Mayor of a tumultuous Los Angeles, Richard Riordan, 92, has died. He was a successful businessman before taking office in 1993, during the civil unrest that followed the police beating of Rodney King. He became well-known for his crude sense of humor.
Richard J Riordan Obituary: How Did Richard J Riordan Die?
Richard J. Riordan, a Queens-born attorney, businessman, and former Los Angeles mayor, died on Wednesday at his home in the city’s Brentwood neighborhood.
He presided over the city during a period of great division and rebuilt the city’s infrastructure following a devastating earthquake in 1994 using a free-enterprise strategy. He was 92. Patricia Riordan Torrey, his daughter, confirmed his death.
Mr. Riordan began his professional career in business before moving on to politics later in life. His blunt words occasionally got him into trouble. He was elected mayor.
In his first foray into electoral politics, he was elected mayor in 1993. He held the position until term limits prevented him from running for a third term in 2001.
He had previously developed a small inheritance into a sizable personal fortune through astute investing. He was a venture capitalist in the 1960s, long before the term was coined, and he gave his own money to charity years before California’s newly wealthy did.
Mr. Riordan, a moderate Republican, entered politics in 1992 after it became clear that Tom Bradley, the Democratic incumbent mayor who had served five terms, would not run for reelection.