Charles Edward Sebastian (March 30, 1873 – April 17, 1929) was the 30th

mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well ...

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

, serving from 1915 to 1916. He was a Democrat.

Biography

He was born in

Farmington, Missouri Farmington is a city in St. Francois County located about southwest of St. Louis in the Lead Belt region in Missouri. As of the 2020 census, the population was 18,217. It is the county seat of St. Francois County. Farmington was established i ...

on March 30, 1873. Originally a patrolman in the LAPD, Sebastian climbed the ranks to

Chief of Police Chief may refer to: Title or rank Military and law enforcement * Chief master sergeant, the ninth, and highest, enlisted rank in the U.S. Air Force and U.S. Space Force * Chief of police, the head of a police department * Chief of the b ...

and served in that office from January 3, 1911 to July 16, 1915. He was the first L.A. police chief to be elected mayor, due in no small part to his crusade against

vice A vice is a practice, behaviour, or habit generally considered immoral, sinful, criminal, rude, taboo, depraved, degrading, deviant or perverted in the associated society. In more minor usage, vice can refer to a fault, a negative character t ...

. While running for office he became embroiled in a litany of charges but was later acquitted of them all. He did, however, later depart City Hall after adverse publicity concerning his personal life arose from the publication of letters of a damaging nature. During his brief mayoralty, Sebastian oversaw the annexation of numerous outlying areas, including most of the San Fernando Valley and the West Side. He died April 17, 1929, and is interred at Glen Haven Memorial Park in Sylmar, California.

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Sebastian, Charles E. 1929 deaths Mayors of Los Angeles Chiefs of the Los Angeles Police Department 1873 births California Democrats People from Farmington, Missouri