Winfred J. Sanborn
Encyclopedia
Winfred Joseph Sanborn. known as Winfred J. Sanborn, (1869–1947) was on the Los Angeles City Council
under an at-large election system from 1919 until a new city charter was adopted in 1925, when representation was changed to a fifteen-district system. Sanborn served the new Ninth District
from 1925 until 1931, and then, when Councilman Howard E. Dorsey
was killed in a motor accident in 1937, he was appointed to serve two more years.
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Sanborn, the second son of Alfred Hines Sanborn and Mary Lavinia Sawyer, was born December 2, 1869, near Windsor, Missouri
. In 1884 he moved with his family to Los Angeles. In 1894 he married Mary "Mamie" Myrtella Willey (1871-1966), a native of that city. The couple settled near his parents in Boyle Heights and had two children, Lynn Durrell Sanborn and Olive May Sanborn Burris.
Sanborn worked for the U. S. Postal Service from 1888 until 1910, when he joined Pierce Brothers undertakers as bookkeeper, credit manager and part owner.
He and his family were pioneers in the resort community of Camp Baldy, later Mount Baldy Village
, in the San Gabriel Mountains
. The Sanborns were camping there as early as 1897. A small stone cabin they built in 1910 still stands as the oldest structure in town. In 1912 Sanborn constructed a larger cabin, which stood until the 1970s
, when it was removed to expand the ranger station. The station is situated on Sanborn Avenue.
Sanborn, a Republican, belonged to the Maccabees
, the Elks Club
and the Masons
. He was on the board of governors of the Whittier Boulevard YMCA
.
to downtown
, which required building new crossings of the Los Angeles River
and the adjacent railroad tracks. The only candidate from the Boyle Heights area, he placed third of seventeen in the race, with nine elected. Council President Boyle Workman
appointed him chairman of the Public Safety Committee and member of the Public Health and Sanitation and Public Utilities committees. Sanborn later also served on the Public Works and the Efficiency and Supply committees.
In 1925, the City Charter was amended to provide for district elections, with the Ninth District boundaries as: North, Alhambra Avenue; south, Vernon
city line; east, Indiana Street; west, Alameda Avenue; with the Los Angeles River
bisecting it.
During Sanborn’s first six terms, his chief accomplishment was the financing and building of six viaducts for traffic to cross the railroads and the Los Angeles River without the need to stop for trains. His first attempt with a $1 million bond issue failed on the 1921 ballot. Sanborn was determined that the entire city should pay for the work, rather than only East Los Angeles by special assessment. He negotiated a funding plan with Los Angeles County and the railroad companies, who gained some new right-of-ways, and a $2 million bond issue was approved by voters in 1923. An additional $500,000 bond passed in 1925. During the following term, Sanborn became the chairman of a new Tunnels, Bridges and Viaducts Committee. The Ninth Street viaduct was completed in 1926, followed by viaducts for Macy, Seventh, Fourth, First and Aliso streets. All but the last were completed before Sanborn left office for the first time in 1931.
Sanborn also negotiated with the Santa Fe Railroad for the elimination of daylight switching along the Slauson Avenue
right-of-way, with the railroad in return getting approval for a franchise for its Los Angeles Harbor extension. Sanborn secured considerable public works for his district, including the Evergreen playground, 200 new street lights, additional fire stations and personnel, tripling of police personnel, and a million dollars in street improvements. He served on the Los Angeles County Grade Crossing Commission and the Los Angeles Traffic Commission.
Sanborn was unanimously elected president of the council in 1929–30, and, as such, he became acting mayor when Mayor John C. Porter took a trip to Europe in 1931. In this capacity he headed the Los Angeles welcoming party for Nobuhito, Prince Takamatsu of Japan, and his new wife, Lady Kikuko Tokugawa. Also during Sanborn's time as acting mayor, the Supreme Court gave authority to the State Railroad Commission to require the three railroads serving Los Angeles to collectively build one Union Station
, which greatly improved traffic by eliminating twenty grade crossings and all train traffic from Alameda Street.
The main issue of the 1931 election was utilities, with Mayor Porter favoring the private utilities, Southern California Edison
and Los Angeles Gas and Electric, and his opponents in the Municipal Light and Power Defense League pushing for more public ownership. Sanborn was not firmly in either camp, but he did vote to confirm the mayor’s appointments to the Board of Water and Power
, so he was targeted by the opposition. The campaign against Sanborn and others was rife with dirty tactics, partly stemming from the opposition of Police Chief James Davis
. City Attorney Erwin (Pete) Werner, and his wife, Helen, also opposed him. As a result, Sanborn lost the next election to George W. C. Baker
.
In August 1937 Councilman Howard E. Dorsey
died in an automobile accident, and the council appointed Sanborn to replace him in the Ninth District. It took 48 ballots for the council to choose Sanborn.
Sanborn ran for the council spot in 1939, but although he was neither endorsed nor opposed by the reform slate of Judge Fletcher Bowron
, running for mayor, Sanborn fell a victim to the anti-incumbent mood of the voters and was defeated.
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...
under an at-large election system from 1919 until a new city charter was adopted in 1925, when representation was changed to a fifteen-district system. Sanborn served the new Ninth District
Los Angeles City Council District 9
Los Angeles City Council District 9 is one of the 15 districts of the Los Angeles City Council. The Ninth District encompasses the western section of Downtown Los Angeles and much of South Los Angeles. The current council member is Jan Perry....
from 1925 until 1931, and then, when Councilman Howard E. Dorsey
Howard E. Dorsey
Howard E. Dorsey was a hydraulic engineer who was a member of the Los Angeles, California, City Council in 1937. He was the only City Council member since at least 1925 to die in office from accidental death — in his case, a traffic mishap — and the member to have served the fewest number of days...
was killed in a motor accident in 1937, he was appointed to serve two more years.
Biography
Sanborn, the second son of Alfred Hines Sanborn and Mary Lavinia Sawyer, was born December 2, 1869, near Windsor, Missouri
Windsor, Missouri
Windsor is a city in Henry and Pettis Counties, Missouri. The population was 3,087 at the 2000 census. The United States Postal Service ZIP code is 65360....
. In 1884 he moved with his family to Los Angeles. In 1894 he married Mary "Mamie" Myrtella Willey (1871-1966), a native of that city. The couple settled near his parents in Boyle Heights and had two children, Lynn Durrell Sanborn and Olive May Sanborn Burris.
Sanborn worked for the U. S. Postal Service from 1888 until 1910, when he joined Pierce Brothers undertakers as bookkeeper, credit manager and part owner.
He and his family were pioneers in the resort community of Camp Baldy, later Mount Baldy Village
Mount Baldy, California
Mt Baldy is an unincorporated community in San Bernardino County, California, United States. Mt Baldy is north of Ontario. Mt Baldy has a post office with ZIP code . The community was established as Camp Baynham in 1906; it changed its name to Camp Baldy in 1910 and became Mt Baldy in 1951. Its...
, in the San Gabriel Mountains
San Gabriel Mountains
The San Gabriel Mountains Range is located in northern Los Angeles County and western San Bernardino County, California, United States. The mountain range lies between the Los Angeles Basin and the Mojave Desert, with Interstate 5 to the west and Interstate 15 to the east...
. The Sanborns were camping there as early as 1897. A small stone cabin they built in 1910 still stands as the oldest structure in town. In 1912 Sanborn constructed a larger cabin, which stood until the 1970s
1970s
File:1970s decade montage.png|From left, clockwise: US President Richard Nixon doing the V for Victory sign after his resignation from office after the Watergate scandal in 1974; Refugees aboard a US naval boat after the Fall of Saigon, leading to the end of the Vietnam War in 1975; The 1973 oil...
, when it was removed to expand the ranger station. The station is situated on Sanborn Avenue.
Sanborn, a Republican, belonged to the Maccabees
Knights of the Maccabees
Knights of the Maccabees was a fraternal organization formed in 1878 in London, Ontario, Canada. A related but separate organization, "Maccabees of the World", was also established, the two merging under the title "The Knights of the Maccabees of the World" , later shortened to the Maccabees in...
, the Elks Club
Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks
The Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks is an American fraternal order and social club founded in 1868...
and 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...
. He was on the board of governors of the Whittier Boulevard 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...
.
City Council
Sanborn's motive in running for City Council in 1919 was to improve transportation from East Los AngelesEast Los Angeles (region)
East Los Angeles is the portion of the City of Los Angeles that lies east of Downtown Los Angeles, the Los Angeles River and the unincorporated areas of Lincoln Heights, west of the San Gabriel Valley, East Los Angeles and City Terrace, south of Cypress Park, and north of Vernon, California and...
to 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...
, which required building new crossings of the Los Angeles River
Los Angeles River
The Los Angeles River is a river that starts in the San Fernando Valley, in the Simi Hills and Santa Susana Mountains, and flows through Los Angeles County, California, from Canoga Park in the western end of the San Fernando Valley, nearly southeast to its mouth in Long Beach...
and the adjacent railroad tracks. The only candidate from the Boyle Heights area, he placed third of seventeen in the race, with nine elected. Council President Boyle Workman
Boyle Workman
Andrew Boyle Workman was a Los Angeles politician and businessman. He served as President of the Los Angeles City Council and, as such, was acting Mayor on occasion. He was the first city councilman to represent District 4 , under the new charter of 1925...
appointed him chairman of the Public Safety Committee and member of the Public Health and Sanitation and Public Utilities committees. Sanborn later also served on the Public Works and the Efficiency and Supply committees.
In 1925, the City Charter was amended to provide for district elections, with the Ninth District boundaries as: North, Alhambra Avenue; south, Vernon
Vernon, California
Vernon is a city five miles south of downtown Los Angeles, California. The population was 112 at the 2010 United States Census, the smallest of any incorporated city in the state....
city line; east, Indiana Street; west, Alameda Avenue; with the Los Angeles River
Los Angeles River
The Los Angeles River is a river that starts in the San Fernando Valley, in the Simi Hills and Santa Susana Mountains, and flows through Los Angeles County, California, from Canoga Park in the western end of the San Fernando Valley, nearly southeast to its mouth in Long Beach...
bisecting it.
During Sanborn’s first six terms, his chief accomplishment was the financing and building of six viaducts for traffic to cross the railroads and the Los Angeles River without the need to stop for trains. His first attempt with a $1 million bond issue failed on the 1921 ballot. Sanborn was determined that the entire city should pay for the work, rather than only East Los Angeles by special assessment. He negotiated a funding plan with Los Angeles County and the railroad companies, who gained some new right-of-ways, and a $2 million bond issue was approved by voters in 1923. An additional $500,000 bond passed in 1925. During the following term, Sanborn became the chairman of a new Tunnels, Bridges and Viaducts Committee. The Ninth Street viaduct was completed in 1926, followed by viaducts for Macy, Seventh, Fourth, First and Aliso streets. All but the last were completed before Sanborn left office for the first time in 1931.
Sanborn also negotiated with the Santa Fe Railroad for the elimination of daylight switching along the Slauson Avenue
Slauson Avenue
Slauson Avenue is a major east-west thoroughfare for southern Los Angeles County, California, named for the land developer and Los Angeles Board of Education member J. S. Slauson. It passes through Culver City, Ladera Heights, View Park-Windsor Hills, Baldwin Hills, Inglewood, South Los Angeles,...
right-of-way, with the railroad in return getting approval for a franchise for its Los Angeles Harbor extension. Sanborn secured considerable public works for his district, including the Evergreen playground, 200 new street lights, additional fire stations and personnel, tripling of police personnel, and a million dollars in street improvements. He served on the Los Angeles County Grade Crossing Commission and the Los Angeles Traffic Commission.
Sanborn was unanimously elected president of the council in 1929–30, and, as such, he became acting mayor when Mayor John C. Porter took a trip to Europe in 1931. In this capacity he headed the Los Angeles welcoming party for Nobuhito, Prince Takamatsu of Japan, and his new wife, Lady Kikuko Tokugawa. Also during Sanborn's time as acting mayor, the Supreme Court gave authority to the State Railroad Commission to require the three railroads serving Los Angeles to collectively build one Union Station
Union Station (Los Angeles)
Los Angeles Union Station is the main railway station in Los Angeles, California. The station has rail services by Amtrak and Amtrak California and Metrolink; light rail/subways are the Metro Rail Red Line, Purple Line, Gold Line. Bus rapid transport runs on the Silver Line...
, which greatly improved traffic by eliminating twenty grade crossings and all train traffic from Alameda Street.
The main issue of the 1931 election was utilities, with Mayor Porter favoring the private utilities, Southern California Edison
Southern California Edison
Southern California Edison , the largest subsidiary of Edison International , is the primary electricity supply company for much of Southern California, USA. It provides 14 million people with electricity...
and Los Angeles Gas and Electric, and his opponents in the Municipal Light and Power Defense League pushing for more public ownership. Sanborn was not firmly in either camp, but he did vote to confirm the mayor’s appointments to the Board of Water and Power
Los Angeles Department of Water and Power
The Los Angeles Department of Water and Power is the largest municipal utility in the United States, serving over four million residents. It was founded in 1902 to supply water and electricity to residents and businesses in Los Angeles and surrounding communities...
, so he was targeted by the opposition. The campaign against Sanborn and others was rife with dirty tactics, partly stemming from the opposition of Police Chief James Davis
James E. Davis (police)
James Edgar Davis was Chief of Police of the City of Los Angeles Police Department from 1926–1931 and from 1933-1939. During his first term as Police Chief, Davis emphasized firearms training. Under Davis, the L.A.P.D. developed its lasting reputation as an organization that relied on brute force...
. City Attorney Erwin (Pete) Werner, and his wife, Helen, also opposed him. As a result, Sanborn lost the next election to George W. C. Baker
George W. C. Baker
Not to be confused with Earle D. Baker, Los Angeles City Council member, 1951–59.George Washington Conrad Baker , known as George W.C. Baker, was a member of the Los Angeles, California, City Council from 1931 to 1935....
.
In August 1937 Councilman Howard E. Dorsey
Howard E. Dorsey
Howard E. Dorsey was a hydraulic engineer who was a member of the Los Angeles, California, City Council in 1937. He was the only City Council member since at least 1925 to die in office from accidental death — in his case, a traffic mishap — and the member to have served the fewest number of days...
died in an automobile accident, and the council appointed Sanborn to replace him in the Ninth District. It took 48 ballots for the council to choose Sanborn.
Sanborn ran for the council spot in 1939, but although he was neither endorsed nor opposed by the reform slate of 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,...
, running for mayor, Sanborn fell a victim to the anti-incumbent mood of the voters and was defeated.