Richard J. Loa, Mayor Pro Tem, City of Palmdale

Richard J. Loa was appointed to the Palmdale City Council on December 11, 2018, filling the District 2 vacancy created by Mayor Hofbauer’s election. He was named Mayor Pro Tem on December 3, 2019 and was elected to a full term as Councilmember on November 3, 2020, winning more than 59% of the vote in his district. He was named Mayor Pro Tem again on December 15, 2021. Loa was first elected to the Palmdale City Council in 2001, where he served his four-year term. After completing his term, he headed to Sacramento in 2005, where he served as Governor Schwarzenegger’s appointee to the Board of Prison Terms. He was then appointed by the Governor to serve as assistant director to the Housing and Community Development Department. While in Sacramento, Loa also served as staff counsel for the Department of Consumer Affairs, and as counsel for the Barbering and Cosmetology Board and the Fiduciaries Bureau.

Loa earned a Juris Doctor Law Degree from UCLA in 1976, and a Bachelor of Arts Degree from California State University Northridge in 1973. He was licensed to practice law in California in 1977. Loa returned home to Palmdale in 2010 and founded his law firm. He has also held a California real estate broker’s license since 1974 and has used it to help many families realize the dream of home-ownership in our local community.

Loa serves as a delegate on the Antelope Valley Transit Authority, second alternate for the League of California Cities Desert Mountain Division, delegate on the Los Angeles County Sanitation District No. 20, League’s Housing, Community and Economic Development policy committee, SCAG’s Aviation Technical Advisory Committee (ATAC), and alternate to the California State Prison Citizens Advisory Committee, US/Mexico Sister Cities Association and High Desert Corridor Joint Powers Authority. He has previously served as the Palmdale City Council delegate for the Antelope Valley Air Quality Management District, Antelope Valley Emergency Management Council, Antelope Valley Regional Anti-Crime Committee and U.S./Mexico Sister Cities Association.

Loa has a passion for community service. He is a founding officer of the Antelope Valley Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, where he currently serves as director. He is also the current vice president of the Palmdale Sheriff’s Boosters, member of the Knights of Columbus for St. Mary’s Church, director of Amigos De La Feria and member of the Friends of the Fair. Loa is also the parliamentarian for NAHREP, a real estate professional organization, and is a member Edwards Air Force Base support group CIV-MIL.

Of all of his titles and accomplishments, his most cherished are that of husband and father. He and Vera, his wife of 46 years, have been blessed with four children and five grandchildren.