Former L.A. Mayor Richard Riordan, who died April 19, was handed the heavy task of rebuilding Los Angeles in a rapidly-changing political and diverse landscape.
To be sure, Riordan’s track record of supporting police didn’t initially go well with residents, especially those living in South Los Angeles after the Rodney King verdict.South L.A. resident Bobbie Jean Anderson served for seven years on the L.A. Police Permit Review Commission, which was initially created as a liaison between community members, public officials and law enforcement in the aftermath of the 1992 King riots.
“We thought he was a typical, very rich Republican; he was viewed that way by a lot of people in the South L.A. community,” Anderson said. “We thought he didn’t believe in discrimination… he was stubborn and initially didn’t want to accept that there are some bad cops.” Over the years, Anderson helped Riordan connect closely with community members, including ex-gang members in South LA, and then-newly elected Rep. Maxine Waters, who oversaw the district. With these personal relationships, she said, Riordan’s view of the community changed, and she observed more things getting done.
“It wasn’t a quick fix, but because he kept at it, kept surrounding himself with people who had his best interests, he became more accepted and embraced our community as a whole.”
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