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Otto J. Zahn (ca. 1871–1965) was the second person to represent District 10

Los Angeles City Council District 10

Los Angeles City Council District 10 is one of the 15 districts of the Los Angeles City Council. It includes parts of Palms, Koreatown and South Los Angeles. Herb Wesson has been the incumbent since 2005....

 on the Los Angeles City Council

Los Angeles City Council

The Los Angeles City Council is the governing body of the City of Los Angeles.The Council is composed of fifteen members elected from single-member districts for four-year terms. The president of the council and the president pro tempore are chosen by the Council at the first regular meeting after...

, serving from 1925 until 1927.

Biography

Zahn was the son of Frances and Johann Carl Zahn, a wealthy Prussian-born physician who lived in Victoria, Australia, and who moved to San Francisco, California

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...

, with his family in 1871. Otto and two brothers, Oscar Carl and Oswald Frances, were born in that city, and in 1873 or 1874 the family moved to Los Angeles, where Frances had two more boys, Lorenzo Paul and Hector N. They lived on Spring Street but then moved in 1890 to 427 South Hope Street on Bunker Hill, where they lived until 1912. The elder Zahn was also a minister, and he financed a church on Spring Street between Fourth and Fifth Streets; it later became the First German Methodist Episcopal Church. He died in October 1901 at the age of 79.

Otto was educated "in private institutions." He raised homing pigeons at 426 South Hope Street and on Santa Catalina Island

Santa Catalina Island

Santa Catalina Island, or Catalina Island, may refer to:*Santa Catalina Island, California*Catalina Island, Dominican Republic*Archipelago of San Andrés, Providencia and Santa Catalina, one of the departments of Colombia, consisting of two island groups*Owariki or Owa Riki , an island in the...

, where he and his brother Oswald established a messenger service to and from Los Angeles, a distance of some fifty miles. Among other messages, the birds carried news items about the island for publication in the Los Angeles Times

Los Angeles Times

The Los Angeles Times is a daily newspaper published in Los Angeles, California, since 1881. It was the second-largest metropolitan newspaper in circulation in the United States in 2008 and the fourth most widely distributed newspaper in the country....

.

Zahn was the second husband of Frances May Sproston, whose first husband, Dr. Louis Carleton Harmon, had died. She was active in Los Angeles social and cultural circles. After they married, Zahn moved into her home at 2115 Estrella Avenue. She died in December 1947.

Zahn was a charter member of the City Planning Association and a member of the City Club, California Club

California Club

The California Club is a private social club established in 1888 in downtown Los Angeles, the oldest such club in Southern California. Its building was erected in 1929 and 1930 and was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2010.- History :...

, Knights Templar and the California Audubon Society. During World War I he was divisional secretary of the Southern California Four-Minute Men

Four Minute Men

The Four Minute Men were a group of volunteers authorized by the President Woodrow Wilson, to give four-minute speeches on topics given to them by The Committee on Public Information...

. The organization gave four-minute speeches on topics dealing with the American war effort in the First World War and were presented during the four minutes between reel-changing in movie theaters.

Zahn, 94, died of a heart attack on October 12, 1965, while vacationing in Las Vegas, Nevada. He was survived by his second wife, Ruth; a stepson, Daniel Curran, and two grandchildren. He was buried at Evergreen Cemetery.

Public life

Zahn was a candidate for the California State Assembly

California 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...

 in 1918, running on the Republican ticket, and he was also a member of the city's Humane Animal Commission. He took out his nominating petition for the City Council on March 13, 1919.

At first seen as a "dark horse

Dark horse

Dark horse is a term used to describe a little-known person or thing that emerges to prominence, especially in a competition of some sort.-Origin:The term began as horse racing parlance...

," Zahn was unanimously appointed by the City Council

City council

A city council or town council is the legislative body that governs a city, town, municipality or local government area.-Australia & NZ:Because of the differences in legislation between the States, the exact definition of a City Council varies...

 on September 11, 1925, as a substitution in the 10th district for Charles E. Downs

Charles E. Downs

Charles E. Downs was the first Los Angeles City Council member representing the 10th District after a new city charter went into effect in 1925...

, whom the council had suspended after he was indicted on bribery

Bribery

Bribery, a form of corruption, is an act implying money or gift giving that alters the behavior of the recipient. Bribery constitutes a crime and is defined by Black's Law Dictionary as the offering, giving, receiving, or soliciting of any item of value to influence the actions of an official or...

 charges. Downs was later convicted and Zahn's temporary appointment was made permanent. In 1927, he lost a bid for election to E. Snapper Ingram

E. Snapper Ingram

Ebenezer Snapper Ingram was a Los Angeles City Councilmember representing the 10th District from 1927 until 1935. He went by E. Snapper Ingram.-Biography:...

. In 1934, Zahn, a registered Prohibitionist

Prohibition Party

The Prohibition Party is a political party in the United States best known for its historic opposition to the sale or consumption of alcoholic beverages. It is the oldest existing third party in the US. The party was an integral part of the temperance movement...

, was a candidate for the Republican nomination for Assemblyman in the 55th District

California's 55th State Assembly district

California's 55th State Assembly District is one of 80 districts in the California State Assembly. It is currently represented by Democrat Warren T...

 against Emory J. Arnold, who had the endorsement of the Times. Arnold won the nomination.

See also

• List of Los Angeles municipal election returns, 1917 and after

Further reading

• Chronological Record of Los Angeles City Officials: 1850—1938, Compiled under Direction of Municipal Reference Library City Hall, Los Angeles March 1938 (reprinted 1966)

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