Dennis Phillip Zine (born August 1, 1947) is an American politician, who served on the

Los Angeles City Council The Los Angeles City Council is the legislative body of the Los Angeles, City of Los Angeles in California. The council is composed of 15 members elected from single-member districts for four-year terms. The President of the Los Angeles City Counc ...

for the 3rd district from 2001 to 2013. A member of the Republican Party who later became unaffiliated in 2011, Zine was elected to City Council in 2001 and re-elected in 2005 and 2009.

Early life

He grew up in Hollywood,

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

, the son of Lebanese immigrants. His father, Phillip, was a gardener and his mother, Alice, was a homemaker. He attended Notre Dame High School, class of 1966. He attended

Cal State Los Angeles Cal or CAL may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Cal'' (novel), a 1983 novel by Bernard MacLaverty * "Cal" (short story), a science fiction short story by Isaac Asimov * ''Cal'' (1984 film), an Irish drama starring John Lynch and Helen Mir ...

, graduating in 1970.

Career

Los Angeles Police Department

Zine was a police officer with the

Los Angeles Police Department The Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD), officially known as the City of Los Angeles Police Department, is the municipal police department of Los Angeles, California. With 9,974 police officers and 3,000 civilian staff, it is the third-large ...

for over 28 years. Councilman Zine is a former

sergeant and a current reserve officer. He worked Valley Traffic Detail and served as liaison for Deputy Chief Mark Kroeker in the aftermath of the 1992 riots. He was honored as officer of the year by the California Highway Patrol. He has been elected three times to the Board of Directors of the Police Protective League, representing the 9,100 rank and file officers.

Civic engagement

Councilman Zine is a past president and active member of The Executives, a support group of Los Angeles Jewish Health (formerly Los Angeles Jewish Home). For over 10 years he has been an active member of

Mothers Against Drunk Driving Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) is a non-profit organization in the United States, Canada and Brazil that seeks to stop drunk driving, support those affected by drunk driving, prevent underage drinking, and strive for stricter impaired drivi ...

and has served on the Board of Directors of Haven Hills Battered Women's Shelter. Zine was first elected to public office in 1997 to represent

San Fernando Valley The San Fernando Valley, known locally as the Valley, is an urbanized valley in Los Angeles County, California. Located to the north of the Los Angeles Basin, it contains a large portion of the City of Los Angeles, as well as unincorporated ar ...

interests on the Charter Reform Commission. In this capacity, he served as Vice Chairman. Zine expanded his government service role as the President of the Independent Cities Association (ICA); as the City's representative with the

National League of Cities The National League of Cities (NLC) is an advocacy organization in the United States that represents the country's 19,495 cities, towns, and villages along with 49 state municipal leagues. Created in 1924, it has evolved into a leading membership ...

, serving as a member of the Board of Directors and the Chair of the National Immigration Task Force; and as a member of the

League of California Cities The League of California Cities is an association of cities within the state of California, founded in 1898. Most of the state's 482 cities are represented in the league. The League publishes ''Western City'', a monthly magazine, and holds an annu ...

Board of Directors. He was also a member of the Los Angeles County Judicial Procedures Commission.

Los Angeles City Council (2001–2013)

Elections

Zine was elected to represent the 3rd District of the Los Angeles City Council in 2001. He was re-elected in 2005 and 2009, but city

term limit A term limit is a legal restriction that limits the number of terms an officeholder may serve in a particular elected office. When term limits are found in presidential and semi-presidential systems they act as a method of curbing the potenti ...

s prevented him running for a fourth term.

Tenure

In February 2008, Zine proposed an anti-

paparazzi Paparazzi (, ; ; singular: masculine paparazzo or feminine paparazza) are independent photographers who take pictures of high-profile people; such as actors, musicians, athletes, politicians, and other celebrities, typically while subjects ...

"Personal Safety Law" for

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

to ensure a safety zone for celebrities against photographers. The measure was in direct response to several incidents in which celebrities were hindered from entering medical facilities or caught in pursuits with paparazzi. Zine was one of two Republican Party members of the City Council until he changed his registration to

Decline to State Decline to State (DTS) was an affiliation designation on the California voter registration form that allows voters to register to vote without choosing a party affiliation. It is similar to what in other states would be called declaring oneself as ...

in 2011. The

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the Un ...

reported "He said he did so because he's tired of the 'gridlock' of partisan politics and because his liberal positions on gay marriage and other social issues are out of line with traditional Republican views."

Post-Council career

2013 Los Angeles City Controller election

Zine announced his candidacy for the position of

Los Angeles City Controller The Los Angeles City Controller is an official in the government of the city of Los Angeles, California. The City Controller is the paymaster and chief accounting officer of the city. Along with the Mayor and the City Attorney, the City Controller ...

in July 2011, following his City Council predecessor, Laura N. Chick, who served as City Controller from 2001 to 2009. In a primary election field of six candidates, Zine placed second, trailing Ron Galperin, an attorney and businessman who had run for elected City offices unsuccessfully in the past. In 2018 Zine started and two weeks later halted a campaign for State Assembly in a Special Election to replace Matt Dababneh in California Assembly District 45. "I will be announcing shortly a great opportunity that has come my way at the professional level, and I would like to thank my supporters, especially those from the 3rd Los Angeles Council District," Zine said in a two-paragraph statement quoted by the Daily News. Zine garnered 7.7% of the vote.

Personal life

Zine is divorced with two sons. Zine was criticized during his time on the Los Angeles City Council for failing to recuse himself from votes that conflicted with his romantic relationship with lobbyist Veronica Becerra.

References

External links

Statement Regarding South Central Farm Incident

"Dog Food Prank Burns LA Fire Chief", CBS Newsl

"Personal Safety Law" proposal
{{DEFAULTSORT:Zine, Dennis 1947 births Living people American politicians of Lebanese descent Los Angeles City Council members Los Angeles Police Department officers San Fernando Valley 21st-century American politicians California State University, Los Angeles alumni