SAN PEDRO : Riordan Tours Harbor Area With Councilman

Mayor Richard Riordan took his first official tour through the Harbor communities of Wilmington and San Pedro on Monday, joking that he thought he needed a visa to visit the southernmost region of the city.

The joke went over well, tapping into a widely held sentiment in the area that officials downtown do not know how to get to the Harbor--and do not return once they have been there.

Guided by City Councilman Rudy Svorinich, who represents the area, Riordan visited such well-known spots as Juanita’s Foods and the Banning Park Recreational Center in Wilmington; and in San Pedro, the Maritime Museum, Los Angeles Fish and Oyster Co., Harbor Division police station, Port of Los Angeles and the Dalmatian-American Club.

“I’ve been told there’s a tradition of Los Angeles mayors taking a thorough tour of the harbor area once every 15 years,” Riordan told 400 business and community leaders at the Dalmatian-American Club in San Pedro. “But Rudy has told me I’m in trouble if I do that.”