Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti

“You can’t listen to President Obama, or the First Lady, without feeling an abiding love for this country. They have inspired us to believe again in the power of government as a force for good. And over the last eight years, they reminded us why we all have to stand up for the poor, for the defenseless, for working people, for Americans who for too long have lacked basic necessities like quality health care they can afford.

President Obama and I have been friends since before he was elected to the Senate, and it has been a great honor to meet him at the White House on several occasions, and to greet him on his visits to Los Angeles. I have had extraordinary opportunities to talk to him about our priorities in L.A. — like criminal justice reform, finding homes for people who don’t have them, improving our transportation infrastructure, revitalizing the L.A. River, and supporting our bid for the Olympics in 2024.

The President has been very invested in our city’s future, and Los Angeles is a better place because of the Obama administration. We owe President Obama a huge debt of gratitude — and we’ll miss him. A lot.”