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 | |
|---|---|
 | |
 | |
 | |
| Member of | Los Angeles City Council |
| Appointer | Elected by members of the City Council |
| Inaugural holder | Boyle Workman |
| Formation | 1919 |
| Deputy | Bob Blumenfield (President pro tempore) |
| Website | City Council |
The current president is Democrat Marqueece Harris-Dawson, who took office on September 20, 2024.
History
editEarly history
editThe 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
editIn 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
edit
- 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)
edit| No. | Portrait | Officeholder | Tenure start | Tenure end | Pro Tem. | Assistant Pro Tem. | Mayor |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | .jpg)
|
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 | .jpg)
|
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 | .jpg)
|
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 | .jpg)
|
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
edit- ^ "What Do City Council Members Do?". LA 101 Guide.
- ^ Ordinances and Regulations of Los Angeles 1832-1888: Part I. Vol. 30. University of California Press. pp. 26–41.
- ^ Chronological Record of Los Angeles City Officials,1850-1938, 1868-1869 section, page 11
- ^ Clare Wallace, Los Angeles Public Library Reference File, April 26, 1939, with sources as listed there
- ^ Stevens, Mark H. (December 1, 2004). "The Road to Reform: Los Angeles' Municipal Elections of 1909: Part II". University of California Press.
- ^ "Council President Timberlake Plans Retirement July 1," May 15, 1969, page B-1
- ^ "The Women of the Los Angeles City Council: Part Two". Los Angeles Public Library. March 15, 2021.
- ^ "Ca - Officials". Allgov.com. Archived from the original on December 23, 2020. Retrieved November 9, 2020.
- ^ "Alex Padilla has been rising political star since his 20s, when he became L.A.'s youngest councilmember". KTLA. 2020-12-22.
- ^ "New LA City Council president Nury Martinez outlines her vision". Los Angeles Daily News. January 14, 2020.