Bill Rosendahl

Los Angeles City Councilman Bill Rosendahl on Tuesday attended his first meeting since beginning cancer treatment six weeks ago, declaring he intends to seek a third four-year term in next year's election. Using a walker and looking more gaunt than he did when he last appeared at City Hall in July, Rosendahl was welcomed with a standing ovation before divulging that he has had "13 hits of radiation" and two chemotherapy treatments. The 67-year-old Rosendahl thanked his constituents, various politicians and left-leaning public figures, including actor/director Warren Beatty and U.S. Rep. Dennis J. Kucinich (D-Ohio)

Bill Rosendahl lifts his walker over the threshold and carries it into the grow room before anyone in his entourage - press secretary, pot shop owner, pot consultant and bud tender - can rush over to help. Even after 13 hits of radiation and seven rounds of combination chemo, Rosendahl moves steadily, straight as a poplar, past 2-foot-high cannabis plants labeled Hindu Skunk and Humboldt O.G. And, he says, Herbalcure, the Westside pot dispensary we're touring, is responsible for his vigor.

Los Angeles City Councilman Bill Rosendahl envisions a Westside crisscrossed by light-rail lines that would lure commuters off crowded streets and freeways. But those projects would take years and cost millions of dollars. So he is also offering what he called "relatively easy" solutions -- including dozens of left-turn signals and synchronizing traffic lights at 165 intersections -- to reduce traffic congestion in his district.

Robert Kennedy was a young Bill Rosendahl's hope for the White House, but Kennedy's rival, Hubert Humphrey, practiced the "happy warrior" style of politics that represents the principles Rosendahl has embraced. As he leaves the Los Angeles City Council after two terms, his eight years in office (and a diagnosis of cancer, now in remission) have not extinguished Rosendahl's cheerfulness, but they have given his warrior side an instruction booklet. He's crusaded for gay rights, for better care for the homeless and his fellow veterans, for mass transit.

There was a rabbi, a priest and a shaman, an Irish band, Japanese martial-arts-style drummers, Tongan dancers, a guy dressed like a strawberry and, just down the boardwalk, a place to have your palm read, your name written on a grain of rice and a dragon tattooed on your arm. Los Angeles' newest council member, Bill Rosendahl, played host to an inauguration ceremony in Venice on Saturday as eclectic as the 11th District he represents.

In an era when voter turnout is plunging and public cynicism toward the political process grows deeper with each passing election, Bill Rosendahl is filling a near-vacuum in local television.

Bill Rosendahl and Flora Gil Krisiloff can spend as much as they want in their campaigns for the Westside seat on the Los Angeles City Council. The limit was lifted after supporters of Rosendahl topped $50,000 in independent spending on his behalf, according to the city Ethics Commission. Rosendahl has received $76,013 in such help and Krisiloff $12,274. Rosendahl supporters include former Los Angeles Mayor Richard Riordan. Krisiloff has support from the Southwest Regional Council of

Having closely followed the three candidates for the 11th Los Angeles City Council District, I have to wonder if the authors of "A Voice for the Westside" (editorial, Feb. 15) were speaking about the same Bill Rosendahl that I met. To say that he is bombastic, divisive and ill informed is a complete distortion of the facts. Rosendahl speaks in a language that is plain and easily understood, bringing Democrats, Republicans, independents and other parties together to address the urgent issues and challenges now facing Los Angeles.

Re "Style Rather Than Issues Divides Rivals for Westside Council Seat," May 11: Your headline has it wrong. Issues, not style, divide the rivals for the 11th District City Council seat. Read the candidates' comments closely. Flora Gil Krisiloff argues that "growth here comes from our children, the result is we're going to grow here. We need to put in the infrastructure so that we can do that. We need leaders to help us grow and change." Bill Rosendahl argues that "no development should be approved until they prove they can mitigate traffic."

Until now, the race for the Los Angeles City Council in the 11th District has been a genteel affair with little disagreement or negative campaigning. That changed Thursday when Flora Gil Krisiloff accused one of her two opponents, Bill Rosendahl, of conducting a whisper campaign that she was anti-gay in an effort to "galvanize the gay community" for his candidacy. The accusation came on the heels of two attack mailers that Krisiloff launched against Rosendahl earlier in the week.

When Los Angeles City Councilman Bill Rosendahl decided in October to retire and focus on battling cancer, he anointed Mike Bonin, his longtime chief of staff, as his preferred successor. The March 5 primary election now seems Bonin's to lose. Of four candidates seeking to represent Council District 11 - which includes Brentwood, Mar Vista, Venice and Westchester - Bonin has raised the most money ($380,000, including matching funds, more than four times the amount amassed by his nearest rival)

Bone-chilling fog swirled along Venice Beach one recent afternoon when Robert and Nani Valencia and Ana Maria Reyes stopped by the long, metal storage container beside the sand. After they showed IDs and claim checks, a volunteer wheeled out two blue recycling bins in which the three recent arrivals from Texas had stashed their suitcases. They pulled out toiletries, sweaters and blankets and stuffed them into reusable grocery bags. "It makes us feel a lot better to store our things here," said Nani Valencia, 37. "When you have all your [suitcases]

Two City Council members on Wednesday demanded to know why the city's airport commission approved almost $4 million in contracts for a public relations campaign to highlight the ongoing modernization of Los Angeles International Airport. Dennis Zine, a candidate for city controller, and Bill Rosendahl, whose district includes LAX, called for a council review of the three contracts, which were awarded without discussion by the Board of Airport Commissioners last week to companies that are not based in Los Angeles.

Los Angeles Councilman Bill Rosendahl came to City Hall Tuesday to formally announce that he will not seek reelection to a third term as he battles cancer. He burned some political bridges while he was at it. In a wide-ranging council meeting speech, the famously candid politician complained about a variety of public figures who have disappointed him over the years. He disparaged President Obama for continuing to wage a war overseas and complained about two California members of Congress - Sen. Dianne Feinstein and Rep. Henry Waxman - who he said haven't done enough to provide housing for homeless veterans.

Los Angeles City Councilman Bill Rosendahl on Tuesday attended his first meeting since beginning cancer treatment six weeks ago, declaring he intends to seek a third four-year term in next year's election. Using a walker and looking more gaunt than he did when he last appeared at City Hall in July, Rosendahl was welcomed with a standing ovation before divulging that he has had "13 hits of radiation" and two chemotherapy treatments. The 67-year-old Rosendahl thanked his constituents, various politicians and left-leaning public figures, including actor/director Warren Beatty and U.S. Rep. Dennis J. Kucinich (D-Ohio)

Three Los Angeles City Council members voiced alarm Wednesday that a proposed study of broken sidewalks could take three years, saying they want a faster and cheaper plan for getting their arms around the problem. Councilmen Eric Garcetti, Bill Rosendahl and Joe Buscaino called for the Bureau of Street Services to "go back to the drawing board" on a proposed field survey of an estimated $1.5 billion in damaged sidewalks. They said they want a less costly approach than the proposed survey, which officials have predicted would cost "well over $10 million.

The two candidates for the Westside seat on the Los Angeles City Council touted key endorsements Wednesday as they tried to build support for the May 17 runoff election. In Westchester, Bill Rosendahl received the backing of Angela Reddock, who finished third in the March 8 election. Earlier in the day, in downtown Los Angeles, Flora Gil Krisiloff received the endorsement of Los Angeles County Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky, whose photo had already appeared on some of her mailers.

Candidates for the Westside seat on the Los Angeles City Council spent their final day on the stump Monday trading barbs over the massive Playa Vista housing project, which has become symbolic in a campaign largely about development and traffic.

Medical marijuana advocates suffered a bruising political setback last week, watching helplessly as the Los Angeles City Council moved to shut down hundreds of pot shops. But pot dispensaries have quietly made headway on another City Hall front: mobilizing campaign cash for their key allies. Over the past year, dispensaries and their supporters have given more than $16,000 to the re-election campaigns of two Westside councilmen who opposed the pot shop ban, according to a Times review.