Former L.A. City Councilwoman Joan Milke Flores dies

City News Service Dec 29, 2020

Joan Milke Flores, who represented the 15th District on the City Council from 1981 to 1993, died at her San Pedro home in mid-December due to complications of a bone marrow disorder, the Daily Breeze reported. She was 84.

“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 county Supervisor Janice Hahn, who represented the district for 10 years.

Flores graduated from Franklin High School in Highland Park, where she met her husband, Sam Flores, who later became a Los Angeles Police Department officer.

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.

She won reelection in 1985 and 1989, but was defeated by Rudy Scorinich in 1993.

www.theeastsiderla.com/news/news_briefs/former-l-a-city-councilwoman-joan-milke-flores-dies—was-highland-park-alum/article_d4999462-4a18-11eb-8357-83da6285f6f1.html