They had three children—Miriam Eileen, Ralph Christian and Alvin or Alvind Carl—and lived in Los Angeles at 4308 Third Avenue in a Leimert Park area house he owned adjoining his church.

"[4] Rasmussen's predecessor, Howard W. Davis, had been the representative in the 7th almost continuously since 1927, but in February 1939, a grand jury, at the instigation of District Attorney Buron Fitts, voted 38 charges of misconduct against him.

[6] In the primary election the Tuesday after the court decision, Davis was eliminated from the field, placing third after Negro newspaper publisher Leon H. Washington Jr., first, and Rasmussen, second.

Rasmussen at first opposed an April 1941 proposal by Roy Hampton that "numerous complaints of Communistic activities by city employees have been made known to Councilmen, and that a fair and impartial investigation should be conducted."

In March 1942 he introduced a proposal making it unlawful to sell "patriotic emblems" like American flags which actually had been made in Japan unless express permission was given by the Social Service Commission.

They shook hands later in the same December 1942 meeting,[16] but McDonald nevertheless issued a press statement saying that: Councilman Rasmussen is well known for bringing personalities into an argument and making insulting remarks.

1943 He fought for a December 1943 resolution honoring Bill of Rights Week that would put the council on record as opposed to discrimination "against minority groups" and encouraging broadest "racial" unity.

Other members of the council objected to those two terms, and, after a two-hour debate, they were eventually deleted and the motion was adopted, 10–5, in opposition to any form of discrimination and in favor of general unity and tolerance.