Wilder W. Hartley
Encyclopedia
Wilder W. Hartley was a member of the Los Angeles City Council from the Harbor and South Los Angeles districts from 1939 to 1943.
, on April 4, 1901, and was brought to Wilmington, California, in 1903, where his father became chief engineer for the Hammond Lumber Company. Wilder attended Wilmington High School and Stanford University
. He worked for Hammond for a time and then went into the insurance business. In 1924 he and Laura Mae Clark were married. Hartley was a Republican.
Hartley died at the age of 69 on August 17, 1970, in Harbor City, leaving his wife and three daughters, Marilyn Swanson, Ann Wilmoth and Joyce Christiansen.. He was buried in San Pedro.
Hartley ran against F.P. Buyer, the incumbent member for Los Angeles City Council District 15, in 1939 and was elected in the final vote. Buyer challenged Hartley again in 1941 but was defeated in the final. Two years later, in 1943, Hartley was ousted by George H. Moore
in the primary, and the same Hartley-Moore matchup had the same result in 1945. Hartley tried against Moore for the last time in 1947 but was defeated in the final vote. In the 1940s the 15th District, as it always had, encompassed the Wilmington and San Pedro and Shoestring Strip areas, with its northern boundary within South Los Angeles
being drawn on an irregular line and Manchester Avenue being at the highest plane.
. The Los Angeles Times reported:
Ex-Communist (1940). Hartley joined the 9-4 majority of the council in asking Mayor Fletcher Bowron
to remove a former Communist, labor leader Don Healy, from a city charter revision committee that Bowron had appointed months previously. "Communists don't change overnight," Hartley said, referring to Healy's switch in registration from Communist to Democratic.
Mayor (1940). He was appointed to a committee of five council members to call on Bowron to complain about "persistent and erroneous" remarks the mayor made about the council in his radio addresses.
Servicemen (1943). He suggested that "spacious City Hall rooms" might be set aside at night for emergency sleeping quarters for servicemen "instead of having them walking the streets, sleeping in parks or telephone booths due to lack of hotel rooms."
Biography
Hartley was born in Reno, NevadaReno, Nevada
Reno is the county seat of Washoe County, Nevada, United States. The city has a population of about 220,500 and is the most populous Nevada city outside of the Las Vegas metropolitan area...
, on April 4, 1901, and was brought to Wilmington, California, in 1903, where his father became chief engineer for the Hammond Lumber Company. Wilder attended Wilmington High School and Stanford University
Stanford University
The Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University or Stanford, is a private research university on an campus located near Palo Alto, California. It is situated in the northwestern Santa Clara Valley on the San Francisco Peninsula, approximately northwest of San...
. He worked for Hammond for a time and then went into the insurance business. In 1924 he and Laura Mae Clark were married. Hartley was a Republican.
Hartley died at the age of 69 on August 17, 1970, in Harbor City, leaving his wife and three daughters, Marilyn Swanson, Ann Wilmoth and Joyce Christiansen.. He was buried in San Pedro.
Elections
See List of Los Angeles municipal election returns, 1939–47Hartley ran against F.P. Buyer, the incumbent member for Los Angeles City Council District 15, in 1939 and was elected in the final vote. Buyer challenged Hartley again in 1941 but was defeated in the final. Two years later, in 1943, Hartley was ousted by George H. Moore
George H. Moore
George H. Moore , an attorney and a judge who was active in civic affairs of the Los Angeles Harbor region, was district attorney of San Benito County and a member of the Los Angeles City Council from 1943 to 1951.-Biography:...
in the primary, and the same Hartley-Moore matchup had the same result in 1945. Hartley tried against Moore for the last time in 1947 but was defeated in the final vote. In the 1940s the 15th District, as it always had, encompassed the Wilmington and San Pedro and Shoestring Strip areas, with its northern boundary within South Los Angeles
South Los Angeles
South Los Angeles, often abbreviated as South L.A. and formerly South Central Los Angeles, is the official name for a large geographic and cultural portion lying to the southwest and southeast of downtown Los Angeles, California. The area was formerly called South Central, and is still widely known...
being drawn on an irregular line and Manchester Avenue being at the highest plane.
Positions
Hitchhikers (1940). Hartley proposed a law against hitchhikingHitchhiking
Hitchhiking is a means of transportation that is gained by asking people, usually strangers, for a ride in their automobile or other road vehicle to travel a distance that may either be short or long...
. The Los Angeles Times reported:
Efforts of women drivers to escape the importunities of hitchhikers causes them to drive through traffic signals, creating a traffic hazard, Hartley asserted. Councilman Arthur E. BriggsArthur E. BriggsDr. Arthur Elbert Briggs was a teacher and law school dean who was a Los Angeles, California, City Council member from 1939 to 1941 and the leader of the Ethical Society of Los Angeles in 1953.-Biography:...
declared such drivers would go through signals anyhow. He said he couldn't see why drivers did not have sufficient will power not to pick up hikers if they did not want to.
Ex-Communist (1940). Hartley joined the 9-4 majority of the council in asking Mayor Fletcher Bowron
Fletcher Bowron
Fletcher Bowron was the 35th Mayor of Los Angeles, California from September 26, 1938 until June 30, 1953. Until Thomas Bradley passed his length of service during the 1980s, Bowron held the distinction of having the longest tenure in that position in city history.Bowron was born in Poway,...
to remove a former Communist, labor leader Don Healy, from a city charter revision committee that Bowron had appointed months previously. "Communists don't change overnight," Hartley said, referring to Healy's switch in registration from Communist to Democratic.
Mayor (1940). He was appointed to a committee of five council members to call on Bowron to complain about "persistent and erroneous" remarks the mayor made about the council in his radio addresses.
Servicemen (1943). He suggested that "spacious City Hall rooms" might be set aside at night for emergency sleeping quarters for servicemen "instead of having them walking the streets, sleeping in parks or telephone booths due to lack of hotel rooms."