5th District City Council

Providing what is being viewed as the most significant endorsement of the race, Mayor Richard Riordan is throwing his support behind Barbara Yaroslavsky in the race to fill the vacant 5th District City Council seat, sources said Monday. The endorsement by the Republican mayor is expected to provide Yaroslavsky with a major boost in her efforts to win the seat left vacant when her husband, Zev Yaroslavsky, resigned to take a post on the County Board of Supervisors.

Meet Avak Keotahian. It's OK if you do not immediately recognize the name. Until last week, Keotahian was just another obscure bureaucrat plying his trade at Los Angeles City Hall. These days, he still is an obscure bureaucrat, but one with a big--and controversial--responsibility. A City Hall bit player for 17 years, Keotahian, 46, took over Monday as day-to-day caretaker of the council district vacated when Zev Yaroslavsky left the post and moved to the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors.