Yaroslavsky Drops Title of Mayor as New County Chief

Mayor Richard Riordan can breathe a little easier now that he’s once again the only person in Los Angeles with that title.

For a month, Los Angeles had two mayors--one for the city and one for the county. But as of Monday, the city of Los Angeles has a mayor and the county does not, just the way things had been for 146 years. Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky at least temporarily retired the title of county mayor when he assumed the rotating job of heading the Board of Supervisors for the next year. Instead, he will use the old title of chairman of the board.

“The first thing that came to my mind was ‘Hail to the Chairman!’ ” said Noelia Rodriguez, Riordan’s spokeswoman. ‘It’s certainly good news for everybody: the mayor, the 3.5 million people who live in the city of Los Angeles who now know who their elected leader is, and for the rest of the country, so when they think of Los Angeles they can think of Dick Riordan as the No. 1 jefe [chief].

“Now we can get back to the business of polishing our throne here,” Rodriguez added.

Yaroslavsky never liked the idea and voted against it when it was approved by the board a month ago at the urging of then-Board Chairman Mike Antonovich, who got to hold the new title for a month.

“It is so infuriating and stupid to be debating this,” said Yaroslavsky. “It has heaped quite a bit of ridicule on the board as an institution, which was unnecessary. There are so many pressing issues that we face right now, from finance to health to the [Metropolitan Transportation Authority] to our own districts that to spend one minute of time arguing about a title just infuriates me, just as it infuriates members of the public. This is not what they sent us down here to deliberate on.”

County lawyers said Monday that Yaroslavsky may not have the right to unilaterally undo the change without a vote of the board. But the supervisor countered that the board decision to switch titles was illegal because such charter changes require a vote of the people. “It’s fuzzy,” one county counsel acknowledged.

Besides, Yaroslavsky said, “Anyone who wants to address me [as anything] other than Zev can call me whatever they want. I am called a lot of things. But ‘mayor’ should not be one of them.”

Yaroslavsky assumed his new duties without fanfare on a day in which pomp and circumstance reigned at the county Hall of Administration. Inauguration ceremonies were held for three of his colleagues, featuring color guards, famous singers and laudatory speeches.

But much of the fuss was behind the scenes, it seemed, over what the new head of the board would be called. Yaroslavsky said too much attention was being paid to the snit between some Riordan staffers and county officials over the use of the title of mayor.

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Heading the county supervisors is a mostly ceremonial job, requiring such things as meeting with foreign dignitaries, running the weekly meetings and performing other administrative duties.

Antonovich first proposed the change in October in a move that surprised some, amused others and irritated Riordan’s staff. Antonovich said few people outside the county appreciated the significance of the board chairman. His colleagues agreed, voting 3 to 2 to switch titles.

Antonovich changed the title on his office door and his business cards, stationery and the county’s Web site even though the title was going to be his for only a month.

Yaroslavsky insisted Monday that he will change all references back to “chairman,” even though some officials, such as Assessor Kenneth P. Hahn, say they believe “mayor” more reflects Yaroslavsky’s new rank.

“When we are out in Sacramento or Washington [lobbying], no one knows what board chairman means,” Hahn said.

Antonovich had no comment other than to say that Supervisor Yvonne Brathwaite Burke has told him she will resume using the title of mayor when it is her turn to head the board in a year. Burke could not be reached for comment.

During a day of inauguration ceremonies, Antonovich began his fifth term representing the 5th District, and Burke began her second full term. Don Knabe also was sworn in to replace his former boss, retiring Supervisor Deane Dana, in the 4th District.