Former Los Angeles Mayor Richard Riordan, who served two terms in the 1990s and saw the city through the 1994 Northridge earthquake, died Wednesday evening, his family announced. He was 92.
Calling Riordan their “beloved husband, father, grandfather and uncle,” the family said he “passed peacefully this evening at his home in Brentwood, surrounded by his wife Elizabeth, family, friends and precious pet dogs.”
Riordan was mayor from 1993-2001 and was the last Republican to hold the office. A moderate, he was reelected in 1997 with more than 60% of the vote. Term limits prevented him from running a third time.
SUN VALLEY, ID – JULY 10: Richard ‘Dick’ Riordan (R), former mayor of Los Angeles, attends the Allen & Company Sun Valley Conference on July 10, 2014 in Sun Valley, Idaho. Many of the world’s wealthiest and most powerful executives from media, finance, and technology attend the annual week-long conference which is in its 32nd year. (Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images)
Los Angeles mayor Richard Riordan speaks about the proposed El Toro airport Monday at the Hyatt Regency Irvine. Mayor Riordan says the poor should be considered when making decisions and that is why he favors an airport. He thinks the it will bring new jobs and help the economy. Photo by: Mindy Schauer
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FILE – Academy Award-nominated actress Cicely Tyson reacts to the unveiling of her star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in the Hollywood section of Los Angeles, Thursday, Aug. 21, 1997. Honorary Mayor of Hollywood and chairman of the Walk of Fame committee Johnny Grant, left, and Los Angeles Mayor Richard Riordan joined Tyson for the unveiling. Tyson, the pioneering Black actress who gained an Oscar nomination for her role as the sharecropper’s wife in “Sounder,” a Tony Award in 2013 at age 88 and touched TV viewers’ hearts in “The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman,” has died. She was 96. Tyson’s death was announced by her family, via her manager Larry Thompson, who did not immediately provide additional details. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes, File)
Keizo Obuchi, Prime Minister of Japan, left, laughs with Richard Riordan, Mayor of Los Angeles, left, during a ceremony outside the Mayor?s residence in Los Angeles, Wednesday, April 29, 1999. (AP Photo/E.J. Flynn)
Britain’s Prince Charles looks at his wristwatch to check the time of his arrival at Los Angeles International Airport on October 31, 1994. At center is Los Angeles Mayor Richard Riordan. Prince Charles is to spend five days visiting the Los Angeles area. – traitement cc (Photo by Carlos SCHIEBECK / AFP) (Photo by CARLOS SCHIEBECK/AFP via Getty Images)
385121 01: Los Angeles Mayor Richard Riordan arrives to the scandal-wracked LA Police Rampart Station to address officers during their mid-day roll call and announce “significant police reform measures”, February 2, 2000, in Los Angeles, CA. In the end, many police officers and members of the media were left wondering what the mayor had tried to convey. Officers at the Rampart Division are the subjects of investigation and prosecution in the biggest police scandal case in Los Angeles history. (Photo by David McNew/Newsmakers)
403856 04: (L-R) Los Angeles Mayor James Hahn, Alameda Corridor Transportation Authority (ACTA) Chair Frank Colonna, U.S. Transportation Secretary Norman Mineta, California Governor Gray Davis, former Los Angeles Mayor Richard Riordan and an unidentified dignitary throw mock railroad switches during the finale of the grand opening ceremony of the Alameda Corridor railway April 12, 2002 in Los Angeles, CA. The $2.4 billion freight rail expressway links the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach with transcontinental rail yards near downtown Los Angeles. It is the biggest public works project in southern California history. (Photo by David McNew/Getty Images)
Los Angeles Mayor Richard Riordan officially announces his re-election campaigns in the Studio City area of Los Angeles, Feb. 18, 1997. Riordan kicked off his re-election bid with a speech indicating that fighting crime will be his top issue. (AP Photo/Nick Ut)
Accompanied by California Department of Transportation workers and Los Angeles Mayor Dick Riordan, second from left, President Bill Clinton squats as he surveys a crater on Balboa Avenue in the Northridge area of the San Fernando Valley in Los Angeles on Wednesday, Jan. 19, 1994, caused by Monday’s earthquake in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Marcy Nighswander)
LOS ANGELES, UNITED STATES: Los Angeles Mayor-elect Richard Riordan raises his fist and shouts thanks to his supporters 08 June 1993 after he defeated opponent Michael Woo, a Democratic city councilman. In the nonpartisan runoff election, Riordan, a Republican businessman, took 54 percent of the vote. AFP PHOTO (Photo credit should read MIKE NELSON/AFP via Getty Images)
“Mayor Richard Riordan loved Los Angeles, and devoted so much of himself to bettering our City,” current Mayor Karen Bass said in a statement. “He always had a place in his heart for the children of LA, and worked to improve how the City served our youth and communities as a passionate member of the Los Angeles Board of Recreation and Park Commissioners.”
Riordan ran for governor in 2002 but was defeated by businessman Bill Simon in the GOP primary, despite Riordan having the backing of the White House. Democrat Gray Davis won the race but was recalled a year later; Riordan then served in the administration of Arnold Schwarzenegger, who won the race to replace Davis.
Riordan said hosting the convention, despite being a Republican, was his proudest moment.
“My first love is not being a Republican or a Democrat, for that matter, but being mayor of Los Angeles,” he told CNN in August 2000. “I love this city and having the Democrats here is good for Los Angeles.”
US Sen. Alex Padilla, a Democrat, recalled his time working with Riordan while on the Los Angeles City Council and said he prioritized the city’s children and the modernization of parks and libraries.
“His response to crisis earned Los Angeles national recognition, both in rebuilding after the devastating Northridge earthquake in 1994 and working with the U. S. Department of Justice to reform the Los Angeles Police Department and advance community policing efforts,” Padilla said in a statement Thursday.
“His legacy has left a lasting mark on our city, and his loss will be deeply felt by all Angelenos.”
