LA’s Villaraigosa: DNC Will Reach Out to Latinos

Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, who is chairing this year’s Democratic National Convention, said the event will crystalize the choice for Americans in 2012 while reaching out to Latino voters in particular.

Villaraigosa, appearing on CNN’s “State of the Union,” which was broadcast from the convention floor in Charlotte, N.C., said the path includes investing in the economy “from the middle out” and building on the progress of the past four years.

“We want to compare and contrast on the failed Bush policies that Romney / Ryan would like to promote going into the future,” he said.

Villaraigosa said the Latino vote is a priority in light of a recent poll that shows Latino enthusiasm in the 2012 election down 12 percentage points from 2008.

“This is going to be a working convention,” he said. “We have the most comprehensive ground effort ever, in either party, in history, and we’re going to be focusing on the Latino vote, we’re going to be focusing on the 12 or 13 states where the election is in a swing opportunity.”