Los Angeles's 5th City Council district explained

State:Los Angeles
District:5
Chamber:City Council
Representative:Katy Young Yaroslavsky
Party:Democratic
Residence:South Carthay
Population:280,176
Population Year:2020
Registered:167,884
Registered Year:2017
Percent White:68.1
Percent Asian:13.3
Percent Hispanic:11.2
Percent Black:3.1
Percent Other Race:0.3

Los Angeles's 5th City Council district is one of the fifteen districts in the Los Angeles City Council. It is currently represented by Democrat Katy Young Yaroslavsky since 2022 after winning an election to succeed Paul Koretz, who termed out.

The district was created in 1925 after a new city charter was passed, which replaced the former "at large" voting system for a nine-member council with a district system with a 15-member council. The original district was mapped at its origin in 1925 in the West Adams district of Los Angeles, but over the years its boundaries have been shifted west and north in keeping with the city's population changes.

Geography

The district covers all or a portion of Bel Air, Beverly Crest, Beverly Grove, Beverlywood, Carthay Circle, Century City, Cheviot Hills, Fairfax District, Holmby Hills, Melrose, Palms, Pico-Robertson, Westwood, Westside Village, and Encino.[1]

The district overlaps California's 32nd, 36th, and 37th congressional districts, California's 24th and 28th State Senate district, and California's 42nd, 51st, 52nd, 55th, and 61st State Assembly districts.

Historical boundaries

The district was proceeded by the fifth ward, which was established in 1878 and added three seats to the Los Angeles Common Council, alongside the fourth ward. It encompassed the southern and western parts of the city.[2] [3] The district was obsolete when the at-large district was first established in 1889.

In 1889, the ward was re-established as a single-member ward, as part of the passing of the 1888 charter. It elected one member through a plurality vote before the ward became obsolete when the at-large district was re-established again in 1909.[4]

In 1925, the district was created and originally encompassed the West Adams area, bounded on the north by Washington Boulevard, on the south by Exposition Boulevard, on the west by Robertson Boulevard and on the east approximately by Vermont Avenue.[5] [6] By 1933, it was bounded on the east by Vermont avenue, on the north by Wilshire Boulevard, on the west by La Brea avenue and on the south by Exposition Boulevard.[7] [8]

By 1937, it was bounded "on the east by Western to Pico, by Hobart to Washington, and by Vermont to Exposition and on the west by Crenshaw and Rimpau."[9] In 1940, it was bounded on the north by Wilshire Boulevard, on the east by Western or Vermont, on the south by Exposition Boulevard, on the west by Arlington, Crenshaw and minor streets.[10] By 1957, it was part of the Wilshire Boulevard area, extending to Westwood and West Los Angeles.[11] In 1965, it ran from Fairfax Avenue to the San Diego Freeway and from Bel-Air and Beverly Hills south to Washington Boulevard.[12]

List of members representing the district

1878–1889

DatesCouncilmembers
CouncilmemberPartyElectoral historyCouncilmemberPartyElectoral historyCouncilmemberPartyElectoral history
Multi-member ward created 1878.
nowrap December 5, 1878 –
December 5, 1879

Nathan R. Vail
DemocraticElected in 1878.
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William B. Lawlor
DemocraticElected in 1878.
Re-elected in 1879.

James G. McDonald
DemocraticElected in 1878.
Re-elected in 1879.
Re-elected in 1880.
nowrap December 5, 1879 –
December 11, 1880

John P. Moran
DemocraticElected in 1879.
Re-elected in 1880.
Re-elected in 1881.
Re-elected in 1882.
nowrap December 11, 1880 –
December 10, 1881

Walter S. Moore
RepublicanElected in 1880.
Re-elected in 1881.
Re-elected in 1882.
Re-elected in 1883.
Retired.
nowrap December 10, 1881 –
December 9, 1882
<-- Do not use placeholder images per WP:IPH -->
Otto G. Weyse
DemocraticElected in 1881.
Re-elected in 1882.
nowrap December 9, 1882 –
December 8, 1883
nowrap December 8, 1883 –
December 9, 1884
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Daniel M. McGarry
DemocraticElected in 1883.
Re-elected in 1884.
<-- Do not use placeholder images per WP:IPH -->
John B. Niles
RepublicanElected in 1883.
Re-elected in 1884.
Resigned.
nowrap rowspan=2December 9, 1884 –
December 10, 1885
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Hiram Sinsabaugh
RepublicanElected in 1884.
Re-elected in 1885.
Lost re-election.
nowrap colspan=3Vacant
nowrap December 10, 1885 –
December 13, 1886
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Cyrus Willard
DemocraticElected in 1885.
Re-elected in 1886.

Jacob Frankenfield
RepublicanElected in 1885.
Re-elected in 1886.
Lost re-election.
nowrap December 13, 1886 –
December 12, 1887
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Horace Hiller
RepublicanElected in 1886.
Re-elected in 1887.
Lost re-election.
nowrap December 12, 1887 –
December 10, 1888

A. W. Barrett
DemocraticElected in 1887.
Re-elected in 1888.
Redistricted to the
single-member ward
and lost re-election.
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Hiram Sinsabaugh
RepublicanElected in 1887.
Re-elected in 1888.
Redistricted to the
single-member ward
and lost renomination.
nowrap December 10, 1888 –
February 21, 1889
align=left
Austin C. Shafer
RepublicannowrapElected in 1888.
Redistricted to the
single-member ward.
Multi-member ward eliminated February 21, 1889.

1889–1909

CouncilmemberPartyDatesElectoral history
Single-member ward established February 25, 1889
align=left
Austin C. Shafer
Republicannowrap February 25, 1889 –
December 5, 1890
Redistricted from the multi-member ward
and re-elected in 1889.
align=left
John Q. Tufts
Republicannowrap December 5, 1890 –
December 12, 1892
Elected in 1890.
Retired to run for Mayor.
align=left
Freeman G. Teed
Republicannowrap December 12, 1892 –
December 13, 1896
Elected in 1892.
Re-elected in 1894.
align=left
Charles H. Toll
Republicannowrap December 16, 1896 –
December 12, 1900
Elected in 1896.
Re-elected in 1898.
align=left
William M. Bowen
Republicannowrap December 12, 1900 –
December 8, 1904
Elected in 1900.
Re-elected in 1902.
align=left
George A. Smith
Republicannowrap December 8, 1904 –
December 13, 1906
Elected in 1904.
Retired to run for Mayor.
align=left
Albert J. Wallace
Republicannowrap December 13, 1906 –
December 10, 1909
Elected in 1906.
Retired to run for
Lieutenant Governor of California.
Single-member ward eliminated December 10, 1909

1925–present

CouncilmemberPartyDatesElectoral history
District established July 1, 1925
align=left
Robert S. Sparks
Republicannowrap July 1, 1925 –
June 30, 1927
Elected in 1925.
Lost re-election.

Virgil A. Martin
RepublicanJuly 1, 1927 –
June 30, 1931
Elected in 1927.
Lost re-election.
align=left
Roy Donley
Democraticnowrap July 1, 1931 –
June 30, 1933
Elected in 1931.
Lost re-election.
align=left
Byron B. Brainard
Independentnowrap July 1, 1933 –
June 30, 1939
Elected in 1933.
Re-elected in 1937.
Lost re-election.
align=left
Arthur E. Briggs
Democraticnowrap July 1, 1939 –
June 30, 1941
Elected in 1939.
Lost re-election.

Ira J. McDonald
Democraticnowrap July 1, 1941 –
June 30, 1945
Elected in 1941.
Re-elected in 1943.
Retired to run for Mayor.

George P. Cronk
Republicannowrap July 1, 1945 –
June 30, 1953
Elected in 1945.
Re-elected in 1947.
Re-elected in 1949.
Re-elected in 1951.
Retired.

Rosalind W. Wyman
Democraticnowrap July 1, 1953 –
June 30, 1965
Elected in 1953.
Re-elected in 1955.
Re-elected in 1957.
Re-elected in 1961.
Lost re-election.

Edmund D. Edelman
Democraticnowrap July 1, 1965 –
December 1, 1974
Elected in 1965.
Re-elected in 1969.
Re-elected in 1973.
Resigned when elected to the
L.A. County Board of Supervisors.
Vacantnowrap December 1, 1974 –
July 1, 1975

Zev Yaroslavsky
Democraticnowrap July 1, 1975 –
December 1, 1994
Elected in 1975.
Re-elected in 1977.
Re-elected in 1981.
Re-elected in 1985.
Re-elected in 1989.
Re-elected in 1993.
Resigned when elected to the
L.A. County Board of Supervisors.
Vacantnowrap December 1, 1994 –
July 1, 1995
Assistant Chief Legislative Analyst Avak Keotahian
appointed as caretaker until next election.[13]

Mike Feuer
Democraticnowrap July 1, 1995 –
June 30, 2001
Elected in 1995.
Re-elected in 1997.
Retired to run for City Attorney.

Jack Weiss
Democraticnowrap July 1, 2001 –
June 30, 2009
Elected in 2001.
Re-elected in 2005.
Retired to run for City Attorney.

Paul Koretz
Democraticnowrap July 1, 2009 –
December 12, 2022
Elected in 2009.
Re-elected in 2013.
Re-elected in 2017.
Termed out and ran for City Controller.

Katy Y. Yaroslavsky
Democraticnowrap December 12, 2022 –
present
Elected in 2022.

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: LA City Council In 2023: Your Guide To Who's Who (And What They Do). Hernández, Caitlin. November 18, 2022. LAist.
  2. Web site: The Ward Boundaries.. November 12, 1878. Los Angeles Herald.
  3. Web site: The Black Pioneers of Los Angeles County: The Counting of African Americans in the 1880 Federal Census. February 22, 2021. Homestead Museum. "In the city’s First Ward including the northern part of downtown, [...].".
  4. The Road to Reform: Los Angeles' Municipal Elections of 1909: Part II. University of California Press. 86. 4. 325–368. Stevens, Mark H.. Southern California Quarterly . May 8, 2024 . 10.2307/41172235 . 41172235 .
  5. https://search.proquest.com/docview/161720218 "First Map Showing City Council's Districts," Los Angeles Times, January 16, 1925, page 1
  6. https://search.proquest.com/docview/161759966 "Here Are the Hundred and Twelve Aspirants for the City's Fifteen Councilmanic Seats," Los Angeles Times, May 3, 1925, page 7
  7. https://search.proquest.com/docview/163109975 "District Lines Get Approval," Los Angeles Times, December 24, 1932, page 2
  8. https://search.proquest.com/docview/163102835 "City Reapportionment Measure Gets Approval," Los Angeles Times, January 19, 1933
  9. https://search.proquest.com/docview/164642106 "New Council Zones Defined," Los Angeles Times, January 7, 1937, page A-18
  10. https://search.proquest.com/docview/165123125 "Proposed New Alignment for City Voting Precincts" (with map), Los Angeles Times, November 30, 1940, page A-3
  11. https://search.proquest.com/docview/167071588 "Mrs. Wyman Given Edge in 5th Council District," Los Angeles Times, March 27, 1957, page 18
  12. https://search.proquest.com/docview/155133070 Richard Bergholz, "Seven in Council Seek Re-Election," Los Angeles Times, March 29, 1965, page 3
  13. Web site: From Obscurity to Caretaker of 5th District : City Council: A coalition is urging appointment of a permanent member--who can vote--to replace Yaroslavsky. However, some say that is contrary to recent precedent.. Schwada, John. December 11, 1994. Los Angeles Times.