Charles A. Allen (October 6, 1884 – August 23, 1964) was an American politician. He was a member of the
Los Angeles City Council
The Los Angeles City Council is the Legislature, lawmaking body for the Government of Los Angeles, city government of Los Angeles, California, the second largest city in the United States. It has 15 members who each represent the 15 city council ...
from 1941 to 1947.
Biography
Allen was born in
Missouri
Missouri (''see #Etymology and pronunciation, pronunciation'') is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it border ...
in 1864. A captain in the
National Guard
National guard is the name used by a wide variety of current and historical uniformed organizations in different countries. The original National Guard was formed during the French Revolution around a cadre of defectors from the French Guards.
...
, he was given the nickname "Cap". He was in the grocery business and ran several Los Angeles area markets. He was also active in
clubs
Club may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media
* Club (magazine), ''Club'' (magazine)
* Club, a ''Yie Ar Kung-Fu'' character
* Clubs (suit), a suit of playing cards
* Club music
* "Club", by Kelsea Ballerini from the album ''kelsea''
Brands a ...
and civic associations. He became supervisor of the
Los Angeles City Hall
Los Angeles City Hall, completed in 1928, is the center of the government of the city of Los Angeles, California, and houses the Mayor of Los Angeles, mayor's office and the meeting chambers and offices of the Los Angeles City Council. It is loca ...
parking garage in 1935.
In 1941, while on leave from the latter position, Allen ran for
Los Angeles City Council District 8
Los Angeles's 8th City Council district is one of the fifteen districts in the Los Angeles City Council. It is currently represented by Democrat Marqueece Harris-Dawson since 2015 after winning an election to succeed Bernard C. Parks, who termed ...
in an election to succeed 12-year veteran Councilman
Evan Lewis. He won that year and was reelected twice more.
In the April 1947 primary election, his victory – already certified by the City Council – was set aside by court order, a recount was made, and he had to face a final election the next month, which he lost to
Kenneth Hahn
Kenneth Frederick Hahn (August 19, 1920 – October 12, 1997) was a member of the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors for forty years, from 1952 to 1992. Hahn was on the Los Angeles City Council from 1947 to 1952. He was an ardent supporter ...
.
He died in
Whittier, California
Whittier () is a city in Los Angeles County, California, and is part of the Gateway Cities. The city had 87,306 residents as of the 2020 United States census, an increase of 1,975 from the 2010 United States census, 2010 census figure. Whittier ...
on August 23, 1964, and was interred at Mountain View Mausoleum in
Altadena
Altadena () is an unincorporated area, and census-designated place in the San Gabriel Valley and the Verdugos regions of Los Angeles County, California. Directly north of Pasadena, it is located approximately from Downtown Los Angeles. Its po ...
.
Member of the Los Angeles City Council
Allen was sworn in on May 14, 1941, to fill the unexpired term of Councilman
Evan Lewis, who had died on May 5. Lewis's term was to end on June 30, and Allen's elected term was to begin July 1.
Minorities, 1945
During debate on a proposal to establish an interracial committee "devoted to the interests of so-called minority groups," Allen said he was opposed because he was, "convinced that this is a Communistic setup and that the people who have been associated with this effort have been misled." The proposed ordinance was killed by an 8-6 vote.
Radio, 1946
He voted in favor of a resolution condemning the sending of individual letters by city councilmen to support any given
radio station in making an application to the Federal Communications Commission. He denounced an organization, the Hollywood Community Radio Group, Inc., which had solicited such letters because its membership, he said, "contains names of persons with reputed Communist sympathies."
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Allan, Charles A.
1884 births
1964 deaths
American anti-communists
Los Angeles City Council members