Zev Yaroslavsky spent forty consecutive years in elected office in Los Angeles — a run that, thanks to term limits, no local politician will ever match again. And it began with a race he probably wasn't supposed to win. At just 25 years old, Zev ran for Los Angeles City Council and defeated not one, but two formidable opponents: Mayor Tom Bradley's handpicked candidate and former Councilmember Roz Wyman. He announced that campaign at Canter's Deli — which is exactly where we sat down, nearly half a century later, to talk about everything that followed. In this episode, Zev takes us through four decades at City Hall and on the L.A. County Board of Supervisors, including that unlikely first campaign, the 1984 Olympics, the long fight to bring rail transit to the Westside, and what it was like helping govern Los Angeles through some of the most consequential periods in its modern history. But this isn't just a tour through a political résumé. It's the story of someone who entered public life remarkably young, stayed there remarkably long, and remained deeply rooted in the city he represented. How rooted? After forty years in office and a lifetime in Los Angeles, Zev still lives within eight blocks of his childhood home.
Zev Yaroslavsky spent forty consecutive years in elected office in Los Angeles — a run that, thanks to term limits, no local politician will ever match again.
And it began with a race he probably wasn't supposed to win.
At just 25 years old, Zev ran for Los Angeles City Council and defeated not one, but two formidable opponents: Mayor Tom Bradley's handpicked candidate and former Councilmember Roz Wyman. He announced that campaign at Canter's Deli — which is exactly where we sat down, nearly half a century later, to talk about everything that followed.
In this episode, Zev takes us through four decades at City Hall and on the L.A. County Board of Supervisors, including that unlikely first campaign, the 1984 Olympics, the long fight to bring rail transit to the Westside, and what it was like helping govern Los Angeles through some of the most consequential periods in its modern history.
But this isn't just a tour through a political résumé. It's the story of someone who entered public life remarkably young, stayed there remarkably long, and remained deeply rooted in the city he represented.
How rooted? After forty years in office and a lifetime in Los Angeles, Zev still lives within eight blocks of his childhood home.