Thomas W. Williams (Los Angeles)
Encyclopedia
Thomas W. Williams was a former coal
miner
, school principal and church minister who was a member of the Los Angeles, California, City Council
between 1929 and 1931. He was the first councilman elected under the 1925 city charter to die in office.
and began work in a coal mine
when he was "little more than 8, to support his mother, his father having died when he was a baby." He attended grammar and high schools at night and when he was 18 he became principal of a school in Lucas, Iowa
. He became a minister of the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, preached and traveled through Europe as a missionary
.
He was married in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
, at age 25 to Addie May Cady. They had six children. After the Williamses moved to Los Angeles, they took up residence in the Silver Lake district.
Williams's first run for the City Council was in 1911, when he came in seventeenth in a field of eighteen at-large
candidates, with the highest nine being elected.
In 1914 he was the California State Secretary for the Socialist Party of America
and was speaking on behalf of an eight-hour day
proposal on the California ballot. He appeared before a group of farmers in Orange County
and told them that "if the law would injure California's prosperity the Socialists would not want to see it passed."
As a Socialist, he was opposed to the direct-primary
method of nominating candidates for public office. He said in 1915 that
In the 1929 municipal election he ousted incumbent Douglas Eads Foster
in the 12th District
, which at that time consisted of Downtown Los Angeles
-Hill Street and the Westlake-Silver Lake areas.
on April 11, 1931, after a cerebral hemorrhage, leaving his widow and four children, Ward Williams, Wallace R. Williams, Ruth Funk and Helen Livingston. Presbyterian services were followed by cremation.
Willliams was the first City Council member to die in office after adoption of the new city charter in 1925—just a few weeks shy of the May 1931 election, in which Williams was not a candidate. Although the name of his wife, Addie Williams, was proposed as an interim council member, the City Council voted the idea down, 9-6, and the seat was left vacant until July 1, when the municipal election winner—Thomas Francis Ford—was installed.
Coal
Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock usually occurring in rock strata in layers or veins called coal beds or coal seams. The harder forms, such as anthracite coal, can be regarded as metamorphic rock because of later exposure to elevated temperature and pressure...
miner
Mining
Mining is the extraction of valuable minerals or other geological materials from the earth, from an ore body, vein or seam. The term also includes the removal of soil. Materials recovered by mining include base metals, precious metals, iron, uranium, coal, diamonds, limestone, oil shale, rock...
, school principal and church minister who was a member of the Los Angeles, California, 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...
between 1929 and 1931. He was the first councilman elected under the 1925 city charter to die in office.
Background
Williams was born around 1867 in UtahUtah
Utah is a state in the Western United States. It was the 45th state to join the Union, on January 4, 1896. Approximately 80% of Utah's 2,763,885 people live along the Wasatch Front, centering on Salt Lake City. This leaves vast expanses of the state nearly uninhabited, making the population the...
and began work in a coal mine
Coal mining
The goal of coal mining is to obtain coal from the ground. Coal is valued for its energy content, and since the 1880s has been widely used to generate electricity. Steel and cement industries use coal as a fuel for extraction of iron from iron ore and for cement production. In the United States,...
when he was "little more than 8, to support his mother, his father having died when he was a baby." He attended grammar and high schools at night and when he was 18 he became principal of a school in Lucas, Iowa
Lucas, Iowa
Lucas is a city in Lucas County, Iowa, United States. The population was 243 at the 2000 census.-History:The Burlington and Missouri River Railroad Company established a station at Lucas in 1866, named after Lucas County and Robert Lucas. A plat for the town was filed on May 9, 1868 and the town...
. He became a minister of the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, preached and traveled through Europe as a missionary
Missionary
A missionary is a member of a religious group sent into an area to do evangelism or ministries of service, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care and economic development. The word "mission" originates from 1598 when the Jesuits sent members abroad, derived from the Latin...
.
He was married in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Pittsburgh is the second-largest city in the US Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Allegheny County. Regionally, it anchors the largest urban area of Appalachia and the Ohio River Valley, and nationally, it is the 22nd-largest urban area in the United States...
, at age 25 to Addie May Cady. They had six children. After the Williamses moved to Los Angeles, they took up residence in the Silver Lake district.
Political activity
See also List of Los Angeles municipal election returns, 1911 and 1929Williams's first run for the City Council was in 1911, when he came in seventeenth in a field of eighteen at-large
At-Large
At-large is a designation for representative members of a governing body who are elected or appointed to represent the whole membership of the body , rather than a subset of that membership...
candidates, with the highest nine being elected.
In 1914 he was the California State Secretary for the Socialist Party of America
Socialist Party of America
The Socialist Party of America was a multi-tendency democratic-socialist political party in the United States, formed in 1901 by a merger between the three-year-old Social Democratic Party of America and disaffected elements of the Socialist Labor Party which had split from the main organization...
and was speaking on behalf of an eight-hour day
Eight-hour day
The eight-hour day movement or 40-hour week movement, also known as the short-time movement, had its origins in the Industrial Revolution in Britain, where industrial production in large factories transformed working life and imposed long hours and poor working conditions. With working conditions...
proposal on the California ballot. He appeared before a group of farmers in Orange County
Orange County, California
Orange County is a county in the U.S. state of California. Its county seat is Santa Ana. As of the 2010 census, its population was 3,010,232, up from 2,846,293 at the 2000 census, making it the third most populous county in California, behind Los Angeles County and San Diego County...
and told them that "if the law would injure California's prosperity the Socialists would not want to see it passed."
As a Socialist, he was opposed to the direct-primary
Primary election
A primary election is an election in which party members or voters select candidates for a subsequent election. Primary elections are one means by which a political party nominates candidates for the next general election....
method of nominating candidates for public office. He said in 1915 that
The direct primary law permits every vice it is supposed to correct. . . . It relieves employers the necessity of hiring detectives to learn the political affiliation of employees. It makes perjurers of thousands, who register contrary to their convictions, in order to save their jobs.
In the 1929 municipal election he ousted incumbent Douglas Eads Foster
Douglas Eads Foster
Douglas Eads Foster was a Los Angeles, California, dentist who served on the City Council of that city between 1927 and 1929.-Biography:...
in the 12th District
Los Angeles City Council District 12
Los Angeles City Council District 12 is one of the 15 districts of the Los Angeles City Council. It encompasses the far northwestern section of the city in the San Fernando Valley. Mitchell Englander is the current officeholder....
, which at that time consisted of Downtown Los Angeles
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...
-Hill Street and the Westlake-Silver Lake areas.
Death and aftermath
Williams died in GlendaleGlendale, California
Glendale is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. As of the 2010 Census, the city population is 191,719, down from 194,973 at the 2000 census. making it the third largest city in Los Angeles County and the 22nd largest city in the state of California...
on April 11, 1931, after a cerebral hemorrhage, leaving his widow and four children, Ward Williams, Wallace R. Williams, Ruth Funk and Helen Livingston. Presbyterian services were followed by cremation.
Willliams was the first City Council member to die in office after adoption of the new city charter in 1925—just a few weeks shy of the May 1931 election, in which Williams was not a candidate. Although the name of his wife, Addie Williams, was proposed as an interim council member, the City Council voted the idea down, 9-6, and the seat was left vacant until July 1, when the municipal election winner—Thomas Francis Ford—was installed.