PHOTOS: NELA Honors Art Snyder

Eagle Rock City Hall was filled to capacity on Saturday, as friends, colleagues and constituents came out to honor the memory of former Los Angeles City Councilman Art Snyder. 

The event was capped-off with the meeting room of Eagle Rock City Hall being renamed the Arthur K. Snyder Community Room.

"Art was a master of politics; he understood the science," said Richard Zaldivar, a former field deputy for Snyder. "However, he was also a creative artist. He knew how to bring together all types of constituents."

Snyder represented Council District 14 from 1967 until 1985 before entering a career in lobbying. He died on November 7, 2012, having amassed countless friends and rivals along the way.

Former Council District 1 Representative Mike Hernandez, who served from 1997 until 2011, was one of such rival turned friend. 

He told the assembled audience that it was Snyder who first inspired him to run for office during a visit to Benjamin Franklin High School. Before launching his own city council run, Hernandez worked on unsuccessful campaigns to unseat Snyder.

"I was never on his side, but he was always on my side," Hernandez said. "He was always encouraging me."

Richard Alatorre, a former Los Angeles City Councilmember and California Assemblyman, said he learned a valuable lesson in his own failed effort to campaign against Snyder.

"He educated me," Alatorre said. "And the community educated about what they thought about Art Snyder."

Snyder left behind a checkered legacy. He was remembered for fighting ferociously for improved constituent services in Northeast Los Angeles, and not being afraid to bend the rules to do so.

"His motto was, 'our fair share in Northeast Los Angeles, plus one more,'" Zaldivar said.

Councilwoman Jan Perry Perry recalled a story of Snyder kicking a talkative lawyer in the shin during an executive meeting when she was a young City Hall staffer.

"He was direct," Perry said. "No fuss, no muss."

Snyder survived a recall attempt in 1972. He was charged with drunk driving in 1980, but a jury deadlocked during his trial, according to the Los Angeles Times. Three years later, he survived a runoff by just three votes.

"He was always the last man standing," noted Los Angeles County Supervisor Michael Antonovich, a longtime friend to Snyder.