LA mayor Eric Garcetti’s track record under scrutiny, as Biden nominates him as US ambassador to India

Indian-Americans are among the many Angelenos to have drawn attention to the Californian city’s problems with homelessness, drug addiction and crime

But some people say Garcetti, who studied Urdu and Hindi in college, can help Washington engage with India at a time the US is seeking help to contain China

3-MIN READ3-MIN

A homeless woman at Echo Park Lake in Los Angeles. Photo: AP

Published: 9:00pm, 12 Jul 2021Updated: 9:51pm, 12 Jul 2021

US President Joe Biden’s nomination of Los Angeles mayor Eric Garcetti as the country’s next ambassador to India has divided opinion, with criticism centred on his patchy track record in running America’s second-largest city.

Since May, when talk emerged that the 50-year-old could be the new envoy to India, Indian-Americans in Los Angeles have been among those drawing attention to the Californian city’s persistent problems with homelessness, drug addiction and rising crime.

Gary Blasi, the Professor of Law Emeritus at UCLA School of Law, said: “The people who voted for him, including me, will be very disappointed if he walks away in the middle of our massive crisis for the unhoused poor and disabled and those who don’t want to see them on the streets.”

However, Alabama-based legislative and international affairs counsel, George Harris, said not only was Garcetti up to the professional responsibilities of the job, he would also help the Biden administration meet its aim of engaging more meaningfully with other countries.

“This has practical implications for the US-Indian relationship in areas such as public health since both countries have been hit hard by the pandemic,” Harris said, adding that Garcetti would take up his post at a time that the United States was seeking to burnish its ties with allies including India to contain an “overly aggressive China”.

Eric Garcetti, mayor of Los Angeles, during a visit to Hong Kong in 2018. Photo: Edward Wong