A former justice of the California Supreme Court headlines a list of high-profile Latinos in support of Councilman Eric Garcetti’s run for mayor of Los Angeles.
Garcetti is the only major mayoral candidate who can claim some Latino heritage. (Despite the Italian surname, he is Mexican on his father’s side of the family.) Garcetti has often spoken of spending time as a boy with his grandparents in Boyle Heights.
In his endorsement letter, Justice Carlos Moreno points out that relatives of his and Garcetti's once lived near each other in Mexico.
The list of 100 supporters includes:
- Rigoberto Arrechiga, president, Mexican American Bar Association
- Former Lt. Gov. Cruz Bustamante
- Sal Castro, Education Advocate
- Jorge Corralejo, chairman & CEO, Latino Business Chamber of Greater Los Angeles
- Alex Gallardo-Rooker, vice chair, California Democratic Party
- Salma Hayek, actress
Garcetti was a participant in the Hispanic Caucus earlier this month at the Democratic National Convention.
City Controller and mayoral candidate Wendy Greuel was recently endorsed by UFW co-founder Dolores Huerta. City Councilwoman Jan Perry, who also is running for mayor, has been endorsed by Helen Torres, CEO of Hispanas Organized for Political Equality.
The mayoral primary is in March of next year.
