John R. Roden
Encyclopedia
John R. Roden was elected to the Los Angeles City Council in 1946 to succeed Meade McClanahan, who was recalled from office. Roden served until mid-1947 and was defeated for reelection.
City Councilman Meade McClanahan
faced a recall election
on March 19, 1946, brought about by public dissatisfaction in Los Angeles City Council District 13 with his auditorium appearances with political leader Gerald L.K. Smith, the founder of the America First Party (1944)
. Roden, 28, was the candidate put forth by the forces proposing the recall, which was approved by a vote of 12,394 to 8,913. He won the accompanying election to fill the rest of McClanahan's term by 11,394 votes to 1,028 for Hubert Wallis and 929 for John P. McGinley. He took the oath of office on March 28, 1946. In those days the district represented Silver Lake and an area west of downtown
to Vermont Avenue
and south to Valley Boulevard.
In the mid-1947 municipal elections, Roden faced State Assembly Member Ernest E. Debs
, who finished first in the primaries but without a majority. In the final election, Debs was elected by a vote of 15,932 to 11,746 for Roden.
but was ruled off the ballot by a judge because he had filed his affidavit
of candidacy shortly before midnight on September 30 instead of observing a 5 p.m. deadline.
Film strike, 1946. Roden was the only council member opposing the offer of a reward of $1,000 in connection with November 1946 violence occurring during a strike of film technicians at Columbia Studios. Late in the year, as the strike lingered, a Roden resolution asking for arbitration drew the ire of Councilman Ed J. Davenport, who said:
Communism, 1947. The feud continued the next year with Davenport submitting a resolution asking that the council be kept informed about "the progress of various bills before the Congressional Committee on Un-American Activities." Roden and Davenport traded "epithets" over the measure.
Biography
Roden was a U.S. Army transport pilot during World War II. He was married on September 18, 1946, to Nadine Romoli. They were divorced in January 1952. After his council service ended in 1947, he was a television manufacturing executive and an encyclopedia salesman.City Council
See also List of Los Angeles Municipal Election Returns, 1946–47City Councilman Meade McClanahan
Meade McClanahan
Meade McClanahan was an industrial engineer and businessman who was elected to the Los Angeles City Council in 1945 but was ousted by voters in 1946 based upon his support for controversial preacher and political organizer Gerald L.K...
faced a recall election
Recall election
A recall election is a procedure by which voters can remove an elected official from office through a direct vote before his or her term has ended...
on March 19, 1946, brought about by public dissatisfaction in Los Angeles City Council District 13 with his auditorium appearances with political leader Gerald L.K. Smith, the founder of the America First Party (1944)
America First Party (1944)
The America First Party was an isolationist political party which was founded on January 10, 1943. Its leader, Gerald L. K. Smith, was the party's presidential candidate in the 1944 U.S...
. Roden, 28, was the candidate put forth by the forces proposing the recall, which was approved by a vote of 12,394 to 8,913. He won the accompanying election to fill the rest of McClanahan's term by 11,394 votes to 1,028 for Hubert Wallis and 929 for John P. McGinley. He took the oath of office on March 28, 1946. In those days the district represented Silver Lake and an area west of downtown
Downtown Los Angeles
Downtown Los Angeles is the central business district of Los Angeles, California, United States, located close to the geographic center of the metropolitan area...
to Vermont Avenue
Vermont Avenue
Vermont Avenue is one of the longest running north/south streets in Los Angeles, California with a length of about . Located just west of the Harbor Freeway for the major portion south of Downtown Los Angeles, it starts in Griffith Park at the Greek Theatre in the Los Feliz neighborhood as a...
and south to Valley Boulevard.
In the mid-1947 municipal elections, Roden faced State Assembly Member Ernest E. Debs
Ernest E. Debs
Ernest Eugene Debs , who went by Ernest E. Debs, was a California State Assembly member from 1942 to 1947, a Los Angeles city councilman from 1947 to 1958 and a member of the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors from 1958 to 1974....
, who finished first in the primaries but without a majority. In the final election, Debs was elected by a vote of 15,932 to 11,746 for Roden.
State Assembly
Late in 1947 Roden attempted to run for the California State AssemblyCalifornia State Assembly
The California State Assembly is the lower house of the California State Legislature. There are 80 members in the Assembly, representing an approximately equal number of constituents, with each district having a population of at least 420,000...
but was ruled off the ballot by a judge because he had filed his affidavit
Affidavit
An affidavit is a written sworn statement of fact voluntarily made by an affiant or deponent under an oath or affirmation administered by a person authorized to do so by law. Such statement is witnessed as to the authenticity of the affiant's signature by a taker of oaths, such as a notary public...
of candidacy shortly before midnight on September 30 instead of observing a 5 p.m. deadline.
Positions
Incinerator, 1946. Roden drew the ire of "hundreds of angry citizens" who crowded the City Hall to protest the building of a city incinerator at Avenue 28 and Lacy Streets in Lincoln Heights. Roden had voted in favor of the incinerator just a few months earlier.Film strike, 1946. Roden was the only council member opposing the offer of a reward of $1,000 in connection with November 1946 violence occurring during a strike of film technicians at Columbia Studios. Late in the year, as the strike lingered, a Roden resolution asking for arbitration drew the ire of Councilman Ed J. Davenport, who said:
Roden has shown his bias in this matter right along. He cast the one vote against this Council offering a reward for the detection of bomb throwers and he tried to get the Health Department to condemn the City Jail, so that arrested strike pickets would be released.
Communism, 1947. The feud continued the next year with Davenport submitting a resolution asking that the council be kept informed about "the progress of various bills before the Congressional Committee on Un-American Activities." Roden and Davenport traded "epithets" over the measure.