The Mayor – Richard Riordan visits Manhattan Beach to introduce his memoir
“The Mayor” by Richard Riordan, mayor of Los Angeles from 1993-2001, is released on September 30 with an author event at Pages in Manhattan Beach.
Richard “Dick” Riordan is a listener.
It’s not the first character trait you’d expect from a man who has excelled in venture capitalism and politics. But the former Los Angeles mayor owes and attributes much of his success to the axiom, “Listen first, talk later.”
Interviews are no exception. As soon as Riordan picked up the line for our phone interview, I was answering questions. He wanted to know where I grew up, what schools I attended, what my parents did for a living, if I was married. None of his questions came across as vetting me as his interviewer. The man is just curious.
Riordan, 84, has just completed a memoir of sorts entitled “The Mayor: How I Turned Around Los Angeles after Riots, an Earthquake and the O.J. Simpson Murder Trial.” In it, he chronicles the challenges he faced in his tenure as Los Angeles mayor from 1993 to 2001 and the skills he learned before his mayoralty that helped him take action. The book is not just a political and personal history; it seeks to empower young minds with lessons hard learned. Curiosity is one of those lessons.
“I was teaching UCLA business school when I started writing the book,” Riordan said. “I thought I had pretty good knowledge of what it takes and what people must learn to be leaders.”
The first draft of the book was a failure. It was too boring, Riordan said. So he ditched his writing partner and began working with Patrick Range McDonald, a former staff writer for L.A. Weekly whose work Riordan admired.
“It was lucky because the editor of the L.A. Weekly, Jill Stewart, is a close friend of mine,” he said. “The two reasons I liked McDonald were his skills as an investigative journalist and that he is gay.”
Riordan is the only Republican elected as mayor of Los Angeles in the last 40 years. He is also pro-choice and a strong supporter of gay rights and immigration freedoms. He was elected in 1993, in the wake of the Rodney King beating and ensuing riots. Months after he took office, the Northridge earthquake hit. Poverty and gang violence ravaged neighborhoods. Riordan felt like Los Angeles was his to rebuild.
“[Ronald] Reagan told me early on in my campaign that when you give a speech you need to make people care about you and let them know that you care about them,” he said. “Caring about everybody and learning from everyone’s stories is one of the most important things I’ve learned.”
To Riordan, Reagan was an advisor, a friend and a consummate leader. But the mayor’s political ties have never been restricted by party. During Bill Clinton’s eight years in the White House, Riordan was L.A. mayor for all but six months. The two became important allies, and now President Clinton has written the foreword for Riordan’s book.
“The Mayor,” in its final form, is far from boring. With McDonald’s help, Riordan weaves the story of his professional, political and philanthropic life into personal, and at times painful, stories about personal loss, disappointment and grief, including the death of two children. The book closes with an outline of axioms, aphorisms and other lessons Riordan has learned and taught over the years.
He says that, of all his axioms, the hardest is sense of humor; he’s not sure you can teach that. But spend twenty minutes on the phone with Riordan and you will have no doubt he has it.
Riordan also lives by the motto of “relentless pursuit of goals,” the phrasing of which he borrowed from friend and Manhattan Beach author Donna Foote.
“I’m just as busy now as I ever was, I think,” he said, speaking of his investments, foundations, projects and teaching career. “I’m in my eighth year teaching at UCLA and they gave me something like tenure – they froze me in.”
“I may shock them when I am 102 and still making them respect my tenure,” he said, laughing.
Former Los Angeles Mayor Richard Riordan will be at Pages Bookstore in Manhattan Beach on Tuesday September 30 at 7 p.m. to sign copies of his book, which is released that day. You can pre-order online or purchase “The Mayor” at the time of the event. Pages says RSVP’s or pre-purchases are recommended. Call (310) 318-0900 or info@pagesabookstore.com for more information.