He was an arbitrator with the
Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service, deputy legislative counsel with the California State Legislature in 1961 and 1962, counselor to the Subcommittee on Education of the U.S. House of Representatives in 1962 and 1963, and special assistant to the general counsel of the
National Labor Relations Board in 1963 and 1964. He was then elected to the
Los Angeles City Council. Supported by Mayor
Sam Yorty, he won the runoff vote of May 25, 1965, by 37,291 to 12,201 and became the then-youngest member of the council at age 35. Wyman and her husband, former
Democratic National Committee member Eugene L. Wyman, sued Edelman for libel in 1965, claiming that his campaign had issued a brochure linking them with
organized crime and using political power for personal gain. They asked for $400,000, but in the end, settled out of court in 1970 after Edelman sent a $5,000 check to a scholarship fund at
Northwestern University. Edelman was reelected in 1969 over minor opposition, and in 1973 he would have faced opposition from actor and conservative Republican
William Lundigan, but the latter failed to turn in enough valid petition signatures, so the councilman went into that race unopposed.
Board of Supervisors Edelman was elected in the general election of November 1974 to the
Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors over his remaining opponent, fellow Councilman
John Ferraro. He was sworn into office on December 2 of that year, succeeding
Ernest E. Debs, a conservative Democrat and outspoken opponent of the
1960s counterculture among youth, who retired. Edelman led successful drives to establish several new departments and agencies, among them the Department of Children and Family Services, the Department of Consumer Affairs, and the Community Youth Gang Services agency. He has been recognized for his support of social services agencies dedicated to aiding the homeless, battered women, public transportation, abused children, the disabled and the mentally ill, people with AIDS, and those recovering from substance abuse. == Personal life ==