Perry was elected to office in 2001 to succeed Councilwoman Rita Walters, whom she had served as chief of staff.

As part of a larger campaign to combat high obesity rates, Perry has also funded public parks to promote outdoor activity and supported incentives to encourage more grocery stores to open within her district.

[5] In 2022, Jan Perry ran for Congress in California's 37th congressional district to succeed Karen Bass, who was elected mayor of Los Angeles.

A 9-acre underutilized bus maintenance yard was developed into a South Los Angeles storm water wetlands and community park.

[6] The Los Angeles City Council voted to rename the park "The Jan Perry Wetlands" for her work with the project.