John Ferraro
Encyclopedia
John Ferraro was the longest-serving Los Angeles City Council member in the history of the city—thirty-five years, from 1966 until his death in 2001—and the president of the council for fourteen of them. He had been an all-American football player at the University of Southern California.
of Cudahy, California
, just south of Los Angeles
, "the youngest son of a family of eight chidren whose Italian immigrant parents ran a macaroni factory before going broke during the Depression.
" He attended Bell High School
in Bell, California
, where he graduated in 1942, and he earned a bachelor of science
degree in business administration from the University of Southern California
after World War II.
in 1945
. He served on a tanker with Warren Christopher
, later the Secretary of State
under Bill Clinton
. "Christopher got Ferraro interested in politics during long, early morning discussions when they were stationed in the Bay Area."
field at Bell High—he was a unanimous choice for the All-City team—led to his receiving a scholarship at USC, where he earned All-America
n honors in 1944 and 1947 and played as a tackle
in three Rose Bowls. He was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame
in 1974
. As an adult he stood 6 feet, 4¼ inches tall and weighed 245 pounds, earning him the nickname
"Big John."
and stripteaser Margie Hart in the 1940s—and then as a legitimate actress
who even later made money through real-estate investments. They met at a reception in support of Democrat Pierre Salinger
's unsuccessful U.S. Senate campaign in 1964, and they were married in 1982. She died in 2000.
in August 1999 and underwent chemotherapy
. Mayor Richard Riordan
was at his side, along with family members, when he died at the age of 76 in Santa Monica on April 17, 2001. A crowd of nearly a thousand filled St. Brendan Catholic Church
, Ferraro's parish, for a funeral mass conducted by Cardinal Roger Mahony. Family present included Ferraro's brother, Steve, sisters Mary and Rose and his son, Gianni Luckey.
appointed him to the city Police Commission, where he served for thirteen years. During that period, he advocated more-stringent gun laws and backed African-American John Roseboro
, former Los Angeles Dodgers star, to do community relations work for the Police Department after the 1965 Watts riots
.
Supported by Mayor Sam Yorty and seen as a "product of the old guard of conservative if nominally Democratic politicians who used to dominate local politics," he was appointed in May 1966 from among thirteen applicants to represent Los Angeles City Council District 4
after the death of incumbent Harold A. Henry
. Because of his height, when he took office carpenters had to remove a drawer from his desk so that his legs could fit under it.
During his term, which at thirty-five years was the longest in City Council history, the 4th District covered (in 1955) much of the Wilshire district and in general was bounded by Fountain Avenue, Wilshire Boulevard
, Fairfax Avenue
and Catalina Street and (in 1975) Central Los Angeles from Fairfax and Highland Avenues on the west, to Santa Monica Boulevard] on the north, the Pasadena Freeway
on the east and Olympic Boulevard
on the south (1945). In 1986 it was considered a contorted district that included the old areas as well as Atwater, Griffith Park
, Forest Lawn Drive and parts of the central San Fernando Valley to Colfax Avenue and Victory Boulevard
. In 1989 the district stretched from Hancock Park to Studio City.
In 1974, Ferraro ran unsuccessfully against fellow Councilman Edmund D. Edelman
for a seat on the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors
, and in 1985, he made a futile run against Tom Bradley
for mayor.
In 1999, he was fined $3,300 by the Los Angeles Ethics Commission for receiving campaign contributions in 1997 above a newly established limit. It and penalties levied against Councilmen Mike Hernandez
and Mark Ridley-Thomas
were the first to be made under a law effective in 1985.
allowed him to make committee appointments and set a general direction for the council. In that year he restructured the committee system to "reflect concerns about the environment and city finances." It advanced him to the second most powerful position in the city and made him acting mayor when Tom Bradley
was out of town. Ferraro later denied he used his committee appointing power "to reward allies and punish enemies," but he admitted to being practical: "Anybody who mistreats their friends to benefit their enemies is not practicing good politics," he said. "You don't get reelected to the presidency that way."
In Ferraro's 1997 reshuffle of committee seats, the biggest loser was Nate Holden
, "the frequent butt of Ferraro's jokes, who was ousted from all three of his committees and given far lower-profile assignments," Jodi Wilgoren reported in the Los Angeles Times,
It was said that Ferraro often calmed disputes on the City Council "with humor and a firm hand" and that after his death it was "unlikely such a dominant figure will again emerge," because of newly imposed term limits at City Hall.
", for "bringing the new Staples Center
arena to a revitalized downtown" and helping to attract the 2000 Democratic National Convention
to Los Angeles. Other activities:
1984. Ferraro's "biggest citywide leadership role was in helping bring the Olympics
to Los Angeles, serving on early committees trying to attract the Games."
1985. Ferraro was considered pro-development, and he usually supported most everything that building industry leaders wanted, one exception being rent control
because of the large number of elderly renters in his district.
1989. He opposed building underground transportation lines (subways), believing instead that mass transit should run along freeways or, in the San Fernando Valley
, along existing rail lines.
1996. The City Council president opposed Mayor Richard Riordan
's plans for a City Charter revision commission to be elected by the voters, on the grounds that it would be chaotic and would undermine the council's authority. He wanted a committee of experts in public policy and constitutional law appointed by the City Council itself. In the end, both panels were set up and worked on their own drafts for a charter revision.
1997. With County Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky
, Ferraro opposed a plan by Universal Studios
to add 5.9 million square feet to its theme park attractions in Universal City
, with resort hotels and additional parking lots. The two legislators urged the proposal be cut by 40%.
in 1995, and in March 1996 the Los Angeles Marathon
named him Citizen of the Year, the University of Southern California gave him its Asa V. Call Achievement Award and the National Council of Young Israel gave him a community-service award.
On November 16, 2000, in honor of his more than five decades of public service, the City of Los Angeles renamed the landmark Department of Water and Power's General Office Building to the John Ferraro Building. The building was designed by the architects AC Martin Partners, Inc.
and opened in 1964.
The Margaret and John Ferraro Chair in Effective Local Government was established at the School of Policy, Planning and Development of the University of Southern California.
Parents and education
Ferraro was born May 24, 1924, in the working class suburbSuburb
The word suburb mostly refers to a residential area, either existing as part of a city or as a separate residential community within commuting distance of a city . Some suburbs have a degree of administrative autonomy, and most have lower population density than inner city neighborhoods...
of Cudahy, California
Cudahy, California
Cudahy is a city located in southeastern Los Angeles County, California. In terms of area, Cudahy is the second smallest city in Los Angeles County, after Hawaiian Gardens. with one of the highest population densities of any incorporated city in the United States...
, just south of Los Angeles
Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...
, "the youngest son of a family of eight chidren whose Italian immigrant parents ran a macaroni factory before going broke during the Depression.
Great Depression in the United States
The Great Depression began with the Wall Street Crash of October, 1929 and rapidly spread worldwide. The market crash marked the beginning of a decade of high unemployment, poverty, low profits, deflation, plunging farm incomes, and lost opportunities for economic growth and personal advancement...
" He attended Bell High School
Bell High School (Bell, California)
Bell High School is a public high school in Bell, California, United States.The school, which serves grades 9 through 12, is a part of District 6 of the Los Angeles Unified School District....
in Bell, California
Bell, California
Bell is a city in Los Angeles County, California. Its population was 35,477 at the 2010 census, down from 36,664 in the 2000 census. Bell is located on the west bank of the Los Angeles River and is a suburb of the city of Los Angeles...
, where he graduated in 1942, and he earned a bachelor of science
Bachelor of Science
A Bachelor of Science is an undergraduate academic degree awarded for completed courses that generally last three to five years .-Australia:In Australia, the BSc is a 3 year degree, offered from 1st year on...
degree in business administration from the University of Southern California
University of Southern California
The University of Southern California is a private, not-for-profit, nonsectarian, research university located in Los Angeles, California, United States. USC was founded in 1880, making it California's oldest private research university...
after World War II.
Military service
Ferraro enlisted in the U.S. Navy during World War II and was commissioned as an ensignEnsign
An ensign is a national flag when used at sea, in vexillology, or a distinguishing token, emblem, or badge, such as a symbol of office in heraldry...
in 1945
1945 in the United States
Events from the year 1945 in the United States. World War II ends this year following the surrender of Germany in May and Japan in September.-Incumbents:*President - Franklin D. Roosevelt until April 12, Harry S. Truman...
. He served on a tanker with Warren Christopher
Warren Christopher
Warren Minor Christopher was an American lawyer, diplomat and politician. During Bill Clinton's first term as President, Christopher served as the 63rd Secretary of State. He also served as Deputy Attorney General in the Lyndon Johnson administration, and as Deputy Secretary of State in the Jimmy...
, later the Secretary of State
Secretary of State
Secretary of State or State Secretary is a commonly used title for a senior or mid-level post in governments around the world. The role varies between countries, and in some cases there are multiple Secretaries of State in the Government....
under Bill Clinton
Bill Clinton
William Jefferson "Bill" Clinton is an American politician who served as the 42nd President of the United States from 1993 to 2001. Inaugurated at age 46, he was the third-youngest president. He took office at the end of the Cold War, and was the first president of the baby boomer generation...
. "Christopher got Ferraro interested in politics during long, early morning discussions when they were stationed in the Bay Area."
Football
His excellence on the footballAmerican football
American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
field at Bell High—he was a unanimous choice for the All-City team—led to his receiving a scholarship at USC, where he earned All-America
All-America
An All-America team is an honorary sports team composed of outstanding amateur players—those considered the best players of a specific season for each team position—who in turn are given the honorific "All-America" and typically referred to as "All-American athletes", or simply...
n honors in 1944 and 1947 and played as a tackle
Tackle (American football)
Tackle is a playing position in American and Canadian football. Historically, in the one-platoon system a tackle played on both offense and defense. In the modern system of specialized units, offensive tackle and defensive tackle are separate positions....
in three Rose Bowls. He was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame
College Football Hall of Fame
The College Football Hall of Fame is a hall of fame and museum devoted to college football. Located in South Bend, Indiana, it is connected to a convention center and situated in the city's renovated downtown district, two miles south of the University of Notre Dame campus. It is slated to move...
in 1974
1974 in sports
1974 in sports describes the year's events in world sport.-Alpine skiing:* Alpine Skiing World Cup** Men's overall season champion: Piero Gros, Italy** Women's overall season champion: Annemarie Pröll, Austria-American football:...
. As an adult he stood 6 feet, 4¼ inches tall and weighed 245 pounds, earning him the nickname
Nickname
A nickname is "a usually familiar or humorous but sometimes pointed or cruel name given to a person or place, as a supposedly appropriate replacement for or addition to the proper name.", or a name similar in origin and pronunciation from the original name....
"Big John."
Business career
Ferraro was an insurance broker with the John Ferraro Company, beginning in 1951, and he invested shrewdly in stocks and real estate that made him a millionaire,Family
He was married to Julie Marie Luckey, daughter of Democratic State Senator E.George Luckey, and they had a son, Luckeygian, or Lucky, born about 1956. The Ferraros were divorced in 1972. His second wife was Bridget Margaret Hart, widely known as exotic dancerExotic dancer
The terms exotic dancer and exotic dance can have different meanings in different parts of the world and depending on context. In the erotic sense, "exotic dance" is a often used to refer to practitioners of striptease...
and stripteaser Margie Hart in the 1940s—and then as a legitimate actress
Legitimate theater
The term "legitimate theater" dates back to the Licensing Act of 1737, which restricted "serious" theatre performances to the two patent theatres licensed to perform "spoken drama" after the English Restoration in 1662...
who even later made money through real-estate investments. They met at a reception in support of Democrat Pierre Salinger
Pierre Salinger
Pierre Emil George Salinger was a White House Press Secretary to U.S. Presidents John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson...
's unsuccessful U.S. Senate campaign in 1964, and they were married in 1982. She died in 2000.
Illness and death
Ferraro was diagnosed with cancer of the spleenSpleen
The spleen is an organ found in virtually all vertebrate animals with important roles in regard to red blood cells and the immune system. In humans, it is located in the left upper quadrant of the abdomen. It removes old red blood cells and holds a reserve of blood in case of hemorrhagic shock...
in August 1999 and underwent chemotherapy
Chemotherapy
Chemotherapy is the treatment of cancer with an antineoplastic drug or with a combination of such drugs into a standardized treatment regimen....
. Mayor Richard Riordan
Richard Riordan
Richard J. Riordan is a Republican politician from California, U.S.A. who served as the California Secretary for Education from 2003–2005 and as the 39th Mayor of Los Angeles, California from 1993–2001...
was at his side, along with family members, when he died at the age of 76 in Santa Monica on April 17, 2001. A crowd of nearly a thousand filled St. Brendan Catholic Church
St. Brendan Catholic Church, Los Angeles
St. Brendan Catholic Church is a Catholic church in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Los Angeles, located in the Hancock Park section of Los Angeles, California. The current Gothic Revival-style church was built in 1927 and has also served as a location for various Hollywood productions.-Early...
, Ferraro's parish, for a funeral mass conducted by Cardinal Roger Mahony. Family present included Ferraro's brother, Steve, sisters Mary and Rose and his son, Gianni Luckey.
Police commission
He entered government service in 1953, when Mayor Norris PoulsonNorris Poulson
C. Norris Poulson served as the 36th Mayor of Los Angeles, California from 1953 to 1961, after having been a California State Assemblyman and then a member of the United States Congress for eight years...
appointed him to the city Police Commission, where he served for thirteen years. During that period, he advocated more-stringent gun laws and backed African-American John Roseboro
Johnny Roseboro
John Junior Roseboro was a Major League Baseball catcher and coach, who was born in Ashland, Ohio.-Career:A left-handed-hitter, Roseboro had a lifetime .249 batting average with 104 home runs and 548 RBI in 1585 games played with the Brooklyn and Los Angeles Dodgers , Minnesota Twins and...
, former Los Angeles Dodgers star, to do community relations work for the Police Department after the 1965 Watts riots
Watts Riots
The Watts Riots or the Watts Rebellion was a civil disturbance in the Watts neighborhood of Los Angeles, California from August 11 to August 15, 1965. The 5-day riot resulted in 34 deaths, 1,032 injuries, and 3,438 arrests...
.
Appointment and elections
See also List of Los Angeles Municipal election returns, 1967 and afterSupported by Mayor Sam Yorty and seen as a "product of the old guard of conservative if nominally Democratic politicians who used to dominate local politics," he was appointed in May 1966 from among thirteen applicants to represent Los Angeles City Council District 4
Los Angeles City Council District 4
Los Angeles City Council District 4 is one of the 15 districts of the Los Angeles City Council, situated in the center of the city. It is represented by Tom Labonge....
after the death of incumbent Harold A. Henry
Harold A. Henry
Not to be confused with Harold Harby, Los Angeles City Council member 1943–57.Harold A. Henry was a community newspaper publisher who was elected to the Los Angeles City Council in 1945 and was its president for four terms from 1947 to 1962....
. Because of his height, when he took office carpenters had to remove a drawer from his desk so that his legs could fit under it.
During his term, which at thirty-five years was the longest in City Council history, the 4th District covered (in 1955) much of the Wilshire district and in general was bounded by Fountain Avenue, Wilshire Boulevard
Wilshire Boulevard
Wilshire Boulevard is one of the principal east-west arterial roads in Los Angeles, California, United States. It was named for Henry Gaylord Wilshire , an Ohio native who made and lost fortunes in real estate, farming, and gold mining. Henry Wilshire initiated what was to become Wilshire...
, Fairfax Avenue
Fairfax Avenue
Fairfax Avenue is a street on north central Los Angeles, California. It runs from La Cienega Boulevard with Culver City at its southern end to Hollywood Boulevard in Hollywood on its northern end.Fairfax Avenue forms the western boundary of Hancock Park as well as Park La Brea, an 160 acre ,...
and Catalina Street and (in 1975) Central Los Angeles from Fairfax and Highland Avenues on the west, to Santa Monica Boulevard] on the north, the Pasadena Freeway
Pasadena Freeway
The Arroyo Seco Parkway, formerly known as the Pasadena Freeway, is the first freeway in California and the western United States. It connects Los Angeles with Pasadena alongside the Arroyo Seco. It is notable not only for being the first, mostly opened in 1940, but for representing the...
on the east and Olympic Boulevard
Olympic Boulevard
Olympic Boulevard is a major arterial road in Los Angeles, California. It stretches from 4th Street on the western end of Santa Monica to East Los Angeles—farther than Wilshire Boulevard and most other streets....
on the south (1945). In 1986 it was considered a contorted district that included the old areas as well as Atwater, Griffith Park
Griffith Park
Griffith Park is a large municipal park at the eastern end of the Santa Monica Mountains in the Los Feliz neighborhood of Los Angeles, California. The park covers of land, making it one of the largest urban parks in North America...
, Forest Lawn Drive and parts of the central San Fernando Valley to Colfax Avenue and Victory Boulevard
Victory Boulevard
Victory Boulevard is a major thoroughfare on Staten Island, measuring approximately 8.0 miles and stretching from the west shore community of Travis to the upper east shore communities of St. George and Tompkinsville. In the late 1940s, the portion of Victory Boulevard between Richmond Avenue and...
. In 1989 the district stretched from Hancock Park to Studio City.
In 1974, Ferraro ran unsuccessfully against fellow Councilman Edmund D. Edelman
Edmund D. Edelman
Edmund D. Edelman was a member of the Los Angeles City Council from 1965 to 1974 and of the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors from 1975 to 1994...
for a seat on the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors
Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors
The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors is the five-member nonpartisan governing board of Los Angeles County, California. Members of the board of supervisors are elected by district. They were as of December 2, 2008:*District 1: Gloria Molina...
, and in 1985, he made a futile run against Tom Bradley
Tom Bradley (politician)
Thomas J. "Tom" Bradley was the 38th Mayor of Los Angeles, California, serving in that office from 1973 to 1993. He was the first and to date only African American mayor of Los Angeles...
for mayor.
In 1999, he was fined $3,300 by the Los Angeles Ethics Commission for receiving campaign contributions in 1997 above a newly established limit. It and penalties levied against Councilmen Mike Hernandez
Mike Hernández
Mike Hernandez was a Los Angeles, California City Councilman. In 1997 Hernandez was arrested and pleaded guilty to purchasing and possessing cocaine. Because he struck a plea agreement whereby he agreed to seek treatment, the arrest was not in his record, and he was not required to resign his seat...
and Mark Ridley-Thomas
Mark Ridley-Thomas
Mark Ridley-Thomas , often referred to by his initials, MRT, is a member of the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors for District 2, who succeeded Supervisor Yvonne Brathwaite Burke...
were the first to be made under a law effective in 1985.
Presidency
Ferraro's election as City Council president in 1977 to replace John GibsonJohn Gibson
John Gibson may refer to:*John Gibson , British architect*John Gibson , English cartographer and engraver*John Gibson , English cricketer...
allowed him to make committee appointments and set a general direction for the council. In that year he restructured the committee system to "reflect concerns about the environment and city finances." It advanced him to the second most powerful position in the city and made him acting mayor when Tom Bradley
Tom Bradley (politician)
Thomas J. "Tom" Bradley was the 38th Mayor of Los Angeles, California, serving in that office from 1973 to 1993. He was the first and to date only African American mayor of Los Angeles...
was out of town. Ferraro later denied he used his committee appointing power "to reward allies and punish enemies," but he admitted to being practical: "Anybody who mistreats their friends to benefit their enemies is not practicing good politics," he said. "You don't get reelected to the presidency that way."
In Ferraro's 1997 reshuffle of committee seats, the biggest loser was Nate Holden
Nate Holden
Nate Holden is a Los Angeles County politician who served four years in the California State Senate and 16 years on the Los Angeles City Council....
, "the frequent butt of Ferraro's jokes, who was ousted from all three of his committees and given far lower-profile assignments," Jodi Wilgoren reported in the Los Angeles Times,
It was said that Ferraro often calmed disputes on the City Council "with humor and a firm hand" and that after his death it was "unlikely such a dominant figure will again emerge," because of newly imposed term limits at City Hall.
Activities
Ferraro was noted for "spearheading the refurbishment of the Los Angeles ZooLos Angeles Zoo
The Los Angeles Zoo , is a zoo founded in 1966 and located in Los Angeles, California. The City of Los Angeles owns the entire zoo, its land and facilities, and the animals...
", for "bringing the new Staples Center
Staples Center
Staples Center is a multi-purpose sports arena in Downtown Los Angeles. Adjacent to the L.A. Live development, it is located next to the Los Angeles Convention Center complex along Figueroa Street. Opening on October 17, 1999, it is one of the major sporting facilities in the Greater Los Angeles...
arena to a revitalized downtown" and helping to attract the 2000 Democratic National Convention
2000 Democratic National Convention
The 2000 Democratic National Convention was a quadrennial presidential nominating convention for the Democratic Party. The convention nominated Vice President Al Gore as its candidate for President and Connecticut Senator Joe Lieberman as its candidate for Vice President. The convention was held at...
to Los Angeles. Other activities:
1984. Ferraro's "biggest citywide leadership role was in helping bring the Olympics
1984 Summer Olympics
The 1984 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XXIII Olympiad, was an international multi-sport event held in Los Angeles, California, United States in 1984...
to Los Angeles, serving on early committees trying to attract the Games."
1985. Ferraro was considered pro-development, and he usually supported most everything that building industry leaders wanted, one exception being rent control
Rent control
Rent control refers to laws or ordinances that set price controls on the renting of residential housing. It functions as a price ceiling.Rent control exists in approximately 40 countries around the world...
because of the large number of elderly renters in his district.
1989. He opposed building underground transportation lines (subways), believing instead that mass transit should run along freeways or, in the San Fernando Valley
San Fernando Valley
The San Fernando Valley is an urbanized valley located in the Los Angeles metropolitan area of southern California, United States, defined by the dramatic mountains of the Transverse Ranges circling it...
, along existing rail lines.
1996. The City Council president opposed Mayor Richard Riordan
Richard Riordan
Richard J. Riordan is a Republican politician from California, U.S.A. who served as the California Secretary for Education from 2003–2005 and as the 39th Mayor of Los Angeles, California from 1993–2001...
's plans for a City Charter revision commission to be elected by the voters, on the grounds that it would be chaotic and would undermine the council's authority. He wanted a committee of experts in public policy and constitutional law appointed by the City Council itself. In the end, both panels were set up and worked on their own drafts for a charter revision.
1997. With County Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky
Zev Yaroslavsky
Zev Yaroslavsky is a Los Angeles County politician. He served on the Los Angeles City Council from 1975 until 1994, when he was elected to the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors. He was preceded in both offices by Edmund D...
, Ferraro opposed a plan by Universal Studios
Universal Studios
Universal Pictures , a subsidiary of NBCUniversal, is one of the six major movie studios....
to add 5.9 million square feet to its theme park attractions in Universal City
Universal City
Universal City may refer to:In the entertainment industry:* Universal City Studios, an alternate name of Universal Studios* Universal City RecordsThe following places owned by Universal Studios:* Universal City, California...
, with resort hotels and additional parking lots. The two legislators urged the proposal be cut by 40%.
Honors
Ferraro was elected to the board of the National League of CitiesNational League of Cities
The National League of Cities is an American advocacy organization representing 19,000 cities, towns, and villages, and encompassing 49 state municipal leagues....
in 1995, and in March 1996 the Los Angeles Marathon
Los Angeles Marathon
The Honda LA Marathon is an annual running event held each spring in Los Angeles, California. The 26.219 mile footrace, inspired by the success of the 1984 Summer Olympic Games, has been contested every year since 1986...
named him Citizen of the Year, the University of Southern California gave him its Asa V. Call Achievement Award and the National Council of Young Israel gave him a community-service award.
Legacy
Albert C. Martin, Sr.
Albert Carey Martin was an American architect and engineer.He founded the architectural firm of Albert C...
and opened in 1964.
The Margaret and John Ferraro Chair in Effective Local Government was established at the School of Policy, Planning and Development of the University of Southern California.
Quotations
- About Mayor Tom BradleyTom Bradley (politician)Thomas J. "Tom" Bradley was the 38th Mayor of Los Angeles, California, serving in that office from 1973 to 1993. He was the first and to date only African American mayor of Los Angeles...
: "Morally, he's corrupt. His desire to be governor is so overwhelming, it's eating him up. He will sell out City Hall to be governor."
- About his USC football days: "I was a tackle. Sure, we never got any glory, no headlines, and that's been my philosophy."
External links
- Gilman, Jane. John Ferraro Larchmont Chronicle, May 4, 2001.