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Riordan, Richard
1930 - Born in Flushing, New York on the 1st of May.
1956 - He then served in the Korean War, and earned his Juris Doctor degree from the University of Michigan.
1985 - His successes were the first company to produce low-cost cassette tapes, as well as a $650,000 investment in Convergent Technologies which soared to $19.9 million when it was acquired by Unisys.
1980 - He formed a venture capital firm called Riordan, Lewis & Haden with a J. Christopher Lewis, a former professional tennis player, and former Los Angeles Rams quarterback Pat Haden.
1981 - Created The Riordan Foundation with the goal of enabling people to acquire the skills necessary to compete successfully in society.
1984 - Was also involved in several leveraged buyouts of supermarket chains and, most notably, toy manufacturer Mattel.
1993 - When Los Angeles Mayor Tom Bradley announced his retirement, his interest turned to the mayoral election.
1997 - He was reelected in a landslide against California State Senator Tom Hayden.
1999 - He backed a City Charter reform that curtailed the ability of members of the City Council to block reforms.
2001 - He was succeeded by James K. Hahn after being term-limited out of office; in fact, he enacted term limits into law while mayor.
- He endorsed his friend and advisor Steve Soboroff in the primary and Antonio Villaraigosa in the general election.
2002 - A moderate Republican called a "Republican In Name Only" by some, decided to seek the governorship.
2005 - He endorsed Schwarzenegger, and, following his victory, served on his transition team, and was appointed to the cabinet as Secretary of Education.
- Left the position on the 30th of June.
- He backed former State Assembly Speaker Robert Hertzberg in the primary and Antonio Villaraigosa in the general election. In both races, he chose not to endorse James Hahn.
1956 - He then served in the Korean War, and earned his Juris Doctor degree from the University of Michigan.
1985 - His successes were the first company to produce low-cost cassette tapes, as well as a $650,000 investment in Convergent Technologies which soared to $19.9 million when it was acquired by Unisys.
1980 - He formed a venture capital firm called Riordan, Lewis & Haden with a J. Christopher Lewis, a former professional tennis player, and former Los Angeles Rams quarterback Pat Haden.
1981 - Created The Riordan Foundation with the goal of enabling people to acquire the skills necessary to compete successfully in society.
1984 - Was also involved in several leveraged buyouts of supermarket chains and, most notably, toy manufacturer Mattel.
1993 - When Los Angeles Mayor Tom Bradley announced his retirement, his interest turned to the mayoral election.
1997 - He was reelected in a landslide against California State Senator Tom Hayden.
1999 - He backed a City Charter reform that curtailed the ability of members of the City Council to block reforms.
2001 - He was succeeded by James K. Hahn after being term-limited out of office; in fact, he enacted term limits into law while mayor.
- He endorsed his friend and advisor Steve Soboroff in the primary and Antonio Villaraigosa in the general election.
2002 - A moderate Republican called a "Republican In Name Only" by some, decided to seek the governorship.
2005 - He endorsed Schwarzenegger, and, following his victory, served on his transition team, and was appointed to the cabinet as Secretary of Education.
- Left the position on the 30th of June.
- He backed former State Assembly Speaker Robert Hertzberg in the primary and Antonio Villaraigosa in the general election. In both races, he chose not to endorse James Hahn.
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