Joan Milke Flores, who represented the 15th District on the City Council from 1981 to 1993, was remembered Tuesday as “a trailblazer for women in politics in Los Angeles” by county Supervisor Janice Hahn.
“It’s hard to believe that she started her career as a clerk typist for the city and then worked her way up to eventually running for City Council and becoming the first woman to hold the office of councilmember for the 15th District,” said Hahn, who represented the district for 10 years.
“I followed in her footsteps when I was elected to that seat in 2001, and I credit her with opening doors for women in elective office,” Hahn said. “I plan to adjourn the next meeting of the Board of Supervisors in her memory.”
Flores died at her San Pedro home in mid-December due to complications of a bone marrow disorder, the Daily Breeze reported. She was 84.
She started out as a City Hall stenographer when she was 19 years old and soon worked her way up as an aide to Councilman John S. Gibson Jr., a job she held for 25 years. She became his chief deputy in 1968, and won his seat when he retired.
As chair of the Commerce and Natural Resources Committee, she introduced many policies aimed at conserving water, including gray water recycling. She also worked to bring a library and $10 million worth of public improvements to the Wilmington Industrial Park.
She won reelection in 1985 and 1989, but was defeated by Rudy Scorinich in 1993. The year before, she ran as a Republican in the 36th Congressional District, but lost the seat to Jane Harman.
She also unsuccessfully ran for California secretary of state in 1990.
“We will always remember Joan Milke Flores as the woman to represent the 15th Council District, and we will always remember her through the beautiful park named after her on Paseo Del Mar in San Pedro. May she rest in peace,” said Councilman Joe Buscaino, who has represented District 15 since 2012.
Flores was born in Sheboygan Falls, Wisconsin, and moved with her family to Los Angeles when she was 8 years old in the mid-1940s. She graduated from Franklin High School in Highland Park, where she met her husband, Sam Flores, who later became a Los Angeles Police Department officer. They had one daughter, named Valerie.
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