Wealthy Republican businessman Richard Riordan, who led Los Angeles through the Northridge earthquake and the aftermath of the fatal 1992 riots while serving two terms as mayor, has passed away.
He was 92.
Mayor Karen Bass released a statement late on Wednesday saying, “Mayor Richard Riordan loved Los Angeles and devoted so much of himself to bettering our city.”
“I offer my sincere condolences to everyone who admired and loved Mayor Riordan. Peace be upon him.
Riordan passed away on Wednesday, according to a statement from his family, who described him as a “beloved husband, father, grandfather, and uncle.” The statement claimed he passed away at his home in the Bentwood district of Los Angeles “surrounded by his wife Elizabeth, family, friends, and precious pet dogs.”
The reason for death was not immediately known.
In what is now a firmly Democratic city, Riordan, a centrist who amassed wealth as an investment broker, holds the distinction of having served as the city’s last Republican mayor.
As mayor, Riordan had a well-known reputation as a charming municipal leader who detested red tape.
He occasionally made speech errors, but they appeared to endear him to many citizens of a community that was frequently uninterested in politics.
He entered politics later than most, startling even longstanding friends when, at 60, he gave up his success in the private sector to compete as an outsider for mayor in 1993.
In a city still reeling from the 1992 unrest that followed the white police officers’ acquittal in the beating of a Black motorist named Rodney King, Riordan claimed he recognized the need for leadership.
He spent $6 million of his own money on the campaign and ran on the platform that he was “Tough Enough to Turn L.A. Around.” He defeated City Councilman Michael Woo in the nonpartisan race to succeed retiring Mayor Tom Bradley.
As he took the oath of office in 1993, Riordan declared, “My fellow Angelenos, the moment has come for all of us to take part in the healing of our magnificent city.
Soon after, on January 17, 1994, the city of Northridge was rocked by an earthquake that left many people dead.
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