John Russel Roden (1922–????) was an American politician who was elected to 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 ...

in 1946 to succeed Meade McClanahan, who was recalled from office. Roden served until mid-1947 and was defeated for reelection.

Biography

Roden was a U.S. Army transport pilot during World War II.Voters Recall Councilman McClanahan," ''Los Angeles Times,'' March 20, 1946, page 1
/ref> He was married on September 18, 1946 to Nadine Romoli. They were divorced in January 1952. After his council service ended in 1947, he was a television manufacturing executive and an encyclopedia salesman.

Elections

City Council

City Councilman Meade McClanahan faced a

recall election A recall election (also called a recall referendum, recall petition or representative recall) is a procedure by which voters can remove an elected official from office through a referendum before that official's term of office has ended. Recalls ...

on March 19, 1946, brought about by public dissatisfaction in

Los Angeles City Council District 13 Los Angeles's 13th City Council district is one of the fifteen districts in the Los Angeles City Council. It is currently represented by Democratic Party (United States), Democrat Hugo Soto-Martinez since 2022, after beating previous councilmemb ...

with his auditorium appearances with political leader

Gerald L. K. Smith Gerald Lyman Kenneth Smith (February 27, 1898 – April 15, 1976) was an American Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), Disciples clergyman, politician and organizer known for his Populism, populist and Far-right politics, far-right demagoguer ...

, the founder of the America First Party. Roden, 28, was the candidate put forth by the forces proposing the recall, which was approved by a vote of 12,394 to 8,913. He won the accompanying election to fill the rest of McClanahan's term by 11,394 votes to 1,028 for Hubert Wallis and 929 for John P. McGinley. He took the oath of office on March 28, 1946. In those days the district represented

Silver Lake Silver Lake may refer to: Cities and towns Canada *Silver Lake, in Peterborough County, Ontario, a dispersed rural community in the municipality of Trent Lakes *Silver Lake, in Renfrew County, Ontario, a dispersed rural community in the municipalit ...

and an area west of

downtown ''Downtown'' is a term primarily used in American and Canadian English to refer to a city's sometimes commercial, cultural and often the historical, political, and geographic heart. It is often synonymous with its central business district ( ...

Vermont Avenue Vermont Avenue is one of the longest running north–south streets in City of Los Angeles and Los Angeles County, California. With a length of , is the third longest of the north–south thoroughfares in the region. For most of its length be ...

and south to Valley Boulevard. In the mid-1947 municipal elections, Roden faced State Assembly Member Ernest E. Debs, who finished first in the primaries but without a majority. In the final election, Debs was elected by a vote of 15,932 to 11,746 for Roden.

State Assembly

Late in 1947 Roden attempted to run for the

California State Assembly The California State Assembly is the lower house of the California State Legislature (the upper house being the California State Senate). The Assembly convenes, along with the State Senate, at the California State Capitol in Sacramento, Califor ...

but was ruled off the ballot by a judge because he had filed his

affidavit An ( ; Medieval Latin for "he has declared under oath") is a written statement voluntarily made by an ''affiant'' or ''deposition (law), deponent'' under an oath or affirmation which is administered by a person who is authorized to do so by la ...

of candidacy shortly before midnight on September 30 instead of observing a 5 p.m. deadline.

Positions

Incinerator, 1946. Roden drew the ire of "hundreds of angry citizens" who crowded the City Hall to protest the building of a city

incinerator Incineration is a list of solid waste treatment technologies, waste treatment process that involves the combustion of substances contained in waste materials. Industrial plants for waste incineration are commonly referred to as waste-to-ene ...

at Avenue 28 and Lacy Streets in Lincoln Heights. Roden had voted in favor of the incinerator just a few months earlier. Film strike, 1946. Roden was the only council member opposing the offer of a reward of $1,000 in connection with November 1946 violence occurring during a strike of film technicians at Columbia Studios. Late in the year, as the strike lingered, a Roden resolution asking for arbitration drew the ire of Councilman

Ed J. Davenport Edward J. Davenport (February 9, 1899 – June 24, 1953) was an American politician who served on the Los Angeles City Council for the Los Angeles City Council District 12, 12th district from 1945 to 1953. Elected as a liberal Democratic Party (Un ...

, who said:

Roden has shown his bias in this matter right along. He cast the one vote against this Council offering a reward for the detection of bomb throwers and he tried to get the Health Department to condemn the City Jail, so that arrested strike pickets would be released.

Communism, 1947. The feud continued the next year with Davenport submitting a resolution asking that the council be kept informed about "the progress of various bills before the Congressional Committee on Un-American Activities." Roden and Davenport traded "epithets" over the measure."Issue of Communism Stirs City Council Row," ''Los Angeles Times,'' March 14, 1947, page 5
/ref>

References

Access to the ''Los Angeles Times'' links may require the use of a library card. ---- {{DEFAULTSORT:Roden, John R. Los Angeles City Council members 1910s births Year of death missing