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Bill Rosendahl, who represented the Westside on the Los Angeles City Council for eight years, died early Wednesday morning after a four-year battle with cancer, according to a spokesman for Councilman Mike Bonin. He was 70.

Rosendahl, the first openly gay man elected to the council, served from 2005 to 2013. He was diagnosed with stage-four cancer in the summer of 2012, and retired the following year to battle the disease, said communications director David Graham-Caso, who confirmed Rosendahl's death in a statement.

The former councilman died at his home in Mar Vista, surrounded by friends and family, the Los Angeles Times reported.

"Gifted with a boundless sense of optimism, Rosendahl imagined a politics of endless possibility," Graham-Caso's statement said, "and was known by his signature exclamation: 'Great! Great! Great! Great!'"

After his death was announced, constituents and elected officials shared remembrances of Rosendahl on social media.

"Our city & world lost a great friend & giant of social justice, Bill Rosendahl," Mayor Eric Garcetti said on Twitter. "He had the biggest heart I know & I will miss him deeply."

Our city & world lost a great friend & giant of social justice, Bill Rosendahl. He had the biggest heart I know & I will miss him deeply. — Eric Garcetti (@ericgarcetti) March 30, 2016

"I got to kiss him goodbye and say I loved him," West Hollywood City Councilman John Duran tweeted. "RIP Bill Rosendahl - former LA councilman, my dear friend and colleague. Make God laugh!"

I got to kiss him goodbye and say I loved him. RIP Bill Rosendahl - former LA councilman, my dear friend and colleague. Make God laugh! — JohnDuran (@JohnDuran) March 30, 2016

Funeral and memorial arrangements are pending, but will include a Mass at St. Monica's Church in Santa Monica, and a memorial service at Mar Vista Park.

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to any of Rosendahl's favorite organizations helping the homeless, according to Graham-Caso: Safe Place for Youth; New Directions for Veterans; and the Jeff Griffith Youth Center at the Los Angeles Gay & Lesbian Center.

From all of us at City Hall, RIP @Bill_Rosendahl pic.twitter.com/DQXQsk8GEi — Herb J. Wesson, Jr. (@HerbJWesson) March 30, 2016

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