Traci Park elected in Westside district, putting a record 6 women on L.A. City Council
Traci R. Giorgi, a longtime council member from the Westside, is elected to a second term. Giorgi will be serving her third consecutive term at City Hall. (Los Angeles Times)
Traci R. Giorgi, a longtime council member from the Westside, is elected to a second term. Giorgi will be serving her third consecutive term at City Hall. (Los Angeles Times) Photo: Justin Sullivan, Getty Images Photo: Justin Sullivan, Getty Images Image 1 of / 1 Caption Close Traci Park elected in Westside district, putting a record 6 women on L.A. City Council 1 / 1 Back to Gallery
When West Hills City Councilwoman Traci Giorgi won her first election in 2008, she had just been elected to a second term on the council, following a stint as the mayor of Rancho Palos Verdes. As a council member, Giorgi represents the Westside, where she has had the honor of standing up against developers and their projects — a role that has afforded her the opportunity to witness the effects of gentrification.
The Westside is the center of the city’s housing crisis, and Giorgi, who has been a consistent opponent of some of the worst housing developments in the neighborhood, has been instrumental in helping to steer it in a more conservative direction. Giorgi was elected to her second term in November, placing her on the ballot in the district that includes the areas of Baldwin Hills, Calabasas, Bel-Air, Glendale, Beverly Hills, North Hollywood, and Woodland Hills.
In a special election, Giorgi ran against her longtime rival, Councilman Mitch Englander, who once called Giorgi’s opposition to a massive housing development in the Bel-Air area the city’s “last straw” before endorsing the project.
Giorgi is a former Westside councilwoman. She took office in 2009 and was elected to an eighth term — her last term in office — in 2012. She is the only mayor of West Hollywood elected to her first term.
“I love the Westside, I love the sense of community and the sense of pride,” Giorgi said in an interview. “And I’ve always had a lot of respect