Martin Maizel was a member of the Los Angeles City Council in the late-1990s and mid-2000s. He was "generally viewed as a consummate politician who made backroom promises and was beholden to big-money interests to the detriment of his own district." He served three terms as a Councilman until running against former LAPD Deputy Chief Irvin Irving in 2006. Despite Maizel's somewhat unsavory reputation, Harry Bosch supported him because he would do anything to prevent Irving from being elected.