Not to be confused with George W. C. Baker

George W. C. Baker

Not to be confused with Earle D. Baker, Los Angeles City Council member, 1951–59.George Washington Conrad Baker , known as George W.C. Baker, was a member of the Los Angeles, California, City Council from 1931 to 1935....

, Los Angeles City Council member, 1931–35.
Earle D. Baker (ca. 1888–1987) was a prominent Hollywood food broker who was a member of the Los Angeles City Board of Education from 1949 to 1951 and of the Los Angeles City Council from 1951 until 1959.

Biography

Baker was born on September 28, 1887, in Iantha, Missouri

Iantha, Missouri

Iantha is an unincorporated community in Barton County, Missouri. It is located six miles west of Lamar. The community was founded in 1881. The name Iantha is of classic origin, the daughter of Oceanus and Tethys. In modern times she appears in Sir William Davenant's "The Siege of Rhodes" and in...

, the son of William Calvin Baker of Ohio and Laura Laidlaw Baker of Canada. He was brought to California in 1901 and attended San Francisco

San Francisco, California

San Francisco , officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the financial, cultural, and transportation center of the San Francisco Bay Area, a region of 7.15 million people which includes San Jose and Oakland...

 public schools as well as the University of California

University of California, Berkeley

The University of California, Berkeley , is a teaching and research university established in 1868 and located in Berkeley, California, USA...

 in Berkeley. He was married to Edna I. Harrison of Kansas City, Kansas

Kansas City, Kansas

Kansas City is the third-largest city in the state of Kansas and is the county seat of Wyandotte County. It is a suburb of Kansas City, Missouri, and is the third largest city in the Kansas City Metropolitan Area. The city is part of a consolidated city-county government known as the "Unified...

, on September 4, 1912. They had two children, Calvin Harrison Baker and Adele Baker Hart, and lived at 6818 Odin Street and at 2200 Fairfield Avenue in the Hollywood Hills

Hollywood Hills

The Hollywood Hills is an affluent and exclusive neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, in the southeastern Santa Monica Mountains. It is bound by Laurel Canyon Boulevard to the west, Vermont Avenue to the east, Mulholland Drive to the north, and Sunset Boulevard to the south.-Hollywood Hills...

.
One of his first positions was that of secretary to the San Fernando Fruit Exchange. In 1930 he began a food brokerage business, Baker Brokerage Company, later known as Baker-Bishop-King, Inc. He retired in 1947, but after his council service ended in 1959 he worked for a savings and loan association

Savings and loan association

A savings and loan association , also known as a thrift, is a financial institution that specializes in accepting savings deposits and making mortgage and other loans...

. He was a Methodist and a Republican.

Baker died July 15, 1969, at the age of 81 in Laguna Beach, California

Laguna Beach, California

Laguna Beach is a seaside resort city and artist community located in southern Orange County, California, United States, approximately southwest of the county seat of Santa Ana...

. Services were held at Laguna Hills United Methodist Church, and burial followed at Grand View Memorial Park Cemetery

Grand View Memorial Park Cemetery

Grand View Memorial Park Cemetery at 1341 GlenwoodRoad in Glendale, California was established in 1884 as Grand View Cemetery.The cemetery was purchased by Len C. Davis in the 1920s, renamed Grand View Memorial Park, and extensively remodeled. A 40 foot entrance arch was added on what is now...

, Glendale.

Board of Education

Baker won a seat on the Board of Education in 1949 when he was opposed by John T. Gardner, a union leader. He served for two years and then ran for the City Council.

Elections

See Los Angeles Municipal Election Returns, 1951 and after.

Baker was easily elected in the primary vote for Los Angeles City Council District 2, over incumbent Lloyd G. Davies

Lloyd G. Davies

Lloyd G. Davies was a Hollywood advertising and public relations man and sometime actor who was a Los Angeles City Council member from 1943 to 1951.-Biography:...

, whose ill health had forced him to miss many City Council meetings. In that era, the 2nd District represented Hollywood and a sizable portion of the San Fernando Valley

San Fernando Valley

The San Fernando Valley is an urbanized valley located in the Los Angeles metropolitan area of southern California, United States, defined by the dramatic mountains of the Transverse Ranges circling it...

, generally west of Ventura Boulevard

Ventura Boulevard

Ventura Boulevard is one of the primary east–west thouroughfares in the San Fernando Valley, USA; as it was originally a part of the El Camino Real , Ventura Boulevard is one of the oldest routes in the San Fernando Valley. It was also U.S...

 and extending north to Encino. He was reelected in 1953 and 1955, and did not run for reelection in 1957.

Positions

Conservative. Baker was known as a conservative and was supported by the Los Angeles unit of the conservative political group Pro America.

Statue. He introduced a resolution urging the Board of Public Works to cancel a $10,000 contract with artist Bernard Rosenthal

Bernard Rosenthal

Bernard J. Rosenthal , also known as Tony Rosenthal, was an American abstract sculptor. He was the creator of the outdoor cube, Alamo that: “established him as a master of monumental public sculpture, and something of a standard bearer of the contemporary structurist esthetic.” He stated: ...

 for a modernistic artwork of a family grouping that was cast and eventually installed in front a new Police Building opposite the City Hall

Los Angeles City Hall

Los Angeles City Hall, completed 1928, is the center of the government of the city of Los Angeles, California, and houses the mayor's office and the meeting chambers and offices of the Los Angeles City Council...

. He noted "manifest strong public objection" to the piece.