John Ferraro (May 14, 1924 – April 17, 2001) was an American politician and businessman who was a Democratic member of the Los Angeles City Council from 1966 until his death in 2001, the longest tenure of any member in the city's history. Before politics, he was an insurance broker, and had been an all-American football player at the University of Southern California.

Biography

Parents and education

Ferraro was born May 14, 1924, in the working class suburb of Cudahy, California, just south of Los Angeles, "the youngest son of a family of eight children 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.

Military service

Ferraro enlisted in the U.S. Navy during World War II and was commissioned as an ensign in 1945. earning him the nickname "Big John."

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. widely known as exotic dancer 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.

Illness and death

Ferraro was diagnosed with cancer of the spleen 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.

Public service

Police commission

He entered government service in 1953, when Mayor Norris Poulson appointed him to the city Police Commission, where he served for thirteen years. 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. 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,

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.

Presidency

Ferraro's election as City Council president in 1977 to replace John Gibson 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." 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.

Activities

Ferraro was noted for "spearheading the refurbishment of the Los Angeles Zoo", 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." 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%.

Honors

Ferraro was elected to the board of the National League of Cities 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.

For his contribution to sports in Los Angeles, he was honored with a Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum "Court of Honor" plaque by the Coliseum commissioners.

Legacy

thumb|right|The John Ferraro Building in Downtown Los Angeles

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.

  • About his USC football days: "I was a tackle. Sure, we never got any glory, no headlines, and that's been my philosophy."