Jan C. Perry (born June 8, 1955) is an American politician from California. A member of the

Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to: *Democratic Party (United States) Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to: Active parties Africa *Botswana Democratic Party *Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea *Gabonese Democratic Party *Demo ...

, she served on the

Los Angeles City Council The Los Angeles City Council is the legislative body of the 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 council and the president pro tem ...

Career

Perry was a member of the ninth district of the

from 2001 to 2013 and was President Pro Tempore of the Los Angeles City Council. She is a member of the

. She was a candidate for Mayor of Los Angeles in

2013 File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fa ...

. Perry was elected to office in 2001 to succeed Councilwoman

Rita Walters Rita Dolores Walters (née White; August 14, 1930 – February 17, 2020) was an American politician. Political career Walters served on the Board of Library Commissioners for the Los Angeles Public Library. Prior to this position, she served on t ...

, for whom she had served as Chief of Staff. Perry was re-elected in 2005 and 2009, and left office in 2013. Perry helped enact restrictions on fast food restaurants in her district. As part of a larger campaign to combat high

obesity Obesity is a medical condition, sometimes considered a disease, in which excess body fat has accumulated to such an extent that it may negatively affect health. People are classified as obese when their body mass index (BMI)—a person's ...

rates, she has also funded

public parks A park is an area of natural, semi-natural or planted space set aside for human enjoyment and recreation or for the protection of wildlife or natural habitats. Urban parks are green spaces set aside for recreation inside towns and cities. ...

to promote outdoor activity and supported incentives to encourage more

grocery stores A grocery store ( AE), grocery shop ( BE) or simply grocery is a store that primarily retails a general range of food products, which may be fresh or packaged. In everyday U.S. usage, however, "grocery store" is a synonym for supermarket, a ...

to open within her district. Jan Perry was the General Manager of the Los Angeles Economic & Workforce Development Department (EWDD) of the City of Los Angeles. Initially appointed as Interim General Manager of the Los Angeles Economic & Workforce Development Department (EWDD) in July 2013 by Los Angeles Mayor

Eric Garcetti Eric Michael Garcetti (born February 4, 1971) is an American politician who served as the 42nd mayor of Los Angeles from 2013 until 2022. A member of the Democratic Party, he was first elected in the 2013 election, and reelected in 2017. A fo ...

, her former rival. She was named General Manager in November 2013. She stepped down at the end of 2018. In 2022, Jan Perry ran for Congress in California's 37th congressional district to succeed

Karen Bass Karen Ruth Bass (; born October 3, 1953) is an American politician, social worker and former physician assistant who is serving as the 43rd mayor of Los Angeles since 2022. A member of the Democratic Party, Bass had previously served in the U.S ...

, who ran for Mayor of Los Angeles. She was defeated by Sydney Kamlager.

Jan Perry Wetlands

A 9-acre underutilized bus maintenance yard was developed into a South Los Angeles storm water wetlands and community park. The

voted to rename the park "The Jan Perry Wetlands" for her work with the project. The project includes storm water pre-treatment, storm water treatment wetlands of approximately 4 acres, open park space, and a parking lot sloped to drain into the wetlands. The project also provides for wildlife viewing, and educational opportunities. The project was completed in December, 2011. The project is funded by Los Angeles Proposition "O", 2004 Bond Measure, State and local grant money and funds from the EPA and the Metropolitan Transportation Authority were also used.

Personal life

Perry is a

convert Conversion or convert may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * "Conversion" (''Doctor Who'' audio), an episode of the audio drama ''Cyberman'' * "Conversion" (''Stargate Atlantis''), an episode of the television series * "The Conversion" ...

to Judaism. She converted in the 1980s.The Jewish Journal: "Jan Perry’s quest: Spirituality, pursuit of L.A.‘s well-being" By Bill Boyarsky
July 25, 2012

References

External links

Jan Perry for Congress
campaign website

(archived) , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Perry, Jan 1955 births 20th-century African-American people 20th-century African-American women 21st-century African-American politicians 21st-century African-American women 21st-century American Jews 21st-century American politicians 21st-century American women politicians African-American city council members in California African-American Jews African-American women in politics California Democrats Candidates in the 2022 United States House of Representatives elections Converts to Judaism Jewish American people in California politics Living people Los Angeles City Council members University of Southern California alumni Women city councillors in California