The life of former Los Angeles Mayor Rick Riordan, a dedicated leader and longtime businessman who demanded a mere $1 salary for his service to the city, will be celebrated during a memorial Mass on Friday, April 28.
The service will take place at 2 p.m. at the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels in downtown Los Angeles and be live streamed at youtube.com/olacathedral. Archbishop José H. Gomez will preside over the service, with the homily set to be delivered by Monsignor Lloyd Torgerson, the pastor at St. Monica Catholic Church, where Riordan was a parishoner.
Riordan died on April 20. He was 91.
News of his death was met by an outpouring of grief from Angelenos who recalled with great gratitude how he helped rebuild the city and reunite its people in the wake of the devastating Northridge earthquake and Rodney King riots.
“Mayor Riordan was a devoted public servant, a generous philanthropist, a wise civic leader, and a fine Christian gentleman, who worked hard to make life better for those he served, especially for the poorest Angelenos,” Gomez said in a statement after Riordan’s death. “I could always count on his advice and counsel and was always encouraged by his enthusiasm and optimism for the Church’s mission. He will be missed.”
Riordan shocked many when at age 63 he swerved from a career in law and private equity to run for mayor. Once elected, in 1993, he turned down the accompanying six-figure salary and went on to serve for a full eight years.
He received praise for his no-nonsense attitude toward the business of City Hall, running it more like an efficient firm than a lumbering bureaucracy.
“His leadership style was, ‘get things done,’” said Councilmember Monica Rodriguez. “He allowed everybody the freedom to do what we needed to do to make the city work. He was interested in moving things along expeditiously and not making excuses.”
Riordan is the only Republican to hold the non-partisan position since 1961. After…
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