Former LA Councilman Tom LaBonge, 'Mr. Los Angeles,' Has Died At 67

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By Emily Henderson and Libby Denkmann

Former L.A. City Councilman Tom LaBonge, known as "Mr. Los Angeles" for his knowledge of and love of the city, has died at age 67.

His death wasfirst reported late Thursday by ABC7.

"Nobody loved this city more than Tom LaBonge and I don't know if anyone ever will," L.A. County Supervisor Janice Hahn said of LaBonge in a tweet. "May my dear friend rest in peace."

LaBonge represented the 4th District from 2001 to 2015, when he was termed out. By then, he had worked for the city for nearly 40 years. Before running for office, he worked as a field representative or council aide to Councilmember Peggy Stevenson, Council President John Ferraro and Mayor Richard Riordan.

LaBonge was legendary, Hahn said of her former city council colleague, for rolling up his sleeves to help with problems large and small -- like clearing a blocked storm drain, pruning a tree or removing bulky trash from the curb.

He liked to hop on tour buses in Hollywood, grab the microphone to welcome everybody to Los Angeles and then guide them on his personal tour of city sights.

"I think if every elected official took a page out of the playbook of Tom LaBonge, there would not be one constituent who felt frustrated or disenfranchised," Hahn added.

LaBonge's greatest legacy may be Griffith Park, where he hiked every day and enthusiastically greeted tourists and locals making their way up dusty trails.

He was "the best friend Griffith Park ever had," said Griffith Observatory director Ed Krupp. LaBonge was instrumental in securing funding for the renovation and expansion of the Observatory through city and county ballot propositions, Krupp said.

"Without Tom, it wouldn't have happened," Krupp said. "He was always knitting one element of the community with another, finding points of intersection."

"Every single one of my neighbors in Silver Lake has a story about how Tom personally resolved an issue they were facing in their community," City Councilmember Nithya Raman said in a statement. Raman was elected to LaBonge's former council seat in November, and soon after, LaBonge dropped by with congratulations and one of his signature gifts: pumpkin breadbaked by cloistered nuns at the Monastery of the Angels in the Hollywood Hills.

"The example he set in running his office leading with his sincere love for the city and his love for Angelenos is one I've taken to heart, and one that my office hopes to emulate as we move forward," Raman added.

In a 2015 interview, LaBonge told our newsroom's John Rabe that he believed in serving at the local level.

"As a councilmember or a supervisor, you can do things for people, I mean really do things for people," he said when he was asked about why he'd never pursued state or national office.

"When I was serving the city, I wasn't writing legislation," he said. "You know, sometimes I get criticized, and they say I'm not a visionary. I'm an absolute visionary, and the vision comes from people, and how people feel about their city."

Former colleagues and longtime friends are sharing condolences on social media:

Listen to LaBonge's 2015 exit interview with KPCC's Off-Ramp

This story has been updated.