Crucial support came from the city attorney and the local councilwoman, both of whom bucked Los Angeles political traditions to fight for sanity in Central City East. Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa broke with his own past as president of the ACLU of Southern California to back the cleanup.[The Reclamation of Skid Row by Heather Mac Donald, City Journal Autumn 2007]Well, of course Villaraigosa is more enthusiastic about the exercise of the Mayor's police powers once he's got them himself. Remember Bill Clinton? He was a Sixties hippie who dodged the draft, loathed the military, and smoked dope.
In office, he bombed Serbia Iraq, and Sudan, threatened Haiti with invasion, and set fire to a commune. Villaraigosa's sudden pro-law enforcement attitude is just a matter of the shoe being on the other foot.