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President of the Los Angeles City Council

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The President of the Los Angeles City Council is the presiding officer of the Los Angeles City Council. The president presides as chair over meetings of the council and assignments to City Council committees and handles parliamentary duties like ruling motions in or out of order. The president automatically becomes an acting mayor when the mayor is out of state. Since 2020, the president has been elected at the first scheduled council meeting in January of even-numbered years.[1]

President of the
Los Angeles City Council
Seal of the City of Los Angeles
Flag of Los Angeles
since September 20, 2024
Member ofLos Angeles City Council
AppointerElected by members of the City Council
Inaugural holderBoyle Workman
Formation1919
DeputyBob Blumenfield (President pro tempore)
WebsiteCity Council

The current president is Democrat Marqueece Harris-Dawson, who took office on September 20, 2024.

History

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Early history

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The office of the President was created with the introduction of the Los Angeles Common Council in 1850, with one of the members of the Council serving as the President.[2][3] The first president of the Common Council was pioneer David W. Alexander, who was elected in 1850 before resigning a year later.[4] In 1889, the Los Angeles City Council was created under the first city charter, though the office stayed relatively the same.[5]

New city charter

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In 1965, the job of President Pro Tempore was created to preside during the absence of the President, with the first officer being councilman Thomas D. Shepard. Shepard presided when L. E. Timberlake became acting mayor due to mayor Sam Yorty traveling outside the country.[6] The assistant pro tempore was created in 1977 with councilman Ernani Bernardi as the officer, who presided over meeting if both the President and the President Pro Tempore are out.

Councilman John Ferraro is the longest serving president, serving for 20 years in two terms. The first woman to be elected as the City Council president was Pat Russell, who held the title until 1987 when she was defeated in the City Council elections.[7] The first Latino elected was Alex Padilla in 2001 after defeating incumbent Ruth Galanter; he served as acting mayor days after the 9/11 attacks as mayor James Hahn traveled out of the city.[8][9] The first African-American president was Herb Wesson, who was elected in 2012 and served until 2020. The first Latina president was Nury Martinez, who was elected in 2020 and served until 2022.[10]

Responsibilities

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The President Pro Tempore has been Bob Blumenfield since September 20, 2024.
 
The Assistant President Pro Tempore has been Vacant since September 20, 2024.
  • presiding over meetings of the council.
  • giving assignments to City Council committees.
  • handling parliamentary duties like ruling motions in or out of order.
  • serving as an acting mayor for the Mayor of Los Angeles if the office is vacant.

List of presidents (1919–present)

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No. Portrait Officeholder Tenure start Tenure end Pro Tem. Assistant Pro Tem. Mayor
1   Boyle Workman
(4th–Wilshire Center) 		July 7, 1919 July 5, 1921 Office did not exist Office did not exist Meredith P. Snyder
2   Ralph Luther Criswell
(7th–Vermont Square) 		July 5, 1921 July 1, 1923 George E. Cryer
3   Boyle Workman
(4th–Wilshire Center) 		July 1, 1923 June 30, 1925
July 1, 1925 June 30, 1927
4   William G. Bonelli
(14th–Eagle Rock) 		July 1, 1927 June 30, 1929
5   Winfred J. Sanborn
(9th–Boyle Heights) 		July 1, 1929 June 30, 1931 John Clinton Porter
6   Charles H. Randall
(1st–Sun Valley) 		July 1, 1931 June 30, 1933
7   Howard W. Davis
(7th–Vermont Square) 		July 1, 1933 June 30, 1935 Frank L. Shaw
8   Robert L. Burns
(4th–Wilshire Center) 		July 1, 1935 June 30, 1937
July 1, 1937 June 30, 1939
July 1, 1939 June 30, 1941 Fletcher Bowron
9   G. Vernon Bennett
(10th–University Park) 		July 1, 1941 June 30, 1943
10   Robert L. Burns
(4th–Wilshire Center) 		July 1, 1943 June 30, 1945
11   George H. Moore
(15th–Wilmington) 		July 1, 1945 June 30, 1947
12   Harold A. Henry
(4th–Windsor Square) 		July 1, 1947 June 30, 1949
July 1, 1949 June 30, 1951
July 1, 1951 June 30, 1953
13
John S. Gibson Jr.
(15th–San Pedro) 		July 1, 1953 June 30, 1955 Norris Poulson
July 1, 1955 June 30, 1957
July 1, 1957 June 30, 1959
July 1, 1959 June 30, 1961
14   Harold A. Henry
(4th–Windsor Square) 		July 1, 1961 June 30, 1963 Sam Yorty
15   L. E. Timberlake
(6th–Gramercy Park) 		July 1, 1963 June 30, 1965
July 1, 1965 June 30, 1967 Thomas D. Shepard
July 1, 1967 June 30, 1969 John S. Gibson Jr.
16   John S. Gibson Jr.
(15th–San Pedro) 		July 1, 1969 June 30, 1971 Billy G. Mills
July 1, 1971 June 30, 1973
July 1, 1973 June 30, 1975 Robert J. Stevenson Tom Bradley
July 1, 1975 June 30, 1977 John Ferraro
17   John Ferraro
(4th–Hancock Park) 		July 1, 1977 June 30, 1979 Joel Wachs Ernani Bernardi
July 1, 1979 June 30, 1981
18   Joel Wachs
(2nd–Studio City) 		July 1, 1981 June 30, 1983 Peggy Stevenson
19   Pat Russell
(6th–Westchester) 		July 1, 1983 June 30, 1985
July 1, 1985 June 30, 1987 Joan Milke Flores
20   John Ferraro
(4th–Hancock Park) 		July 1, 1987 June 30, 1989 Marvin Braude
July 1, 1989 June 30, 1991 Joan Milke Flores
July 1, 1991 June 30, 1993
July 1, 1993 June 30, 1995 Richard Alatorre Richard J. Riordan
July 1, 1995 June 30, 1997 Joel Wachs Mike Hernandez
July 1, 1997 June 30, 1999 Ruth Galanter
July 1, 1999 April 17, 2001 Ruth Galanter Rudy Svorinich
21   Ruth Galanter
(6th–Venice) 		April 17, 2001 July 1, 2001 Mark Ridley-Thomas
22   Alex Padilla
(7th–Pacoima) 		July 1, 2001 June 30, 2003 Cindy Miscikowski James Hahn
July 1, 2003 June 30, 2005 Cindy Miscikowski Eric Garcetti
July 1, 2005 January 1, 2006 Wendy Greuel Tony Cárdenas Antonio Villaraigosa
23   Eric Garcetti
(13th–Echo Park) 		January 1, 2006 June 30, 2007 Jan Perry
July 1, 2007 June 30, 2009
July 1, 2009 January 2, 2012 Jan Perry Dennis Zine
24   Herb Wesson
(10th–Mid City) 		January 2, 2012 June 30, 2012 Ed Reyes Tom LaBonge
July 1, 2013 June 30, 2015 Mitchell Englander Eric Garcetti
July 1, 2015 June 30, 2017 Nury Martinez
July 1, 2017 December 31, 2018
January 15, 2019 June 30, 2019 Nury Martinez Joe Buscaino
July 1, 2019 January 5, 2020
25   Nury Martinez
(6th–Sun Valley) 		January 5, 2020 December 14, 2020 Joe Buscaino David Ryu
December 14, 2020 June 30, 2021 Vacant
July 1, 2021 September 21, 2021
October 1, 2021 October 10, 2022 Mitch O'Farrell
26   Paul Krekorian
(2nd–Toluca Lake) 		October 18, 2022 October 25, 2022
October 25, 2022 December 12, 2022 Curren Price
December 12, 2022 June 13, 2023 Karen Bass
June 13, 2023 June 20, 2023 Vacant
June 20, 2023 September 20, 2024 Marqueece Harris-Dawson Bob Blumenfield
27   Marqueece Harris-Dawson
(8th–Gramercy Park) 		September 20, 2024 Incumbent Bob Blumenfield Vacant

References

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  1. ^ "What Do City Council Members Do?". LA 101 Guide.
  2. ^ Ordinances and Regulations of Los Angeles 1832-1888: Part I. Vol. 30. University of California Press. pp. 26–41.
  3. ^ Chronological Record of Los Angeles City Officials,1850-1938, 1868-1869 section, page 11
  4. ^ Clare Wallace, Los Angeles Public Library Reference File, April 26, 1939, with sources as listed there
  5. ^ Stevens, Mark H. (December 1, 2004). "The Road to Reform: Los Angeles' Municipal Elections of 1909: Part II". University of California Press.
  6. ^ "Council President Timberlake Plans Retirement July 1," May 15, 1969, page B-1
  7. ^ "The Women of the Los Angeles City Council: Part Two". Los Angeles Public Library. March 15, 2021.
  8. ^ "Ca - Officials". Allgov.com. Archived from the original on December 23, 2020. Retrieved November 9, 2020.
  9. ^ "Alex Padilla has been rising political star since his 20s, when he became L.A.'s youngest councilmember". KTLA. 2020-12-22.
  10. ^ "New LA City Council president Nury Martinez outlines her vision". Los Angeles Daily News. January 14, 2020.
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