President of the Los Angeles City Council

President of the
Los Angeles City Council
President of the ; Los Angeles City Council
	Seal of the City of Los Angeles
	Flag of Los Angeles
	Incumbent; Marqueece Harris-Dawson; since September 20, 2024
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 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]

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

History

Early history

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

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

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)

No.	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
3	Boyle Workman (4th–Wilshire Center)	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			John Clinton Porter
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	Billy G. Mills
		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
17	John Ferraro (4th–Hancock Park)	July 1, 1979	June 30, 1981	Joel Wachs
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	Peggy Stevenson
19	Pat Russell (6th–Westchester)	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		Joan Milke Flores
		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	Joel Wachs	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	Rudy Svorinich
22	Alex Padilla (7th–Pacoima)	July 1, 2001	June 30, 2003	Mark Ridley-Thomas	Cindy Miscikowski	James Hahn
		July 1, 2003	June 30, 2005	Cindy Miscikowski	Eric Garcetti	James Hahn
		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		Jan Perry
		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	Tom LaBonge	Eric Garcetti
		July 1, 2015	June 30, 2017		Nury Martinez
		July 1, 2017	December 31, 2018		Nury Martinez
		January 15, 2019	June 30, 2019	Nury Martinez	Joe Buscaino
		July 1, 2019	January 5, 2020	Nury Martinez	Joe Buscaino
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	Mitch O'Farrell
		October 25, 2022	December 12, 2022	Curren Price
		December 12, 2022	June 13, 2023	Curren Price		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

^ "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.

[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

[LAPL-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.

[:0-8] "Ca - Officials". Allgov.com. Archived from the original on December 23, 2020. Retrieved November 9, 2020.

[:7-9] "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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