Economics

Garcetti Won't Mistake Picking Fights for Vision of Los Angeles

The 43-year-old represents the next generation of big-city mayors.

Eric Garcetti, mayor of Los Angeles, speaks during an interview in his office at City Hall in Los Angeles, California, U.S., on Tuesday, Jan. 13, 2015.

Photographer: Patrick T. Fallon/Bloomberg
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On a flat-panel monitor mounted on his office wall, Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti can see real-time emergency response rates, the number of streets that have been repaved and how well-funded, or not, pension plans are.

At 43, Garcetti represents the next generation of big-city mayors, taking data gathering and analysis to a new level of wonkiness. To hear him tell it, there’s no better way to run a metropolis with 163 postal codes, 4 million residents and a reputation for being ungovernable.