Council’s Ferraro Undergoing Treatment for Cancer

Los Angeles City Council President John Ferraro disclosed to his colleagues Friday that he has cancer of the spleen and will work a lighter schedule when he begins chemotherapy next week.

“What’s strange about it is I feel well,” Ferraro said.

Doctors discovered the cancer in August, Ferraro said, and he has been undergoing another form of treatment. When that did not work, doctors scheduled chemotherapy. His treatments start on Monday.

In a letter to his colleagues, Ferraro, 75, told council members that he will rely on them to fill in for him in council and committee meetings.

“I may be working a lighter schedule at City Hall for a time,” Ferraro wrote.

Ferraro’s disclosure came just days after he joined Mayor Richard Riordan, Police Chief Bernard C. Parks and other city leaders to pledge support to the Police Commission as it investigates the unfolding Rampart scandal.

Even as he was preparing to undergo chemotherapy, he was shuttling to television interviews to discuss the Rampart situation.

Word of his illness quickly spread through City Hall, where Ferraro has held office since 1966.

“Mr. John Ferraro is a man of strength, grit and determination,” said Deputy Mayor Noelia Rodriguez. “We are confident he will get through this with the support of his friends at City Hall and throughout Los Angeles.”

Three weeks ago, Ferraro’s wife, Margaret Hart Ferraro, died after a long illness. The two had married in 1982 after dating for several years. Shortly after they wed, Margaret Ferraro suffered an aneurysm and a stroke that left her partially paralyzed.

Friends recalled numerous social functions at which the council president would stay at his wife’s side, walking slowly with her, rather than schmoozing in the halls. In recent years, Ferraro often arrived at council meetings appearing tired because he had sat up all night with his ailing wife.

“John has consistently displayed enormous courage,” said Councilman Mike Feuer. “He recently endured the death of his wife, whom he loved very much, while at the same time contending with a very serious illness. . . . I both admire and respect him.”