John C. Holland
Encyclopedia
John C. Holland was one of the longest-serving Los Angeles City Council members, for 24 years from 1943 to 1967, and was known for his losing fight against bringing the Los Angeles Dodgers to Chavez Ravine and for his reputation as a watchdog over the city treasury.
, the son of William Philip Holland of Fluvanna County, Virginia
, and Betty Connell Holland of Liberty Hill, Texas
. He was married to Alice Colby Wells of Redlands, California
, on June 30, 1919. They had two daughters, Mary Elizabeth Neeb and Helen Louise Osterberg.
Holland attended high school in Roswell, New Mexico
and spent one year at the University of Texas. He then attended Stanford University
, where he was active in debating
and was on the wrestling
team. He graduated in 1917 with a prelaw degree
and then went into the Army.
In 1919 he opened an electric-supply business in the Northeast Los Angeles
community of Highland Park, which he operated until December 1951.
A Republican, he was a member of the American Legion
, the Masons
, the Kiwanis Club and Delta Sigma Rho fraternity. He served two terms as president of the Highland Park Chamber of Commerce
and was active in the Northeast YMCA
.
Holland died at the age of 76 on March 10, 1970, at Broadview Christian Science Sanitorium, Montecito Heights, after an illness of several weeks. He was buried in Forest Lawn Memorial Park (Hollywood Hills)
.
Holland took part in the successful 1938 reform
bid
of Superior Court Judge Fletcher Bowron
to unseat Mayor Frank Shaw
. In 1942 Bowron appointed him to the city Fire Commission, a post that he resigned in 1943 to campaign for the seat in Los Angeles City Council District 14
against the incumbent, Edward L. Thrasher
. He was elected in the primary, a feat that he accomplished in every one of his elections thereafter until he retired in 1967. He set a record for longevity on the council, a feat that was tied in 1969 by L.E. Timberlake.
District 14 has included Eagle Rock
and Highland Park since its limits were first drawn in 1925. As the city's population increased, it expanded outward — the most recent addition under Holland being the Rose Hills
section of Los Angeles.
, when other members employed three assistants.
Public housing, 1952. He was opposed to a massive U.S-government subsidized public housing
proposal that, he said, was "inexcusably expensive and wasteful of tax monies." He objected to the building of thirty-four 13-story buildings throughout the city, including on "virgin land" in West Los Angeles, Rose Hills and Tujunga
. The proposal was abandoned.
Dodgers, 1957–59 The councilman believed that exchanging the 300 acres of city land in Chavez Ravine
for "a 10-acre unused" former baseball stadium, Wrigley Field
, was "not in the best interests of the city. "It was the biggest steal of public lands and money since the trade for Manhattan Island with the Indians for a basket of beads," he said.
Zoo, 1961. Holland opposed turning over the Los Angeles Zoo
in Griffith Park
to a private organization.
Fluoridation, 1961. Holland's birth in Bartlett, Texas
, was a talking point during a campaign over adding fluorides to the city's water
, which he opposed as a Christian Scientist. His obituary in the local community newspaper, the Highland Park Herald & Journal, ended with:
Slang, 1963. He seconded and voted in favor of a motion ordering a city study to see if the controversial Dictionary of American Slang violated state obscenity laws.
Biography
Holland was born July 6, 1893, in Bartlett, TexasBartlett, Texas
Bartlett is a city in Bell and Williamson Counties in the U.S. state of Texas. The population was 1,675 at the 2000 census, and 1,701 in the 2005 census estimate.Bartlett lies in two counties as well as two metropolitan areas...
, the son of William Philip Holland of Fluvanna County, Virginia
Fluvanna County, Virginia
As of 2002, Fluvanna County's population was 20,047. There are 7,387 households, and 5,702 families residing in the county. The population density was 70 people per square mile . There were 8,018 housing units at an average density of 28 per square mile...
, and Betty Connell Holland of Liberty Hill, Texas
Liberty Hill, Texas
Liberty Hill is a city in Williamson County, Texas, United States. The population was 1,409 at the 2000 census, and 1,491 in the 2005 census estimate.-Geography:Liberty Hill is located at , about 29 miles northwest of Austin....
. He was married to Alice Colby Wells of Redlands, California
Redlands, California
Redlands is a city in San Bernardino County, California, United States. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 68,747, up from 63,591 at the 2000 census. The city is located east of downtown San Bernardino.- History :...
, on June 30, 1919. They had two daughters, Mary Elizabeth Neeb and Helen Louise Osterberg.
Holland attended high school in Roswell, New Mexico
Roswell, New Mexico
Roswell is a city in and the county seat of Chaves County in the southeastern quarter of the state of New Mexico, United States. The population was 48,366 at the 2010 census. It is a center for irrigation farming, dairying, ranching, manufacturing, distribution, and petroleum production. It is also...
and spent one year at the University of Texas. He then attended 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...
, where he was active in debating
Debate
Debate or debating is a method of interactive and representational argument. Debate is a broader form of argument than logical argument, which only examines consistency from axiom, and factual argument, which only examines what is or isn't the case or rhetoric which is a technique of persuasion...
and was on the wrestling
Wrestling
Wrestling is a form of grappling type techniques such as clinch fighting, throws and takedowns, joint locks, pins and other grappling holds. A wrestling bout is a physical competition, between two competitors or sparring partners, who attempt to gain and maintain a superior position...
team. He graduated in 1917 with a prelaw degree
Pre-law
In the United States, pre-law refers to any course of study taken by an undergraduate in preparation for study at a law school.The American Bar Association requires law schools that it approves to require at least a bachelor's degree for North American students for admission...
and then went into the Army.
In 1919 he opened an electric-supply business in the Northeast Los Angeles
Northeast Los Angeles
Northeast Los Angeles is an area of the city of Los Angeles, northeast of Downtown Los Angeles, east of the Los Angeles River, bounded on the north by the cities of Glendale and Pasadena, and bounded on the east by several cities of the San Gabriel Valley...
community of Highland Park, which he operated until December 1951.
A Republican, he was a member of the American Legion
American Legion
The American Legion is a mutual-aid organization of veterans of the United States armed forces chartered by the United States Congress. It was founded to benefit those veterans who served during a wartime period as defined by Congress...
, the Masons
Freemasonry
Freemasonry is a fraternal organisation that arose from obscure origins in the late 16th to early 17th century. Freemasonry now exists in various forms all over the world, with a membership estimated at around six million, including approximately 150,000 under the jurisdictions of the Grand Lodge...
, the Kiwanis Club and Delta Sigma Rho fraternity. He served two terms as president of the Highland Park Chamber of Commerce
Chamber of commerce
A chamber of commerce is a form of business network, e.g., a local organization of businesses whose goal is to further the interests of businesses. Business owners in towns and cities form these local societies to advocate on behalf of the business community...
and was active in the Northeast YMCA
YMCA
The Young Men's Christian Association is a worldwide organization of more than 45 million members from 125 national federations affiliated through the World Alliance of YMCAs...
.
Holland died at the age of 76 on March 10, 1970, at Broadview Christian Science Sanitorium, Montecito Heights, after an illness of several weeks. He was buried in Forest Lawn Memorial Park (Hollywood Hills)
Forest Lawn Memorial Park (Hollywood Hills)
Forest Lawn – Hollywood Hills Cemetery is part of the Forest Lawn chain of Southern California cemeteries. It is at 6300 Forest Lawn Drive in the Hollywood Hills neighborhood in the Hollywood district of Los Angeles, California, on the lower north slope at the far east end of the Santa Monica...
.
Elections
See also List of Los Angeles municipal election returns, 1943–67Holland took part in the successful 1938 reform
Reform
Reform means to put or change into an improved form or condition; to amend or improve by change of color or removal of faults or abuses, beneficial change, more specifically, reversion to a pure original state, to repair, restore or to correct....
bid
of Superior Court Judge 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 unseat Mayor Frank Shaw
Frank Shaw
Frank Shaw may refer to:*Frank H. Shaw , Pennsylvania civil engineer*Frank L. Shaw , California politician and former mayor of Los Angeles*Frank Thomas Shaw , Congressman from Maryland...
. In 1942 Bowron appointed him to the city Fire Commission, a post that he resigned in 1943 to campaign for the seat in Los Angeles City Council District 14
Los Angeles City Council District 14
Los Angeles City Council District 14 is one of the 15 districts of the Los Angeles City Council. It is a primarily Latino district in Boyle Heights and Northeast Los Angeles...
against the incumbent, Edward L. Thrasher
Edward L. Thrasher
Edward Lee Thrasher , who went by Edward L. Thrasher, was a builder, contractor and decorator who served on the Los Angeles, California, City Council between 1931 and 1942.-Biography:...
. He was elected in the primary, a feat that he accomplished in every one of his elections thereafter until he retired in 1967. He set a record for longevity on the council, a feat that was tied in 1969 by L.E. Timberlake.
District 14 has included Eagle Rock
Eagle Rock
Eagle Rock can refer to one of the following:Places in the United States*Eagle Rock, North Carolina, an unincorporated community in Wake County, North Carolina, west of Zebulon*Eagle Rock , a town in northern Botetourt County...
and Highland Park since its limits were first drawn in 1925. As the city's population increased, it expanded outward — the most recent addition under Holland being the Rose Hills
Rose Hills, California
Rose Hills is a census-designated place in Los Angeles County, California. Rose Hills sits at an elevation of . The 2010 United States census reported Rose Hills's population was 2,803.-Geography:...
section of Los Angeles.
Positions
Finances. Holland became chairman of the council's finance committee early in his career, and he became known as the "watchdog of the city treasury." He was parsimonious in running his office, too, making do with just one field deputy, Art SnyderArthur K. Snyder
Arthur K. Snyder, also known as Art Snyder, was a Los Angeles, California, City Council member between 1967 and 1985 and later engaged in a private law practice.-Biography:...
, when other members employed three assistants.
Public housing, 1952. He was opposed to a massive U.S-government subsidized public housing
Public housing
Public housing is a form of housing tenure in which the property is owned by a government authority, which may be central or local. Social housing is an umbrella term referring to rental housing which may be owned and managed by the state, by non-profit organizations, or by a combination of the...
proposal that, he said, was "inexcusably expensive and wasteful of tax monies." He objected to the building of thirty-four 13-story buildings throughout the city, including on "virgin land" in West Los Angeles, Rose Hills and Tujunga
Sunland-Tujunga, Los Angeles
Sunland-Tujunga is a community served by two post offices in the northeasternmost corner of Los Angeles, California. Though Sunland and Tujunga began as separate settlements, they are today linked through a single police station, branch library, neighborhood council. chamber of commerce, City...
. The proposal was abandoned.
Dodgers, 1957–59 The councilman believed that exchanging the 300 acres of city land in Chavez Ravine
Chávez Ravine
Chavez Ravine is an area in Sulfir Canyon that is the current site of Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles, California.It was named after Julian Chavez, a Los Angeles Councilman in the 19th century.-History:...
for "a 10-acre unused" former baseball stadium, Wrigley Field
Wrigley Field (Los Angeles)
Wrigley Field was a ballpark in Los Angeles, California which served as host to minor league baseball teams in the region for over 30 years, and was the home park for the Los Angeles Angels of the Pacific Coast League as well as a current major league team, the later Los Angeles Angels, in their...
, was "not in the best interests of the city. "It was the biggest steal of public lands and money since the trade for Manhattan Island with the Indians for a basket of beads," he said.
It was common for him to make three or four speeches an evening to any group which would listen to his side of the Chavez Ravine issue, and then appear early the next morning for a breakfast meeting and another speech before participating in a stormy council session starting at 10 a.m.
Zoo, 1961. Holland opposed turning over the Los Angeles Zoo
Los Angeles Zoo
The Los Angeles Zoo , is a zoo founded in 1966 and located in Los Angeles, California. The City of Los Angeles owns the entire zoo, its land and facilities, and the animals...
in Griffith Park
Griffith Park
Griffith Park is a large municipal park at the eastern end of the Santa Monica Mountains in the Los Feliz neighborhood of Los Angeles, California. The park covers of land, making it one of the largest urban parks in North America...
to a private organization.
Fluoridation, 1961. Holland's birth in Bartlett, Texas
Bartlett, Texas
Bartlett is a city in Bell and Williamson Counties in the U.S. state of Texas. The population was 1,675 at the 2000 census, and 1,701 in the 2005 census estimate.Bartlett lies in two counties as well as two metropolitan areas...
, was a talking point during a campaign over adding fluorides to the city's water
Water fluoridation in the United States
As with some other countries water fluoridation in the United States is a contentious issue. As of May 2000, 42 of the 50 largest U.S. cities had water fluoridation....
, which he opposed as a Christian Scientist. His obituary in the local community newspaper, the Highland Park Herald & Journal, ended with:
Holland said it was his experience that fluoridated water was unhealthy, and he said he could prove this because the town of Bartlett taxed the residents in order to take the fluorides out.
Slang, 1963. He seconded and voted in favor of a motion ordering a city study to see if the controversial Dictionary of American Slang violated state obscenity laws.