In 1997, Jimmy began working for former California State Assembly Majority Leader Antonio Villaraigosa. In 1998, Mr. Villaraigosa was elected Speaker of the Assembly and Jimmy served as the Special Assistant to the Speaker working on legislative, political, and public policy issues impacting Los Angeles and the entire State of California.
In 2001, Jimmy served as the Field Director and Senior Advisor for Antonio Villaraigosa in his campaign for Mayor of Los Angeles. Jimmy then served as the Campaign Manager for Cindy Montanez in her successful campaign for the California State Assembly. Jimmy then served as the Chief of Staff to California State Senator Richard Alarcon for one year before being selected in 2003 as the Chief of Staff for Los Angeles City Councilman Antonio Villaraigosa at the age of 31 – the youngest Los Angeles City Council Chief of Staff at that time.
Jimmy played a key role in Mr. Villaraigosa’s successful campaign for Mayor of Los Angeles in 2005 and served as his Deputy Chief of Staff in the Mayor’s office. In this capacity, Jimmy served as the second in command in the Mayor’s office overseeing a number of office and staff operations and having key decision making roles in legislative issues related to labor relations, the Airport, DWP, public safety, the city budget, communications, and intergovernmental affairs.
In 2010, after working with Antonio Villaraigosa for the better part of 13 years and serving as one of his most trusted advisors, Jimmy left the Mayor’s office and became Chief of Staff to Los Angeles City Councilman Dennis Zine for nearly 3 years.
After 16 years of serving at the highest levels of Los Angeles city and state government and political campaigns, in July of 2013 Jimmy decided to form his own company – Jimmy Blackman & Associates – specializing in government relations and public affairs.
Jimmy is a resident of Westchester in the City of Los Angeles and has a daughter, Alyssa Blackman.
Jimmy Blackman
Managing Partner
jimmy@jimmyblackman.com