Mitch O'Farrell


Mitch O'Farrell is an American politician and member of the Los Angeles City Council representing the 13th district. O'Farrell was elected on May 21, 2013 to succeed outgoing incumbent Eric Garcetti, the 42nd Mayor of Los Angeles.
O'Farrell was raised in Moore, Oklahoma, a suburb south of Oklahoma City. He first moved to Los Angeles where he became a cruise ship dancer traveling the world and eventually ending up working as a dancer in a casino in the Bahamas. He eventually moved back to Los Angeles in the 1990s, settling in Glassell Park.
He became a community activist and started volunteering for his neighborhood. Eric Garcetti was running for City Council and he did some volunteer work for him. He was elected President of the Glassell Park Improvement Association and helped form the Neighborhood Council.
In 2002, he was hired by then-Councilmember Garcetti to work in his office. He stayed for ten years. He was a field deputy, then deputy director, then district director and then senior advisor.
O'Farrell is one of two currently serving, openly gay members of the Los Angeles City Council.