Los Angeles City Council District 1
Encyclopedia
Los Angeles City Council District 1 is one of the 15 districts of the Los Angeles City Council. Between 1923 and 1987 it served the San Fernando Valley, but in the latter year in was moved into an area north and northwest of Downtown Los Angeles to provide another majority-Hispanic area for the city. Ed Reyes has been the representative since 2001.
Modern
The 1st District is separated from Downtown by the 110 freeway, and the boundary continues northwest until it reaches York Boulevard in Highland ParkHighland Park, Los Angeles, California
Highland Park is a neighborhood in Northeast Los Angeles.-Geography:Highland Park is located along the Arroyo Seco. It is situated within what was once Rancho San Rafael of the Spanish / Mexican era...
. The district includes the neighborhoods of Glassell Park, Cypress Park, Highland Park, Mount Washington, Solano Canyon, Elysian Park, Echo Park, Westlake, Angelino Heights, Lafayette Park
Lafayette Park, Los Angeles, California
Lafayette Park is a public park within the Westlake district of Los Angeles.Lafayette Park is fenced off and closed at night avoiding much of the negative reputation that affect its immediate neighbor MacArthur Park...
, Chinatown
Chinatown, Los Angeles
Chinatown in Los Angeles, California is located in the city's downtown area. Built in 1938, it is the second Chinatown to be constructed in Los Angeles. The original historic Chinatown was founded in the late 19th century, but was demolished to make room for Union Station, the city's major rail...
, Lincoln Heights, Montecito Heights, and Pico Union.
The district is approximately 13.5 square miles in area, making it the city's third-smallest council district.
See official city map outlining District 1.
Historic
A new city charter effective in 1925 replaced the former "at large" voting systemPlurality-at-large voting
Plurality-at-large voting is a non-proportional voting system for electing several representatives from a single multimember electoral district using a series of check boxes and tallying votes similar to a plurality election...
for a nine-member council with a district system with a 15-member council. Each district was to be approximately equal in population, based upon the voting in the previous gubernatorial election; thus redistricting was done every four years. (At present, redistricting is done every ten years, based upon the preceding U.S. census results.) The numbering system established in 1925 for City Council districts began with No. 1 in the north of the city, 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...
, and ended with No. 15 in the south, the Harbor area.
The rough boundaries or descriptions have been as follows:
1925: All of 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...
, some of the Santa Monica Mountains
Santa Monica Mountains
The Santa Monica Mountains are a Transverse Range in Southern California, along the coast of the Pacific Ocean in the United States.-Geography:...
reaching south to the Sherman district, the Cahuenga Pass
Cahuenga Pass
The Cahuenga Pass is a mountain pass through the eastern end of the Santa Monica Mountains in the Hollywood district of the City of Los Angeles, California....
, the Hollywood Hills
Hollywood Hills
The Hollywood Hills is an affluent and exclusive neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, in the southeastern Santa Monica Mountains. It is bound by Laurel Canyon Boulevard to the west, Vermont Avenue to the east, Mulholland Drive to the north, and Sunset Boulevard to the south.-Hollywood Hills...
, 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...
, Atwater and the eastern part of the Los Feliz District south to approximately Santa Monica Boulevard.
1926: The San Fernando Valley, with a district office in the Roscoe neighborhood (now Sun Valley).
1928: "The eastern section of the south boundary . . . is changed from Sunset Boulevard to Fountain Avenue. . . . The westerly portion of the south boundary . . . is a prolongation of the crest of the Santa Monica Mountains. . . . The east boundary is Allesandro Street and the east city limits and the west and north boundaries [in the San Fernando Valley] are the city limits."
1932: "All of the San Fernando Valley, the Atwater section, and the territory east of Griffith Park, east of Vermont Avenue and north of Fountain Avenue."
1937: The San Fernando Valley, the Los Feliz section east of 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...
Drive and north of Franklin Avenue, the section between Vermont and Talmadge avenues south to Santa Monica Boulevard, and the Riverside Drive area west of Glendale Boulevard.
1940: With the rise of the Valley population, the 1st District gave up the Los Feliz and Atwater areas, with its southeast boundary retreating to a point near Cahuenga Boulevard and Mulholland Highway
Mulholland Highway
Mulholland Highway is a scenic road in Los Angeles County, Southern California that runs approximately 50 miles through the western Santa Monica Mountains from the near U.S...
. It was still the only Valley district.
1971: The 1st District was the largest geographic area in the city, about 76 square miles, which was a sixth the total area of Los Angeles. It included Arleta, Lake View Terrace, Mission Hills
Mission Hills
-California:* Mission Hills, California, in Santa Barbara County* Mission Hills, Los Angeles, a community within Los Angeles* Mission Hills, San Diego, an old subdivision in north-central San Diego-Elsewhere:* Mission Hills, Kansas, in Johnson County...
, Pacoima, Shadow Hills, Sunland-Tujunga
Sunland-Tujunga, Los Angeles
Sunland-Tujunga is a community served by two post offices in the northeasternmost corner of Los Angeles, California. Though Sunland and Tujunga began as separate settlements, they are today linked through a single police station, branch library, neighborhood council. chamber of commerce, City...
, Sun Valley and Sylmar.
1987: After the death of incumbent Howard Finn
Howard Finn
Howard Arthur Finn was a Los Angeles City Councilman from the 1st district. He served from 1981 to 1986 until he died in office afer a heart attack.-References:...
, the district was transferred to Northeast Los Angeles
Northeast Los Angeles
Northeast Los Angeles is an area of the city of Los Angeles, northeast of Downtown Los Angeles, east of the Los Angeles River, bounded on the north by the cities of Glendale and Pasadena, and bounded on the east by several cities of the San Gabriel Valley...
in order to provide an additional seat for an increased Hispanic
Hispanic
Hispanic is a term that originally denoted a relationship to Hispania, which is to say the Iberian Peninsula: Andorra, Gibraltar, Portugal and Spain. During the Modern Era, Hispanic sometimes takes on a more limited meaning, particularly in the United States, where the term means a person of ...
population.
Population
As of the 2000 Census, there were 222,165 people residing in the district. The population density was 16,456.67/mi². The racial and ethnic makeup of the district was 75.5% LatinoLatino
The demonyms Latino and Latina , are defined in English language dictionaries as:* "a person of Latin-American descent."* "A Latin American."* "A person of Hispanic, especially Latin-American, descent, often one living in the United States."...
, 5.4% white
White people
White people is a term which usually refers to human beings characterized, at least in part, by the light pigmentation of their skin...
, 2.6% African American
African American
African Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have at least partial ancestry from any of the native populations of Sub-Saharan Africa and are the direct descendants of enslaved Africans within the boundaries of the present United States...
, 0.3% Native American
Indigenous peoples of the Americas
The indigenous peoples of the Americas are the pre-Columbian inhabitants of North and South America, their descendants and other ethnic groups who are identified with those peoples. Indigenous peoples are known in Canada as Aboriginal peoples, and in the United States as Native Americans...
, 15.1% Asia
Asia
Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent, located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.7% of the Earth's total surface area and with approximately 3.879 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world's current human population...
n, 0.1% from other races, and 1.0% from two or more races.
There were 19,252 households out of which 44.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 72.3% were married couples living together, 8.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 16.4% were non-families. 12.4% of all households were made up of individuals and 4.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.05 and the average family size was 3.35.
In the district, 70%, 154,927 people, were over the age of 18 while the remaining thirty percent, 67,238 people, were under the age of 18.
Officeholders
San Fernando Valley- Charles RandallCharles Hiram RandallCharles Hiram Randall , known as Charles Randall, was a member of the U.S. Congress, the California State Assembly and the Los Angeles City Council in the 20th Century.-Biography:...
, 1925–1933 - Jim WilsonJim Wilson (Los Angeles)Jim Wilson was a pioneer banker and businessman of the San Fernando Valley who was on the Los Angeles City Council from 1933 to 1941....
, 1933-1941 - Delamere Francis McCloskeyDelamere Francis McCloskeyDelamere Francis McCloskey was a Canadian-born San Fernando Valley attorney who represented the 1st District on the Los Angeles City Council from 1941 to 1945.-Biography:...
, 1941–1945 - Leland S. WarburtonLeland S. WarburtonLeland S. Warburton, also known as Lee Warburton, was a member of the Los Angeles City Council from 1945 to 1953.Leland S. Warburton, also known as Lee Warburton, was a member of the Los Angeles City Council from 1945 to 1953....
, 1945–1952 - Everett G. BurkhalterEverett G. BurkhalterEverett Glen Burkhalter , who went by Everett G. Burkhalter, was a film studio electrician who turned to politics in 1941 and became a member of the California State Assembly, the Los Angeles City Council and the U.S. Congress in the middle part of the 20th century.-Biography:Burkhalter was born in...
, 1953–1962 - Louis R. NowellLouis R. NowellLouis R. Nowell was a Los Angeles city fire captain who was elected to the City Council in the San Fernando Valley in 1963 and served until 1977. A conservative, he favored more growth in residential areas and opposed school busing for the purpose of racial integration. He pleaded no contest and...
, 1963–1977 - Bob RonkaBob RonkaBob Ronka was a member of the Los Angeles City Council from the San Fernando Valley's 1st District between 1977 and 1981. For a brief time he represented Leslie Van Houten in the Manson Family criminal murder case.-Biography:...
, 1977–1981 - Howard FinnHoward FinnHoward Arthur Finn was a Los Angeles City Councilman from the 1st district. He served from 1981 to 1986 until he died in office afer a heart attack.-References:...
, 1981–1986
Northeast Los Angeles
- Gloria MolinaGloria MolinaJesus Gloria Molina is an American politician, a member of the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors, and the current chairwoman of the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority.-Background and career:...
, 1987–1991 - Mike HernandezMike HernándezMike 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...
, 1991–2001 - Ed ReyesEd ReyesEduardo Perez Reyes is an American politician. He is a member of the Los Angeles City Council, representing the 1st district. Reyes was re-elected in 2005 to serve a second Council term, capturing 78 percent of the votes. He is a member of the Democratic Party...
, 2001–
See also
- Los Angeles City CouncilLos Angeles City CouncilThe Los Angeles City Council is the governing body of the City of Los Angeles.The Council is composed of fifteen members elected from single-member districts for four-year terms. The president of the council and the president pro tempore are chosen by the Council at the first regular meeting after...
- List of Los Angeles municipal election returns
- Sunland-Tujunga, Los Angeles, for how the district was moved from the San Fernando Valley