From her interview with Elle magazine:

A lot of the stuff people say about her, I hear it and my stomach falls because it's so sexist. You ask people why they don't like her and it's because her husband cheated on her! That was obviously not her choice. She's so much more polished and experienced than anyone else. Last night, a friend, a social worker in L.A. who works with underprivileged kids, was saying how these girls who have never been interested in politics before are so excited that a woman might be president. I mean, look how many women are in government...Hillary's one of, what, [a handful of] female senators?

I also like Obama. I even like McCain. I disagree with his war stance--which is a really big deal--but I think he's a very moral person. I met him and Hillary on the same day, actually, when I went to Washington with Finca [a nonprofit that gives loans to businesswomen in developing countries]. Hillary was by far the smartest person I met that day. Just totally focused, and knew more about the issues than anyone else, and was so able to go from one thing to the other.

"As a Mayor and former Assembly Speaker, I know that experience counts," Villaraigosa said. "Hillary Clinton is the only candidate with the ability to hit the ground running on her first day in the White House. Her depth and breadth of experience is unmatched, and I'm confident she will be the kind of partner our cities and towns need from the federal government."

Long recognized as a rising star, Villaraigosa was named one of "America's Best Leaders" by U.S. News & World Report, and has been featured on the cover of Newsweek and named one of the 25 most influential Latinos by Time Magazine. He is the first Latino to serve as Mayor of Los Angeles since 1872.

Villaraigosa previously served as Speaker of the California Assembly, passing legislation to expand children's healthcare, ban assault weapons and create the largest network of urban neighborhood parks in the country.

Villaraigosa is a co-Chair of Hillary's national campaign.