He was tender and vulnerable, so different from either the Mr. Looking out over a darkened garden, Riordan reflected on the deaths of his son and one of his daughters. Riordan liked my son, who was born just before Riordan’s reelection in 1997, and we chatted for a while about being dads. We came upon Riordan, all by himself, on a patio overlooking a pool and grounds.

Mayor Richard Riordan has endorsed developer Rick Caruso for mayor, according to a release from Caruso’s campaign. My boy and I ducked out of the party for a few minutes and went outside.Ĭalifornia Richard Riordan, L.A.’s last Republican mayor, endorses Rick Carusoįormer L.A. I was there, too, and I had brought my son, who was then about 2 years old. One more story: Well into his second term, Riordan was at a party in Pasadena, a going-away event for a senior member of his staff. Foiled, in his stocking feet, he sat back down and the meeting moved on. Once, at a meeting at The Times, he started fuming and stood up to storm out. His gaffes might have damaged another politician coming from Riordan, they seemed more charming than malicious, more Mr. He hated “gotcha” questions and he knew one was coming.) Yet he was something of a Teflon mayor. (I reached him on that trip, and he was furious. He took off for France on a bike trip during a transit strike. He was the guy who carried a hamburger to a hunger strike (gardeners were protesting a proposed city ban on gas-powered leaf blowers I mean, really - only in L.A.).

It was an example of what one of his shrewdest advisors described as his ability to “see around corners.”Īnd yet, he could miss what was right in front of him. He reclined on his couch, nibbling snacks - peanut butter, if memory serves - and laid out the whole thing: who was talking to whom, who was telling the truth, who was lying, what would happen next.

I asked Riordan if he would be willing, off the record, to lay out the state of the negotiations. Two groups of would-be owners were vying for position, while the NFL played its own games. It was during the tedious efforts to bring a football team back to Los Angeles. I got many glimpses of Riordan’s capacity - he regularly clocked me at chess - but one stands out. In his long public life in Los Angeles, including eight years as mayor, few ever accused Richard J. Books Commentary: ‘The Mayor’ by Richard Riordan short on revelations, insight

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