(ATR) Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti tells Around the Rings the bidding race for the 2024 Olympics is more similar to a class election than the political campaigns he is used to. The number of voters is so much smaller he says.
"Everybody knows each other well because they’ve been friends for many years. It’s going back to a high school-sized election, a class election although the class is scattered around the world," Garcetti tells ATR.
The face of the L.A. bid sat down with ATR for a one-on-one interview during the ANOC general assembly held in Washington, D.C. the last week of October. Garcetti was on-hand representing the bid team along with bid leader Casey Wasserman, press officer Jeff Millman, USOC leaders Larry Probst and Scott Blackmun and IOC member Anita DeFrantz.
Garcetti said he was using the opportunity to listen and learn from the advice of the IOC and IF members present at the assembly.
"I think the mark of good leadership is good listening. That’s why I’m here is really not to say hey this is LA this is why we’re great, it’s more to let me hear from [IOC members] as somebody who helped write Agenda 2020 or who is watching this sport’s rebirth or who needs to revitalize the audience for this one."
Garcetti says his meetings throughout the week were more to establish one-on-one relationships than to delve into specifics about the bid.
"The meetings are very casual; it’s meetings at bars or for coffee. It’s just interaction to get to know one another in a familiar way," he says.
He tells ATR that many people have told him L.A. has a good shot at hosting these Games and the bid will try to capitalize on that optimism and popularity of the city.
"There’s definitely excitement about having an American bid again in particular an L.A. bid and a lot of people are glad we are in the mix."
He understands that like all class elections, popularity and the presence the bid has will play a role in determining the victor.
"There are other great cities that have great chances as well but to know that we’re not out of the hunt from the beginning and on the contrary we may actually be able to win, that’s what we’re hearing universally," he tells ATR.
The mayor also knows this is only the beginning of a two-year process leading up to the decision at the IOC Session in Lima, Peru.
"It’s a chance for me to say hey, this is who I am and I look forward to the next two years being in a conversation with you and I think they appreciate the one on one nature of that."
Throughout the two-year campaign, Garcetti will have to travel to various meetings around the globe, potentially putting a strain on his duties as the city’s mayor. Garcetti says he will stay committed to his job as mayor while still promoting the city around the world.
"I think Angelinos understand that being out in the world is very important whether we’re bidding for the Olympics or not so I’m going to continue to tie those things together because I’ll never take a one mission trip."
If successful, Los Angeles would be set to host its third edition of the Games, building on the successes of the Games in 1932 and 1984. Garcetti says his experience at the 1984 Games shaped his view of the Olympics and had a profound effect on his life.
"It was the first time I was blown away as a kid… It showed us what our city is capable and made me recognize that great cities reach for great things. It was this little community that changed my city and changed my life forever."
He says it was this experience that inspired Garcetti’s very first official act as mayor – declaring the city’s intentions to bid for the Olympics in a letter to the USOC.
"It was kind of a given that we would always compete for the Olympics. You don’t win them every single time but I think there’s a real ethos in L.A. that we’re going to keep competing for the Olympics until we get it back. We did it in ‘32, we did it in ‘84 and we’re going to do it again in the future," he tells ATR.
Los Angeles is in the running with four other cities, including Budapest, Hamburg, Paris and Rome. The IOC will determine the host of the 2024 Olympics in 2017.
Written by KevinNutley
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