‘Noni’ a Mover and Shaker in Every Way

In the 1930s, Ernani Bernardi blew the sax with such swing era bands as Benny Goodman, Tommy Dorsey and Bob Crosby.

But after he became a Los Angeles city councilman in 1961, he spent most of his time blowing the whistle on waste in City Hall.

Cantankerous and independent, Bernardi, now 85, was the council’s longest-serving member when he retired in 1993 after 32 years in office, representing parts of the northeast San Fernando Valley.

Bernardi, a Van Nuys resident known simply as “Noni,” was legendary for his persistent criticism of most spending measures, particularly redevelopment projects, which he viewed as wasteful and corrupt.

His quarrelsome ways were also legendary. He once cast the sole vote against a lighthearted Christmas Eve resolution to let reindeer-drawn sleighs land on rooftops, complaining that the council should not “play jokes with ordinances.”

But he also fought hard on behalf of senior citizens, renters and the homeless. He sponsored major political reform laws, including one that forced City Hall lobbyists to disclose their clients and fees.

About six months after he retired, Bernardi’s biggest foe, the Community Redevelopment Agency, picked up a $5,000 tab to put Bernardi’s star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

Bernardi did not oppose the expenditure. But he also did not give up his fight against the CRA.

Two years later, he began hawking a videocassette of several big bands performing his favorite tunes to help finance a legal challenge against a downtown redevelopment project that he has battled for 20 years.