to succeed Alex Padilla, who resigned after being elected to the California State Senate.
20.
Eric Garcetti 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.
21.
Eric Garcetti 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.
22.
Eric Garcetti ensured that the meetings started on time, and all past meetings were made available online.
23.
Eric Garcetti has helped more than 1,500 local constituents learn about the governmental process by hosting Government and Planning 101 courses throughout the city.
24.
In 2004, Eric Garcetti authored Proposition O, a city stormwater bond which sought to clean the city's waterways.
25.
In 2005, Eric Garcetti helped found the Los Angeles Neighborhood Land Trust.
26.
Eric Garcetti supported changes in the city's landscape ordinance and plumbing codes to promote water conservation.
27.
Eric Garcetti has faced public scrutiny for developments that unexpectedly demolished and built over cultural and historic landmarks.
28.
Eric Garcetti has worked to revitalize the Hollywood area and reform the city business tax.
29.
Eric Garcetti 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.
30.
In 2014, Eric Garcetti pushed California Governor Jerry Brown to expand the current film production tax credit.
31.
Eric Garcetti later reported that Brown had agreed to support expanding the tax credit, though it was unclear how large the expansion would be.
32.
In 2014, Eric Garcetti called for a minimum wage in Los Angeles that could reach $13.25 after three years.
33.
Eric Garcetti received support from several members of the city council, who would have to approve of the increase.
34.
Eric Garcetti's 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.
35.
Eric Garcetti 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.
36.
In June 2014, while calling the long wait times at the VA's Greater Los Angeles Healthcare System unacceptable, Eric Garcetti pledged to secure 10,000 jobs for veterans by 2017.
37.
Eric Garcetti responded to the report by saying "Skyrocketing rents statewide and federal disinvestment in affordable housing, combined with an epidemic of untreated trauma and mental illness, is pushing people into homelessness faster than they can be lifted out".
38.
In July 2014, Eric Garcetti announced the Los Angeles Police Department would stop honoring most federal requests for detaining arrestees so they can be investigated for deportation.
39.
Eric Garcetti stated that Los Angeles was joining with other jurisdictions to end the practice of detaining people for being in the United States illegally with no judicial review, and said that the detainment policy was expensive to local government and erodes public trust in the police department.
40.
On March 20,2014, Eric Garcetti responded to criticism of the department's hiring system that eliminated thousands of qualified applicants by announcing he was canceling the process.
41.
Eric Garcetti said he had "determined that the Fire Department's recruiting process is fatally flawed".
42.
In July 2016, Eric Garcetti was part of a 25-person contingent from Los Angeles to Rio de Janeiro to promote their city's bid for the 2024 Summer Olympics.
43.
In preparation for hosting the games, Eric Garcetti launched the Twenty-eight by '28 initiative, which gives accelerated priority to the city's most crucial transit infrastructure projects.
44.
In June 2020, following a campaign by a coalition of community groups including Black Lives Matter, Eric Garcetti announced Los Angeles Police Department budget cuts of $150 million.
45.
Eric Garcetti announced the funds would be redirected to community initiatives.
46.
The deal was largely worked out before Eric Garcetti took office the previous month; he initially balked at the contract before coming around when negotiators tweaked the proposal to allow for further talks on the issue.
47.
Eric Garcetti accepted the agreement due to provisions, which included a labor-management council to review work rules that add to LADWP workers' salaries, a modified health care system and an added pension tier for new workers and a broadened effort to reduce the disparity in pay with other city workers.
48.
In July 2013, Eric Garcetti called for "calm in the streets" after the acquittal of George Zimmerman three days earlier.
49.
Eric Garcetti stated during an interview that the Sterling controversy was "a defining issue" for the city and required a strong response from elected leaders.
50.
Eric Garcetti stated that he expected Sterling to put up a "long, protracted fight" and that his continued ownership could prove harmful to the franchise.
51.
The next day, Eric Garcetti said Hillmann's statements were "reprehensible" and that the officer should have received a "stiffer" punishment.
52.
In June 2021, Eric Garcetti formed Mayors Organized for Reparations and Equity, a coalition of 11 US mayors dedicated to starting pilot reparations programs in their cities.
53.
In conjunction with the formation of MORE, Eric Garcetti formed an advisory commission to develop a pilot reparations program for Black Angelenos.
54.
Eric Garcetti encouraged developing plans to make several dozen boulevards more hospitable to pedestrians, cyclists and small businesses.
55.
In January 2014, Eric Garcetti announced a new plan to tackle earthquake safety, marking the 20th anniversary of the destructive Northridge earthquake.
56.
In June 2014, Eric Garcetti picked Seleta Reynolds to run the Los Angeles Department of Transportation.
57.
Eric Garcetti publicly encouraged the Los Angeles River Revitalization Corporation's collaboration with architect Frank Gehry on the River LA project.
58.
In 2016, Eric Garcetti championed Measure M, a half-cent sales tax measure to fund the expansion of the region's Metro rail network.
59.
Eric Garcetti opposed Measure S, a NIMBY referendum to block housing development.
60.
In 2022, Eric Garcetti opposed California state legislation that would eliminate parking requirements for housing developments near public transit stations.
61.
On January 14,2014, Eric Garcetti was in the passenger seat of an LAPD vehicle when the vehicle struck a pedestrian.
62.
Eric Garcetti argued that it was "something that plenty of people have heard in their lives for sure".
63.
On November 5,2015, Eric Garcetti's office issued a statement endorsing Hillary Clinton in the 2016 presidential election.
64.
Eric Garcetti told KCBS-TV that the donations were legal and the sequence of events was a coincidence.
65.
On January 30,2022, Eric Garcetti sparked controversy when he posed for a photo with Magic Johnson at the 2022 NFC Championship Game while not wearing a mask, in defiance of the city, county and stadium mask mandates.
66.
Eric Garcetti justified the photo by saying that he only removed his mask during the photo, and that he held his breath during the photo op.
67.
Eric 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.
68.
Eric Garcetti traveled to Iowa, Nevada, and six other states, and was a frequent surrogate for the campaign.
69.
Eric Garcetti 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.
70.
However, on January 29,2019, Eric Garcetti announced he would not run for president in 2020, opting to finish his term as mayor.
71.
On September 22,2019, Eric Garcetti attended the rally of Armenia's prime minister Nikol Pashinyan at the Grand Park.
72.
On January 9,2020, Eric Garcetti publicly endorsed Joe Biden for the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination.
73.
Eric Garcetti's nomination was approved by the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on January 12,2022.
74.
On May 22,2022, CBS News cited reports from US Senate leader Chuck Schumer acknowledging he did not have enough votes to get Eric Garcetti's nomination passed by the Senate.
75.
Eric Garcetti presented his credentials to Indian President Droupadi Murmu on May 11,2023.
76.
Eric Garcetti served as a lieutenant in the United States Navy Reserve Information Dominance Corps from 2005 to 2013.
77.
Eric Garcetti's godfather is actor Evan Arnold, who has been a friend of Garcetti's since junior high school.
78.
Eric Garcetti attends services at IKAR, a post-denominational Jewish congregation founded by Rabbi Sharon Brous and studies Talmud with her twice a week.
79.
Eric Garcetti has a daily call with her for religious guidance.
80.
From 2010 to 2012, then City Councilman Eric Garcetti appeared as "Ramon Quintero", the mayor of Los Angeles, on the fictional TNT television show The Closer and its spin-off Major Crimes.
81.
Eric Garcetti's first appearance after becoming mayor was a 2016 episode of Major Crimes.
82.
Eric Garcetti's father, Gil Garcetti, is a consulting producer on both series.
83.
In 2016, Eric 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.