Richard Joseph Riordan (born May 1, 1930) is an American investment banker, businessman, lawyer, and former Republican politician who was the 39th Mayor of Los Angeles, from 1993 to 2001. Born in New York City and raised in New Rochelle, New York, he served in the United States Army during the Korean War before becoming a lawyer and investor in Los Angeles, eventually specialising in private equity. In 1993, he was elected mayor of Los Angeles and was re-elected in 1997. He ran unsuccessfully for Governor of California in the 2002 California gubernatorial election, losing the Republican primary. After leaving politics, he continued to work in business. , he is the most recent Republican to have been mayor of Los Angeles. Early life, education, and career Riordan, an Irish-American, was born in Flushing, Queens, and raised in New Rochelle, New York. He graduated with an A.B. in philosophy from Princeton University in 1952 after completing a senior thesis titled "A Study of the Thomistic Faculty Psychology." He then received a J.D. from Michigan Law School in 1956. He moved to Los Angeles to begin work as an attorney for the downtown law firm of O'Melveny & Myers in 1956, leaving in 1959 to become a partner of Nossaman LLP; he was a founding partner of the law firm Riordan & McKinzie in 1975. In 1982, he was a founder of the private equity firm Riordan, Lewis & Haden. Mayor of Los Angeles When Los Angeles Mayor Tom Bradley announced his retirement, Riordan's interest turned to the 1993 mayoral election. On election day, Riordan won, 54%–46%, becoming the first Republican mayor in over 36 years. Many of his proposals were blocked by the heavily Democratic City Council or proved simply unfeasible in reality; for example, the police academy did not have enough classroom space and instructors to train as many new police officers as Riordan had initially promised. He streamlined certain business regulations and established "one-stop" centers around the city for functions such as permit applications. He feuded with police chief Daryl Gates' successor, former Philadelphia police commissioner Willie Williams, but oversaw a general decline in crime. (In 1997, Riordan replaced Williams with LAPD veteran Bernard Parks.) That year, he was re-elected against California State Senator Tom Hayden. Riordan's tenure was marked by a controversy over the massive cost overruns occurring during the construction of the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation