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As California positions itself as a leader on climate change,
former Los Angeles mayor and gubernatorial candidate
Antonio Villaraigosa is pivoting away from his own track record as an environmental champion to defend the state’s oil industry.

Villaraigosa’s work to expand mass transit, plant trees and reduce carbon emissions made him a favorite of the environmental movement,
but the former state Assembly speaker also accepted more than $1 million in campaign contributions and other financial support from oil companies and other donors tied to the industry over more than three decades in public life, according to city and state fundraising
disclosures reviewed by The Times.

Since entering the race last year to replace Gov. Gavin Newsom, Villaraigosa has accepted more than $176,000 from donors with ties to the oil industry,
including from a company that operates oil fields in the San Joaquin Valley and in Los Angeles County, the disclosures show.

https://www.latimes.com/politics/story/2025-05-26/oil-villaraigosa-fossil-fuel-governors-race