Political leaders in California are mourning the death of Nate Holden, a former Democratic state senator and Los Angeles city councilman. He was 95.
Holden, who was black, was born in Macon, Georgia in June 1929, during the segregation era. He became a "force to be reckoned with" in Los Angeles, according to L.A. County Supervisor Janice Hahn, who shared the news of his passing.
“Nate Holden was a legend here in Los Angeles,” Hahn said in a statement. “He was a lion in the State Senate and a force to be reckoned with on the Los Angeles City Council. I learned a lot sitting next to him in the chambers as a new Councilmember."
Holden was first elected to public office in the state senate, winning the seat in 1974 after time spent working for Hahn's father, former Los Angeles County Supervisor Kenneth Hahn.
In the Senate, Holden's major initiatives included writing the Housing Financial Discrimination Act, which prohibited financial institutions from discriminating based on race, religion, sex or marital status, and forcing public schools to recognize Martin Luther King Jr.'s birthday.
After leaving the job in 1978 to pursue a failed bid for U.S. Congress - his second attempt - Holden was eventually elected to the Los Angeles City Council in 1987, holding the job until 2003.
His tough, sometimes difficult personality won him praise from his mostly black constituents, who saw him as a neighborhood champion even as he rankled colleagues in government with his confrontational approach. He supported measures to combat crime and gang activity during the crime wave of the 80s and 90s, once provoking scowls from his fellow council members when he held a press conference to announce that he was giving up his $12,000 raise to the Los Angeles Police Department to boost foot patrols.
“They just want to keep the money,” Holden said of his colleagues at the time. “That’s their choice.”
The mayor of Los Angeles, Karen Bass, paid tribute to Holden, who has a performing arts center named after him in the Mid-City area.
“Nate Holden leaves behind a legacy of service and strength. Throughout his life, he put the South Los Angeles community front and center. As an organizer, I learned from the way he served, always working to ensure vital services were delivered directly to the residents he represented. For decades, he was a trusted advisor. My thoughts are with the Holden family during this difficult time. Flags in the City of Los Angeles will fly at half staff as our city mourns.”
After years out of the public eye, Holden came to national attention last year after President Trump recalled taking an unforgettable helicopter ride with former San Francisco Mayor Willie Brown. Holden said he, not Brown, was with Trump when the helicopter almost crashed.
"Willie is the short black guy living in San Francisco … I’m a tall black guy living in Los Angeles," Holden said. "I guess we all look alike.”
