Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa Will Deliver the Day 1 Luncheon Address at the 2012 TPM Conference in Long Beach, Calif. on March 5th

NEWARK, N.J., Nov. 3, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- The Journal of Commerce is pleased to announce that Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa will be delivering the luncheon address on March 5th at the annual TPM conference. As the current president of the U.S. Conference of Mayors, and Mayor of Los Angeles since 2005, Villaraigosa has been a staunch advocate of a "green growth" policy that advocates reducing pollution at the nation's ports while improving infrastructure and creating business opportunities. He led the efforts of the City of Los Angeles and Port of Los Angeles in developing the highly successful Clean Air Action Plan. That program, which reduced truck emissions by more than 80 percent in just three years and cleared the way for several key infrastructure projects to move forward, is now the model for U.S. ports in addressing pollution generated by port operations.

Mayor Villaraigosa is currently focused on getting people back to work. Those efforts include reforming the city's business tax, reducing red tape, partnering with private business to stimulate economic growth, modernizing the Port of Los Angeles and Los Angeles International Airport, and building a 21st century transportation network.

In 1994, Villaraigosa was elected to the California State Assembly and, four years later was elected as the first Assembly Speaker from Los Angeles in 25 years. Elected as the Councilmember to Los Angeles' 14th District in 2003, he was widely credited with resolving the Metropolitan Transit Authority transit strike, creating the largest passive park on the Eastside of Los Angeles and protecting funding for the arts. In 2005, Villaraigosa ran for Mayor of Los Angeles on a platform of bringing the City together to take on the big challenges. He was elected on May 17, 2005 and sworn in as Mayor on July 1, 2005. During his first term, Mayor Villaraigosa built the police force to its largest size in history, oversaw the steepest reduction in crime since the 1950's, and developed Los Angeles' first comprehensive anti-gang strategy.

TPM is the largest and most important gathering in the North American container shipping and logistics industry. The annual event, the largest of its kind in the world, brings together more than 1,500 senior executives from ocean carriers, ports/terminals and railroads, to importer-exporters, truckers and others involved with containerized cargo movements in and out of North America. It takes place in early March, at the start of the trans-Pacific trade's annual service contracting cycle. The event drew nearly 1,800 attendees in 2011.