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Council honors Olivia Mitchell, names youth council after longtime city youth leader
Summary
The Los Angeles City Council recognized Olivia Mitchell’s 50 years of city service and celebrated the creation of the Olivia E. Mitchell Youth Council, honoring her work creating youth engagement programs dating to the Bradley administration.
The Los Angeles City Council on April 4 recognized Olivia Mitchell for more than 50 years of city service and celebrated the launch of the Olivia E. Mitchell Youth Council, a program councilmembers said will sustain her decades of youth outreach and civic-engagement work.
Councilmember Monica Rodriguez, who presented the honor, said Mitchell’s programs changed career paths for many Angelenos and credited Mitchell with creating hands-on civic opportunities for young people. “You groomed people to be elected officials. I did not. I taught them civics,” Rodriguez said, quoting Mitchell’s own description of her work.
The councilroom was filled with former participants and colleagues who traced Mitchell’s city work back to the Tom Bradley administration. Councilmembers described programs Mitchell established — Student Day in Government, Youth in Law Day and other youth councils — and said those early experiences had helped many pursue public service. Councilmember Imelda Padilla recalled joining the Los Angeles Youth Council at 15 and said Mitchell “became a mentor, a guide” who taught young people how government works.
Mitchell, who appeared at the chamber and spoke briefly, described arriving at City Hall in 1974 and building programs to bring young people into civic life. “I created all of these programs to bring kids to city hall,” she said. She thanked staff and colleagues and noted she planned to remain active in civic life after retirement.
Councilmembers also showed a video tribute and presented Mitchell with a 50-year service pin. Several elected officials and former city staffers who said they had been mentored by Mitchell joined the remarks, and the council used the presentation to announce that a youth council would bear her name moving forward.
The recognition did not include a formal city ordinance or funding commitment recorded in the meeting minutes. Councilmembers framed the action as ceremonial recognition and as formalizing a youth council name established by prior motion and city action.
