Earl C. Gay
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Earl C. Gay (1902–1972) was a registered pharmacist who was a member of the Los Angeles City Council between 1933 and 1945.


Biography

Gay was born December 8, 1902, in
Long Beach, California Long Beach is a city in Los Angeles County, California. It is the 42nd-most populous city in the United States, with a population of 466,742 as of 2020. A charter city, Long Beach is the seventh-most populous city in California. Incorporate ...
, the son of Ellsworth Gay and Elba W. Bain Gay. His siblings were Bernice Windisch, Louise Ferguson, Maude Wilmans or Williams and Robert W. Gay. He attended Florence Avenue Grammar School, Jefferson High School and
Manual Arts High School Manual Arts High School is a secondary public school in Los Angeles, California, United States. History Manual Arts High School was founded in 1910 in the middle of bean fields, one-half mile from the nearest bus stop. It was the third high sch ...
, both in Los Angeles, after which he received a degree from the Henry Coleman School of Pharmacy at the
University of Southern California , mottoeng = "Let whoever earns the palm bear it" , religious_affiliation = Nonsectarian—historically Methodist , established = , accreditation = WSCUC , type = Private research university , academic_affiliations = , endowment = $8.1 ...
. He managed the Thompson and Thompson Drug Company and the Morgan Drug Company. His hobbies were
golf Golf is a club-and-ball sport in which players use various clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a course in as few strokes as possible. Golf, unlike most ball games, cannot and does not use a standardized playing area, and coping ...
and
bowling Bowling is a target sport and recreational activity in which a player rolls a ball toward pins (in pin bowling) or another target (in target bowling). The term ''bowling'' usually refers to pin bowling (most commonly ten-pin bowling), thou ...
. In 1937 he was living at 5832 South Van Ness Avenue, near Slauson Avenue.Los Angeles Public Library reference file
/ref> He was married on October 8, 1926, to Irene Elizabeth Constable of Los Angeles. They had one daughter, Corinne Elizabeth (later Shero). He was a member of the Southside, Angeles Mesa and Crenshaw
chambers of commerce A chamber of commerce, or board of trade, is a form of business network. For example, 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 a ...
, the Southwest Boosters Club and the Civic Interest League, as well as the International Footprinters Association,
Native Sons of the Golden West The Native Sons of the Golden West is a fraternal service organization founded in the U.S. state of California in 1875, dedicated to historic preservation, documentation of historic structures and places in the state, the placement of historic ...
, Masons and the
Shrine A shrine ( la, scrinium "case or chest for books or papers"; Old French: ''escrin'' "box or case") is a sacred or holy space dedicated to a specific deity, ancestor, hero, martyr, saint, daemon, or similar figure of respect, wherein they ...
. He attended the Chesterfield Square Methodist Church. He died February 6, 1972, in a Torrance convalescent hospital. Burial was in
Forest Lawn Memorial Park, Glendale Forest Lawn Memorial Park is a privately owned cemetery in Glendale, California. It is the original and current flagship location of Forest Lawn Memorial-Parks & Mortuaries, a chain of six cemeteries and four additional mortuaries in Southern Cal ...
."Rites Set for Former Councilman Earl Gay," ''Los Angeles Times,'' February 10, 1972, page G-13
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City Council

''See also List of Los Angeles municipal election returns, 1933–45 In 1933,
Los Angeles City Council District 6 Los Angeles City Council District 6 is one of the 15 districts of the Los Angeles City Council, covering much of the central and eastern San Fernando Valley. The seat is currently vacant due to the resignation of Nury Martinez on October 12, 202 ...
covered the southwest part of the city, with the northern boundary at Vernon Avenue, the southern at
Century Boulevard Century Boulevard is a major east–west thoroughfare in the southern portion of Los Angeles, California. Century Boulevard acts as a continuation of Tweedy Boulevard at Alameda Street in South Gate in its east end (Tweedy Boulevard in its ea ...
, the western at
La Brea Avenue La Brea Avenue is a prominent north-south thoroughfare in the City of Los Angeles and in Los Angeles County, California. La Brea is known for having diverse ethnic communities, and many shops and restaurants along its route. History ''La Br ...
and the eastern at Vermont Avenue. Gay ran that year against incumbent Council Member James G. McAllister and was elected, 12,131-11,856. He was reelected easily in 1935 over Lottie E. Barkow, the
End Poverty in California End Poverty in California (EPIC) was a political campaign started in 1934 by socialist writer Upton Sinclair (best known as author of ''The Jungle''). The movement formed the basis for Sinclair's campaign for Governor of California in 1934. The p ...
candidate, and was also reelected in every biennial vote from 1937 to 1943. He lost in 1945, however, to
L.E. Timberlake Leonard E. "Lee" Timberlake (1896–1973) was a British-born American politician who served as a member of the Los Angeles City Council from 1945 to 1969. Before entering politics, Timberlake was a railroad employee and travel bureau owner. Biog ...
by a close vote, 8,841 to 8,404. Gay survived a recall attempt in 1938, sponsored by Robert Noble, a pension advocate. The 6th District councilman was "an archenemy of
reform Reform ( lat, reformo) means the improvement or amendment of what is wrong, corrupt, unsatisfactory, etc. The use of the word in this way emerges in the late 18th century and is believed to originate from Christopher Wyvill's Association movement ...
Mayor Fletcher Bowron. However, he survived repeated political assaults from Bowron and chaired the Police and Fire Committee and the Finance Committee." He was on Bowron's "
purge In history, religion and political science, a purge is a position removal or execution of people who are considered undesirable by those in power from a government, another organization, their team leaders, or society as a whole. A group undertak ...
list" in the 1939 election. After Bowron referred to himself in a radio address as the "lone wolf" of City Hall, Gay and fellow Council Member Edward L. Thrasher set a wolf trap outside the door of the mayor's suite a joke. In 1943 he and three other council members unsuccessfully opposed granting a permit to Seaboard Oil Company for slant oil drilling under
Elysian Park Elysian Park is one of the largest parks in Los Angeles at 600 acres (240 ha). Most of Elysian Park falls in the neighborhood of the same name, but a small portion of the park falls in Echo Park. The park was created by city ordinance on April 5, ...
from a site near Riverside Drive."Elysian Park Oil Drilling Gets City Council Approval," ''Los Angeles Times,'' October 30, 1943, page 1
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References

Access to the ''Los Angeles Times'' links requires the use of a library card. ---- {{DEFAULTSORT:Gay, Earl C. 1902 births 1972 deaths Los Angeles City Council members 20th-century American politicians