Mike Bonin, New L.A. City Council Members Sworn In

by City News Service

The first openly gay official to be elected to a seat representing all of Los Angeles, a city attorney and six City Council members make up a slate of fresh faces set to assume office Monday following ceremonial swearings-in Sunday during Eric Garcetti's mayoral inauguration outside City Hall.

As they descended the steps of City Hall to take their places before hundreds of onlookers, the officials-to-be were accompanied by their spouses or partners. Among them were three gay couples that included City Controller-elect Ron Galperin and council members-elect Mitch O'Farrell and Mike Bonin.

Galperin's election makes him the first openly gay man to be elected by voters across Los Angeles. The two other citywide seats are the mayor's and the city attorney's.

Outgoing Councilman Bill Rosendahl is the first openly gay to be elected to represent a portion of the city.

After a swearing-in officiated by state Controller John Chiang, Galperin said as the official financial watchdog he will be a "truth teller" and "problem solver," making "entrepreneurial use of city assets" as well as transcending the "waste, fraud and abuse" focus of his office to "re-imagine and recreate city government."

He is also the only person sworn-in today who has had no prior elected office experience. A lawyer and businessman, Galperin held volunteer positions on two city commissions, a county commission and his local neighborhood council prior to getting elected.

New City Attorney Mike Feuer said in his speech that he was "lucky to be alive" after he was in a car crash last December. As for his goals, he wants to bring back a neighborhood prosecutor program, set up a gun violence division and making it safer for children in crime-ridden neighborhoods to walk to school.

Feuer left a post in the state Assembly before unseating City Attorney Carmen Trutanich, and is also a former councilman in Los Angeles.

A total of 11 officials, including Garcetti, were sworn in on a stage set up across Grand Park during an event that progressed quickly and wrapped up in under an hour.

Feuer's and Galperin's speeches were limited to three minutes, and the eight newly elected and re-elected council members took their oaths of office in unison.

The Los Angeles City Council, which debates and passes city laws and policies, will see a dramatic changeover following today's ceremonies, with six new people joining the 15-seat panel Monday.

Three of the new council members are former state legislators, two were council staff members while Felipe Fuentes was both an assemblyman and a council staff member.

Curren Price is leaving his seat in the state Senate to replace Jan Perry in the Ninth District, which includes portions of downtown and South Los Angeles. Former State Assembly member Bob Blumenfield succeeds Dennis Zine in representing the Third District in the West San Fernando Valley.

Gil Cedillo, who has held positions in the state Senate and Assembly, is the new First District council member, representing the Northeast Los Angeles area, succeeding Ed Reyes.

Fuentes, the former assemblyman, will represent the Seventh District in the Eastern San Fernando Valley, succeeding Richard Alarcon. Fuentes was chief of staff for Alarcon's predecessor, Alex Padilla.

O'Farrell will succeed Garcetti in representing the 13th District, which stretches from Hollywood to Glassell Park, where O'Farrell lives.

O'Farrell was a district field deputy on Garcetti's council staff.

Bonin, the longtime chief of staff for Rosendahl, will succeed him in representing the 11th District, which includes Brentwood, Pacific Palisades, Venice, Mar Vista and Westchester.

Alarcon, Garcetti, Perry, Reyes and Zine were barred from running for re- election because of term limits. Perry unsuccessfully ran for mayor while Zine was defeated in a bid for controller.

Rosendahl decided against seeking a third term for health reasons.

In addition to the newcomers, Joe Buscaino was sworn-in for his first full term representing the San Pedro to Watts 15th District and Paul Koretz was sworn-in for his second term representing West Los Angeles' Fifth District.