Former LA Mayor Richard Riordan dies at 92
Former Los Angeles Mayor Richard Riordan has died at the age of 92, a family spokesperson announced.
"Mayor Richard Riordan loved Los Angeles, and devoted so much of himself to bettering our City," said Mayor Karen Bass.
The former Los Angeles Mayor oversaw the city's restructuring following the tumultuous 1992 riots and Northridge earthquake.
"In the wake of the Northridge earthquake, Mayor Riordan set the standard for emergency action — he reassured us and delivered a response with an intensity that still pushes us all to be faster and stronger amidst crisis," said Bass.
A spokesperson for the former mayor said he died at his home by the side of his wife and family. They have not released the cause of his death.
Riordan was born to a wealthy family in Flushing, New York on May 1, 1930, and was the youngest of eight children.
"Though born in New York, Mayor Riordan will be remembered as an LA original," said Bass.
He attended Santa Clara University before transferring to Princeton University where he majored in philosophy. According to his family, Riordan learned the importance of servicing others during his time at the Ivy League school. After, he became a lawyer and founded his own Los Angeles firm in 1975.
The affable Riordan was also an astute businessman, turning his $80,000 inheritance into a $100 million fortune. In the spirit of service, he donated $3 million a year to charities. He also financed the purchase of the Puente Learning Center in East L.A.
"He always had a place in his heart for the children of LA, and worked to improve how the City served our youth and communities as a passionate member of the Los Angeles Board of Recreation and Park Commissioners," said Bass. "Mayor Riordan's legacy includes our City's iconic Central Library, which he saved and rebuilt, and which today carries his name."
After Riordan's time with the Parks Commission, he decided to run for mayor in 1993 following Tom Bradley's retirement announcement. He won, becoming the city's first Republican mayor in 30 years.
"I will take steps, immediately to unite this city," Riordan said during a press conference at that time. "My government will involve Democrats, Republicans, Independents, people of every race, creed, color and sexual orientation."
Riordan took the reins of the second-largest city in the United States during one of the most turbulent eras in L.A.'s history — a time when the city of angels saw an increase in crime, racial tension and a downturn in the local economy.
Riordan's campaign motto was "Tough enough to turn LA around."
While he had a rough start to begin his tenure, butting heads with a Democratically-controlled City Council, he showed true leadership during the Northridge earthquake of 1994, taking control of the emergency relief response.
"Our hearts go out to families that have lost loved ones," said Riordan following the devastating tremor. "We have to get back to where things were before the earthquake."
In 1997, the city reelected Riordan in a landslide victory.
After term limits kicked him out of office, he set his eyes on a higher seat in California politics. He ran for the Republican nomination in 2002 but lost in the primary. However, his service did not end there. Former Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger appointed him as the state's Secretary of Education.
His time as Secretary hit a snag when he was at a children's library event in Santa Barabara in 2004.
When a child asked him if he knew that her name meant "Egyptian goddess" he responded by saying "it means stupid, dirty girl."
Calls for resignation came quickly and Riordan resigned in 2005. Despite this, Riordan never left politics.
He also continued his charitable efforts through his Riordan Foundation, which uses funds to help low-income children.
