In this era, when political vulgarity is de rigueur, it is hard to imagine there was a time when political discourse could be intelligent, gentlemanly and classy. Well, there was such a time, and it was personified by former Los Angeles County Supervisor and City Councilman Ed Edelman who passed away after a long illness this week at the age of 85.
Ed served on the Los Angeles City Council from 1965-74, and on the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors from 1974-1994. His legacies are many in both bodies, and his fingerprints are on many significant achievements which continue to pay dividends today. At a time when AIDS was ravaging the nation some 30 or more years ago, few public agencies responded with the urgency that the epidemic demanded. However, under the visionary and deft stewardship of Ed Edelman, Los Angeles County became one of the first major urban governments to step up to the challenge.
When there was no central department responsible for addressing the needs of abused and neglected children, Edelman led the effort to create the county’s Department of Children and Family Services. For the first time, one agency was responsible for everything from a child’s welfare at home, to foster care, to adoptions. He was also the visionary behind the establishment of the Children’s Court that bears his name, creating an embracing environment for children who through no fault of their own found themselves in dependency court.
Ed was a strong advocate of the arts. He launched what became a 20 year upgrade of the Hollywood Bowl and was the political force behind securing the site for the construction of the Walt Disney Concert Hall. He played the cello and funded Sunday night broadcasts of chamber music on KUSC long after he retired from public life. The County Museum of Art and other cultural institutions benefited from his political and financial support.
As the region grew, so did its traffic congestion problems. Ed teamed up with Mayor Tom Bradley in starting to build the subway and light rail system we increasingly enjoy today. He was an influential member of the County Transportation Commission and its successor agency, the M.T.A.
He was ahead of his time in addressing the mental health needs of our community. Long before it was comfortable for politicians to openly discuss mental health, Ed did. Community based mental health clinics and other services expanded on his watch. He also took on the cause of the homeless as local governments in the county searched for a solution to their growing numbers.
There are many projects for which Ed was responsible that we all take for granted. Westwood Park was made possible by Ed’s idea to swap a city-owned parcel in downtown for a large parcel of federal land behind the Westwood federal building, now the regional park. Santa Monica Boulevard between Beverly Hills and the 405 is a broad roadway/parkway today because of Ed’s negotiating skills that resulted in the purchase of an old railroad right of way from the Southern Pacific Railroad Company. We have Ed to thank for a wilderness park in Topanga Canyon that otherwise would have been another destructive mountain subdivision. And the beat goes on.
Above all, Ed Edelman was a man of great personal, professional and political integrity. His example is a model for all political figures to follow. His lasting legacy is the manner in which he conducted himself as a public official. He led through inspiration, not intimidation. He never berated a bureaucrat or constituent. I can’t recall a time when he raised his voice, either privately or publicly. Whether it was in a political campaign, a policy debate in the halls of government, or a private negotiation Ed treated his adversaries as well as his friends with the same respect he would have wanted to be treated himself.
It was my honor and good fortune to follow in Ed’s footsteps in both the city and county. Los Angeles has lost a giant of an elected official and one of L.A.’s most significant and important public servants. His legacy is assured for generations to come.
Zev Yaroslavsky is Director of the L.A. Initiative at UCLA’s Luskin School of Public Affairs and the Department of History, and former member of the County Board of Supervisors and the City Council.
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