Richard Alarcón

Infobox Officeholder
name =Richard Alarcón

---

width =140
height =185
office =Member of Los Angeles City Council
from the 7^th district
term =1993 – 1998
2007 – present
state_senate3 =California
district3 =20^th
term_start3 =1998
term_end3 =2006
preceded3 =Herschel Rosenthal
succeeded3 =Alex Padilla
state_assembly2 =California
district2 =39^th
term_start2 =2006
term_end2 =2007
preceded2 =Cindy Montañez
succeeded2 =Felipe Fuentes
birth_date =
birth_place =
residence =Los Angeles, California
party =Democrat
spouse =
website =

Richard Alarcón is a California politician who is currently a Los Angeles City Councilman. A Democrat, he has previously served in the California State Senate and, for approximately three months, in the California State Assembly.

Born in San Fernando, California, Alarcón first served as an assistant to Los Angeles Mayor Tom Bradley before gaining a seat on the City Council to represent the 7th District in 1993. One year into his second term as a City Councilman, Alarcón resigned to become a State Senator in 1998, representing the 20th Senate district. Term limits prevented him from seeking a third Senate term in December 2006. Among Alarcón's accomplishments while in the California Senate were workers' compensation reform and recovery funding for the community of Northridge following the deadly earthquake of 1994. Alarcón served as Majority Whip during all eight of his years in the State Senate.

In 2005, Alarcón ran for mayor of Los Angeles. He finished a distant fifth, gaining less than 2% of the vote, behind Bernard Parks, Bob Hertzberg, incumbent James Hahn, and Antonio Villaraigosa. After serving as a state senator for 8 years, in 2006 Alarcón ran unopposed for California's 39th State Assembly district representing the San Fernando Valley area.

Shortly after taking office, Alarcón announced his intention to seek a third term in 2007 as Los Angeles City Councilman in the 7th district. In the special election, held in March, Alarcón won easily (receiving 55%). He resigned from the Assembly soon thereafter.

Richard Alarcón has four children who were educated in public schools in the San Fernando Valley. He is a former teacher. Alarcón lost a son to a fatal car accident.

He is a graduate of California State University, Northridge.

External links

* [http://www.lacity.org/council/cd7/ Official City Council website]
* [http://www.alarconforlacitycouncil7.com Official Campaign website]