Mitch O'Farrell
O'Farrell in 2014
President of the Los Angeles City Council
Acting
October 10, 2022 – October 18, 2022
Preceded byNury Martinez
Succeeded byPaul Krekorian
President pro tempore of the Los Angeles City Council
In office
October 1, 2021 – October 25, 2022
Preceded byJoe Buscaino
Succeeded byCurren Price
Member of the Los Angeles City Council
from the 13th district
In office
July 1, 2013 – December 12, 2022
Preceded byEric Garcetti
Succeeded byHugo Soto-Martinez
Personal details
Born1960 (age 63–64)
Oklahoma, U.S.
Political partyDemocratic

Mitch O'Farrell (born 1960) is an American politician, who served as a member of the Los Angeles City Council for the 13th district from 2013 to 2022, during which he spent eight days as President of the City Council during the 2022 Los Angeles City Council scandal. A member of the Democratic Party, O'Farrell was the first Native American elected to the body, and was one of its two openly gay members until the end of his second term in 2022.[1]

Early life

Mitch O'Farrell was born in Oklahoma in 1960, and raised in the Oklahoma City suburb of Moore, Oklahoma. He grew up in a farming community. His mother was an administrative assistant and his father was a Teamster truck driver. O'Farrell is a member of the Wyandotte Nation, and is the first Native American to be elected to the Los Angeles City Council.[2][3]

Career

O'Farrell first moved to Los Angeles in 1982 for an audition. During the 1980s, he pursued a career in the arts and was a professional dancer and actor. He has lived in Glassell Park since 1992.

O’Farrell quickly became an active member of the Glassell Park and greater Los Angeles community. Most notably, he was elected President of the Glassell Park Improvement Association and helped form the Glassell Park Neighborhood Council. O’Farrell also served as president of the Northeast Democratic Club, and regularly volunteered at local non-profits including the Wildlife Waystation, Project Angel Food, and the Santa Cecilia Orchestra. In 2002, he was hired by then-Councilmember Garcetti to work in his office, where he remained for ten years. O'Farrell served as a field deputy, deputy director, district director, and finally as senior advisor.[4]

Los Angeles City Council (2013—2022)

Elections

O'Farrell (second from right) during a press conference in 2013.

2013

In 2013, O'Farrell ran for the City Council seat held by Garcetti, where he faced former Public Works Commissioner and labor activist John Choi. The contest between O'Farrell and Choi was noted for being unusually contentious.[5] During the campaign, Choi accusing O'Farrell of xenophobia during the contest over a campaign flier that included "a grainy picture of him above the words “not from our community.” O'Farrell responded by saying that "I didn’t like it anymore than you did, John" and noted it was from an independent group, but also noted that "[t]he fact is my opponent is new to the district... “I am the local candidate.”[6]

During the campaign, he was endorsed by many elected officials including Councilmembers Ed Reyes of the 1st district and Tom LaBonge of the 4th district.[7] After a tumultuous campaign, O'Farrell won in the runoff of the election, receiving 53.05% to John Choi's 46.94%.[8]

2017

O'Farrell was reelected with 59.26% of the vote (17,053 votes) in a wide-open contest.[9] During the campaign, O'Farrell was endorsed in his reelection bid by Mayor Eric Garcetti and local chambers of commerce, among other politicians and organizations. Coming in second place was challenger Sylvie Shane, a founding member of the LA Tenants Union, who received 15.07% of the vote.[10] Jessica Salans, who was endorsed by the Green Party and would later become chief of staff to Councilwoman Nithya Raman, came in a close third place.

2022

It was speculated that O'Farrell would receive a challenge from a progressive candidate in the 2022 election.[11] Police abolitionist Albert Corado, homelessness policy advisor Kate Pynoos, and UNITE HERE organizer Hugo Soto-Martinez challenged O'Farrell from the left; Sheriff's Deputy Steve Johnson also ran against O'Farrell.[12]

In October, O'Farrell became Acting President of the City Council for eight days following Nury Martinez's resignation in wake of the 2022 Los Angeles City Council controversy.[13]

O'Farrell conceded the 2022 election to Soto-Martinez on November 15.[14]

Tenure

O'Farrell with Lin-Manuel Miranda at the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

As the first Native American to serve on the Los Angeles City Council, O'Farrell has championed indigenous issues.[15] He proposed and successfully established the creation of Indigenous Peoples Day in Los Angeles,[16] and was endorsed by Chief Billy Friend of the Wyandotte Nation nearly a decade ago, during his 2013 City Council campaign.[17]

O'Farrell has been a supporter of expanding the City's housing stock, particularly of covenanted affordable housing. During his time in office, over 4,300 units of covenanted affordable housing were built in Council District 13.[18]

O'Farrell is described as having "spearheaded efforts to remove the camp" of homeless people at Echo Park Lake during a widely-publicized and controversial police-led action to sweep out the unhoused and temporarily close the historically popular city park towards the end of the COVID19 pandemic.[19] O'Farrell has been criticized for "not doing more to ensure the safety of those living in the encampment".[20] As head of the City Council's Homelessness and Poverty Committee, O'Farrell has spoken in favor of limiting which sidewalks homeless people would be allowed to sleep on.[21][22]

After removal of the encampment, O'Farrell's office significantly altered the layout and nature of Echo Park Lake, erecting an enormous security fence enclosing the previously wide-open community park, restricting access to a small number of specific discrete entrances, contracting private security to monitor the park, and adding surveillance cameras that cover "every inch of the park".[23]

Despite claims by O'Farrell's office that the unhoused residents would be placed into permanent supportive housing, today, out of the 200 or so residents who were swept from Echo Park Lake, only around 9 are in permanent housing. Several have since died, and many more have disappeared from official records.[24]

O'Farrell has focused on improving animal rights. O'Farrell notes that his work has led to the banning of coyote snare traps in Los Angeles, which he describes as "one of his proud accomplishments" in his official biography.[25]

Personal life

O'Farrell is openly gay. He resides with his partner George Brauckman in Glassell Park.[25]

Electoral history

2013

2013 Los Angeles City Council District 13 election[26][27]
Primary election
Candidate Votes  %
Mitch O'Farrell 3,535 18.44
John Choi 3,158 16.47
Sam Kbushyan 2,308 12.04
Josh Post 2,099 10.95
Alexander Cruz de Ocampo 2,012 10.50
Matt Szabo 1,440 7.51
Robert Negrete 1,400 7.30
Octavio Pescador 1,199 6.26
Jose Sigala 721 3.76
Emile Mack 672 3.51
Mike Schaefer 359 1.87
Roberto Haraldson 267 1.39
Total votes 19,170 100.00
General election
Mitch O'Farrell 13,940 52.75
John Choi 12,485 47.25
Total votes 26,425 100.00

2017

2017 Los Angeles City Council District 13 election[28]
Primary election
Candidate Votes  %
Mitch O'Farrell (incumbent) 17,053 59.26
Sylvie Shain 4,338 15.07
Jessica Salans 3,902 13.56
David de la Torre 1,534 5.33
Doug Haines 1,123 3.90
Bill Zide 829 2.88
Total votes 28,779 100.00

2022

2022 Los Angeles City Council District 13 election
Primary election
Candidate Votes  %
Hugo Soto-Martinez 19,196 40.63
Mitch O'Farrell (incumbent) 14,952 31.65
Kate Pynoos 7,371 15.60
Stephen Johnson 3,648 7.72
Albert Corado 2,081 4.40
Total votes 47,248 100.00
General election
Hugo Soto-Martinez 38,069 57.8
Mitch O'Farrell (incumbent) 27,797 42.2
Total votes 65,866 100.00

References

  1. ↑ Zahniser, David (November 15, 2022). "McOsker, Yaroslavsky, Soto-Martinez claim victory in their L.A. City Council races". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved November 15, 2022.
  2. ↑ "About Mitch".
  3. ↑ "L.A. City Councilman Wants To Establish 'Indigenous People's Day'". 14 November 2015.
  4. ↑ "Mitch O'Farrell: Cruise Ship Performer to City Council Candidate". Kcet.org. 25 October 2012. Retrieved 9 December 2017.
  5. ↑ "Choi and O'Farrell in contentious battle for council seat". Los Angeles Times. 2013-05-14. Retrieved 2021-03-27.
  6. ↑ "CD13 race: charges of xenophobic attacks". Southern California Public Radio. 2013-05-09. Retrieved 2021-03-27.
  7. ↑ "Mayor Endorses John Choi in Council District 13 Race". Echo Park-Silver Lake, CA Patch. 2013-03-29. Retrieved 2021-03-27.
  8. ↑ "Mitch O'Farrell Wins Council District 13 Runoff". Echo Park-Silver Lake, CA Patch. 2013-05-22. Retrieved 2021-03-27.
  9. ↑ Pesce, Anthony. "Full results from the 2017 L.A. primary". www.latimes.com. Retrieved 2022-09-28.
  10. ↑ Fuller, Elizabeth (2017-02-23). "March 7 Elections: City Council District 13". Larchmont Buzz - Hancock Park News. Retrieved 2021-03-27.
  11. ↑ "Will LA's Activist Left Take Over the Neighborhood Councils?". Knock LA. 2021-03-12. Retrieved 2021-03-28.
  12. ↑ Denkmann, Libby (27 March 2021). "Activists Blast City For Secretive And Heavy Handed Homeless Eviction At Echo Park Lake". LAist. Retrieved 2021-03-28.
  13. ↑ Yan, Cheri Mossburg,Holly (2022-10-12). "Acting LA City Council president pitches expansion and 'major reform' after former leader's racist comments". CNN. Retrieved 2022-10-12.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  14. ↑ He, Eric (15 November 2022). "LA Councilmember Mitch O'Farrell concedes to Hugo Soto-Martinez in 13th District race". Los Angeles Daily News. Retrieved 2023-01-16.
  15. ↑ "Mitch O'Farrell on Twitter".
  16. ↑ Service • •, City News. "LA Leaders Vote to Replace Columbus Day With Indigenous People's Day". NBC Los Angeles. Retrieved 2022-08-22.
  17. ↑ "Chief Friend writes letter of endorsement".
  18. ↑ "AFFORDABLE HOUSING | Councilmember Mitch O'Farrell - Council District 13". cd13.lacity.org. Retrieved 2022-09-24.
  19. ↑ ANTCZAK, JOHN (2021-03-26). "Cleanup underway after closure of Los Angeles homeless camp". Trumbull Times. Retrieved 2021-03-27.
  20. ↑ Ogilvie, -Jessica P. (25 March 2021). "Morning Brief: Echo Park Lake's Homeless Encampment, The San Andreas Fault, And Capirotada". LAist. Retrieved 2021-03-27.
  21. ↑ Butka, Tony. "What's Up with Mitch O'Farrell and His Homeless Committee Wiping Out the Homeless?". CityWatch Los Angeles. Retrieved 2021-03-27.
  22. ↑ "L.A. is again considering limits on where homeless people can sleep — this time by schools and parks". Los Angeles Times. 2019-08-23. Retrieved 2021-03-27.
  23. ↑ "Fencing and Private Security: Echo Park Lake Has Reopened, with Some Big Changes". 26 May 2021.
  24. ↑ "About 200 removed from Echo Park Lake, today very few are housed".
  25. 1 2 "Mitch | Mitch O'Farrell - Los Angeles City Council 13th District". cd13.lacity.org. Retrieved 2019-06-22.
  26. ↑ "Los Angeles City Council - District 13 - Primary Race - Mar 05, 2013". Our Campaigns. March 6, 2013.
  27. ↑ "Los Angeles City Council - District 13 Race - May 21, 2013". Our Campaign. December 5, 2014.
  28. ↑ "Consolidated Municipal and Special Elections, March 7". results.lavote.gov. Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk. March 20, 2017.
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