A legend has passed on. Richard Riordan was the last (and one of the few, ever) GOP mayors of Los Angeles. In the wake of the Rodney King riots, he cleaned up the city and put its citizens at ease following a very tense time. He was 92.
He wasn’t a typical politician. In fact, before he ran for Los Angeles mayor, he wasn’t in politics at all. He was a businessman through and through and owned the famed Original Pantry Cafe, still around today. He was a famed venture capitalist starting in the 1960’s, before that term even existed. He was a pioneer in the business world too. He also consistently gave away double digits of his income to charity, becoming an early philanthropist. He led the way in more ways than one.
Riordan came out of nowhere and defeated Councilman Michael Woo in the election for Los Angeles mayor in 1992. This was during the time of the Rodney King riots, where Woo called for the police chief’s ouster. Woo also helped LA be one of the first sanctuary cities for immigrants back in the mid 80’s, and voters just thought the guy was too liberal. So, for the first time in over two decades, LA voters gave a Republican a shot.
It was a wise move. Shortly into Riordan’s first year, Los Angeles was hit with a massive 6.7 magnitude earthquake. A key part of the Santa Monica freeway cracked from the quake, becoming unusable. Economists estimated that the city was losing a million dollars a day by not having that freeway functional.
But Riordan did not sit back and let the frustratingly slow wheels of government grind. He knew he had to speed up the process of rebuilding. So he added incentives. He suggested contractors get a 200,000 a day bonus for each day they completed the repair ahead of schedule. Surprise, surprise, it worked, and the rebuilding of the freeway was finished 74 days ahead of schedule. “This demonstrates what can happen when private sector innovation and market incentives replace business as usual.” Yep, capitalism works. Even in liberal LA.
And in the wake of the Rodney King riots, Riordan brought calm to the city. Despite protests of liberal activists, he actually added 10,000 cops to the streets of LA. The residents felt like they were safe again. And they were. In just two years, violent crime went down a historic 65% and remained at a record low during his entire tenure.
Riordan tried to run for governor in 2002. He didn’t make it out of the primary. Shame, the moderate Republican, who strayed from divisive social issues, probably would have been an excellent steward of the state and would have managed the budget well.
If you’re out in LA, check out the delicious Original Pantry Cafe and raise a glass to the mayor who saved his city. Rest in peace.
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