[You may have read the announcement here at the Daily Bruin Online]

 

Presidential Candidate Hillary Clinton came to UCLA today with Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa to announce his official support for her bid. The event was held at the Krieger Child Care Center, a move to emphasize her platform for universal preschool education. It was due to start at 3:30 PM, but flight delays led to the Senator's speaking at 4:40 PM. 

 

There were several media shots of the pair interacting and reading with several children from the Beverly Hills and UCLA communities. I spoke with Matt Malkan, a Physics and Astronomy Professor at UCLA, and his wife, whose children were at the event. They weighed the chances of their children someday telling others that they met a US President. 

 

Approximately 30 dignataries from the LA community were seated in front of the Senator, followed by press and a large crowd (approximately 50) of Bruin Democrats. Bruin Dems President Kyle Kleckner had arranged for the group to attend. The event itself was closed to the public- in fact, security was tight, and from my experience reporting was the most severe of any event I have covered. Secret Service, Bomb Squad, UCPD, and several levels of screening were necessary to get in.  

 

The message of the Mayor was clear- one of support of the Senator. His speech seemed somewhat stifled (see clips) but he emphasized at several points his support for Clinton's policies, as well as his love of his Alma Mater, UCLA. The Senator addressed her key issues for running, which included her universal preschool education platform, more accessible education, cleaned-up streets, and bringing home troops from Iraq. 

 

Mayor Villaraigosa announced also today that he will serve as a chair of Hillary Clinton's campaign. In a press release she commented that Villaraigosa would be vital in "reaching out to a broad range of voters… [in an] effort to change America." The move may be designed to reach out to the diverse Los Angeles Community, especially among Hispanics.

 

Here is the only uncut audio of this event. Only on UCLAradio.com News. 

 

Mayor Villaraigosa's Intro:

 

Senator Clinton's Speech:  

 

Mayor Villaraigosa's Statement in Spanish:

 

Reporter Questions, Muffled Near Beginning (Un-miced Questions). As you can hear I yelled to grab that last question… alas, not the day for this reporter:

 

I interviewed CALPIRG student supporters who stood outside the event since 2:30. I promised an uncut piece, so I included a blooper:

 

UCLAradio.com News will be in touch with the Clinton campaign to get the latest inside information.    

-Carey Shenkman