Longtime civic leader and urban visionary Rick Cole received a stirring sendoff last Wednesday ahead of his retirement as Los Angeles’ Chief Deputy Controller. One by one, members of the City Council praised Cole’s distinguished career in public service. The valediction coincided with a formal resolution honoring his decades of leadership in local government.
Cole is leaving to focus on his role as a Pasadena City Councilmember. He also plans to expand his teaching duties at Occidental College’s Urban Environmental Policy Institute and Pepperdine University’s School of Public Policy.
Cole was elected to Pasadena’s 2nd District in 2022. He previously served three terms on the Pasadena City Council between 1983 and 1995, including two years as mayor. Over the years, he has held top administrative roles as city manager in Azusa, Ventura, and Santa Monica. He also served as Senior Deputy to longtime Los Angeles Councilmember Richard Alatorre, and later as Deputy Mayor for Budget and Innovation under former Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti.
Wednesday’s resolution was introduced by Los Angeles City Councilmember Tim McOsker.
“Rick is the textbook example of what it means to be a public servant, a servant leader, someone who is critically and deeply involved into the workings of government,” McOsker said. “You’ve modernized budgeting and planning tools, you’ve put people back into the center of civic life.”
Councilmember Bob Blumenfield called Cole “a consistent transformer and a change maker.”
Curren Price described him as a “hero” and “a friend to justice and equality.”
As reported by Pasadena Now, public tributes were also given by City Controller Kenneth Mejia, Council President Marqueece Harris-Dawson, Councilmembers Monica Rodriguez, Nithya Raman, Katie Yaroslavsky, Adrin Nazarian, and others.
In his farewell remarks, Cole reflected on the city’s achievements and its creative spirit. But he also issued a prescient warning.
“I have never been more alarmed about our future,” he told the Council.
Cole cited the “converging crises” of housing and homelessness, a weakening economy, aging infrastructure, “and a federal administration literally at war with the government and the people of Los Angeles.”
To meet the challenges, he called for “a complete overhaul of city government” and “bold, systemic reform” of city operations.
“A world-class city deserves a world-class government. It’s time to redesign Los Angeles to work,” he said. Noting that “extraordinary times call for extraordinary leadership,” Cole urged the Council: “Carpe Diem! Seize the day!”