Councilwoman Greuel Has Baby on 4th of July

Los Angeles Councilwoman Wendy Greuel delivered a baby boy Friday, the first sitting elected Los Angeles city official to give birth in 16 years.

Thomas Weston Schramm, weighing 7 pounds 2 ounces, was born to Greuel and her husband, Dean Schramm, just before midnight.

“She’s feeling great,” said Greuel spokeswoman Janelle Erickson.

The last elected L.A. official to give birth while in office was now-county Supervisor Gloria Molina, whose daughter, Valentina, was born in June 1987 when Molina was a newly elected councilwoman. About a week later, Molina returned to City Hall to cast a deciding vote on the council presidency.

Greuel, who represents the San Fernando Valley’s 2nd District, almost faced a similar situation.

Until a few weeks ago, she was contemplating challenging council President Alex Padilla for his position. However, her son was due last Monday and the vote to elect the next president was Tuesday.

Greuel dropped her candidacy, calling it a distraction from her other duties.

Padilla was reelected to his leadership post Tuesday with the unanimous backing of his council colleagues, including Greuel.

With the birth of her son, the councilwoman will take an undetermined amount of time off, returning to City Hall just for the thrice-weekly council meetings, Erickson said. Greuel will most likely return to her post full time after the council’s August recess.