Lindsay became Los Angeles's first black council member at the age of 62 when, with the backing of the political Hahn brothers—Gordon and Kenneth—he was appointed to a vacant 9th District Council seat in January 1963 after Ed Roybal won election to Congress. He won election in his own right later in the year and was reelected to eight successive terms. As the years passed, he proclaimed himself the "Emperor of the Great 9th District." Lindsay's term of 27 years was surpassed only by those of John S. Gibson, Jr. (30 years), Marvin Braude, 31 years, Ernani Bernardi (32 years) and John Ferraro (35 years).