Name Edmund Edelman | ||
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Webtours summit valley edmund d edelman viewridge trail
Edmund D. Edelman (September 27, 1930 – September 12, 2016) was an American politician. He was a member of the Los Angeles City Council from 1965 to 1974 and the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors from 1975 to 1994. He was known as an "unabashed liberal" with strong Democratic Party support.
Contents
- Webtours summit valley edmund d edelman viewridge trail
- Biography
- Elections
- Positions
- Board of Supervisors
- Legacy
- Reports and publications
- References
Biography
Born in Los Angeles, Edelman attended Burnside Avenue Elementary School, Los Angeles High School and Beverly Hills High School. He grew up in a traditional Jewish family. Edelman was in the Navy in 1951 and 1952, after which he attended UCLA, where he graduated in 1954 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in political science. He earned a bachelor of laws degree at the same university in 1958.
He was an arbitrator with the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service, deputy legislative counsel with the California State Legislature in 1961-62, counselor to the Subcommittee on Education of the U.S. House of Representatives, 1962–63; and special assistant to the general counsel of the National Labor Relations Board, 1963–64, after which he served on the Los Angeles City Council.
He was married at age 37 to Mari Mayer, 25, of Beverly Hills in 1968. They had two daughters, Erica Nancy and Emily Rose. Edelman died on September 12, 2016.
Elections
See also List of Los Angeles municipal election returns, 1965 and after
In 1965, Los Angeles City Council District 5 stretched from Fairfax Avenue on the east to the San Diego Freeway on the west and from Bel-Air and Beverly Hills on the north to Washington Boulevard on the south. It included the communities of Westwood, Beverlywood, Pico-Robertson and Beverly-Fairfax.
Edelman engaged in a rough election race to unseat incumbent Councilwoman Rosalind Wyman in the 5th District. Supported by Mayor Sam Yorty, he won the runoff vote of May 25, 1965, by 37,291 to 12,201 and became the then-youngest member of the council at age 35. His residency had been unsuccessfully challenged in court on the grounds that he had lived in Washington, D.C., for 2½ years.
Wyman and her husband, former Democratic National Committee member Eugene L. Wyman, sued Edelman for libel in 1965, claiming that his campaign had issued a brochure linking them with organized crime and using political power for personal gain. They asked for $400,000, but in the end settled out of court in 1970 after Edelman sent a $5,000 check to a scholarship fund at Northwestern University.
Edelman was reelected in 1969 over minor opposition, and in 1973 he would have faced opposition from actor William Lundigan, but the latter failed to turn in enough valid petition signatures, so the councilman went into that race unopposed.
Positions
Board of Supervisors
Edelman was elected in the general election of November 1974 to the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors over his remaining opponent, fellow Councilman John Ferraro. He was sworn into office on December 2 of that year, succeeding Ernest E. Debs, who retired.
Edelman led successful drives to establish several new departments and agencies, among them the Department of Children and Family Services, the Department of Consumer Affairs and the Community Youth Gang Services agency. He has been recognized for his support of social services agencies dedicated to aiding the homeless, battered women, abused children, the disabled and the mentally ill, people with AIDS, and those recovering from substance abuse.
Legacy
Reports and publications
Building a New Vision for the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California: Options for Key Policy Decisions - 2000
(Full report - Rand)
Governance in a Changing Market: The Los Angeles Department of Water and Power - 2001
(Full report - Rand)
How Expensive are Unlimited Substance Abuse Benefits Under Managed Care?
(Full report - Rand)