LOS ANGELES (CNS) – Former Los Angeles City Councilman and state Assembly member Richard Alatorre has died at age 81, city officials announced Tuesday.
Details of his death were unclear, but representatives for City Councilman Kevin de León’s office indicated that Alatorre may have been battling cancer. Councilwoman Monica Rodriguez announced Alatorre’s death during Tuesday’s council meeting.
Alatorre, who was born in Texas but raised in East Los Angeles, worked as an aide to Assemblyman Walter Karabian before winning election himself in 1972. He served in the Assembly until 1985, when he won a special election to represent the Los Angeles City Council’s 14th District.
His victory in that race was seen as a major boon to Los Angeles’ Latino community, since the council had not had a Latino member since the 1962 departure of Edward Roybal.
Alatorre remained on the council until 1999, including stints as chairman of the council’s Public Safety and Budget and Finance committees. He also served on the Los Angeles Regional Transportation Commission, which later evolved into the current county Metropolitan Transportation Authority, or Metro. He was the first MTA chairman, leading the charge for the creation of the Metro Gold Line and its extension into East Los Angeles.
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