John Walter Baumgartner (May 17, 1890 - November 9, 1973) was a civil engineer who was a member of the Los Angeles, California, City Council from 1933 to 1945.

Biography

Baumgartner was born on May 17, 1890, on a ranch in Los Angeles located at what later became the intersection of Beverly and Rampart boulevards. He was educated in Los Angeles public schools and graduated from St. Vincent's College, now Loyola University. He was a civil engineer for fifteen years. Married since 1914, he was the father of one daughter, Helen (Mrs. Kenneth Kritser). He lived at 1010 South Burlington Avenue.Los Angeles Public Library reference file
/ref> He was an

elector Elector may refer to: * Prince-elector or elector, a member of the electoral college of the Holy Roman Empire, having the function of electing the Holy Roman Emperors * Elector, a member of an electoral college ** Confederate elector, a member of ...

pledged to the Democratic slate in 1936. He was a Roman Catholic.

City service

''See also List of Los Angeles municipal election returns, 1933–43.'' Baumgartner was appointed to the Water and Power Commission in 1932, and he was soon chosen president of the body. He was elected to the 12th Councilmanic District in 1933 and reelected every two years thereafter until he retired in 1945. In that era the 12th District covered roughly the area north of

Pico Boulevard Pico may refer to: Places The Moon * Mons Pico, a lunar mountain in the northern part of the Mare Imbrium basin Portugal * Pico, a civil parish in the municipality of Vila Verde * Pico da Pedra, a civil parish in the municipality of Ribeir ...

and south of

Griffith Park Griffith Park is a large municipal park at the eastern end of the Santa Monica Mountains, in the Los Feliz neighborhood of Los Angeles, California. The park includes popular attractions such as the Los Angeles Zoo, the Autry Museum of the Ameri ...

, with Hoover Street on the west. He was 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 in 1935. In 1934 he opposed the policy of allowing the

Automobile Club of Southern California The Automobile Club of Southern California is the Southern California affiliate of the American Automobile Association (AAA) federation of motor clubs. The Auto Club was founded on December 13, 1900, in Los Angeles as one of the nation's first mot ...

to post directional signs for motorists on city streets because "the club is in the insurance business." City purchasing agent Holm said that the club furnished the signs for free and maintained 21,000 of them at no expense to the city. He and Councilman Byron B. Brainard obtained the original allocation of $175,000 from the state in the 1930s to begin the project that opened 10th Street and turned it into Olympic Boulevard without having to assess local property owners for the improvements. He was appointed to a committee of five council members in May 1940 to call on Mayor Fletcher Bowron to complain about "persistent and erroneous" remarks the mayor made about the council in his radio addresses. In summer 1940 he began a campaign against

pinball Pinball games are a family of games in which a ball is propelled into a specially designed table where it bounces off various obstacles, scoring points either en route or when it comes to rest. Historically the board was studded with nails call ...

and other recreational machines, and in October of that year submitted a motion to "prohibit possession, operation or playing of so-called marble games known as bali ball and miniature bowling." He also asked "consideration of a ban on the playing of those games by the use of any spherical object other than a

marble Marble is a metamorphic rock composed of recrystallized carbonate minerals, most commonly calcite or dolomite. Marble is typically not foliated (layered), although there are exceptions. In geology, the term ''marble'' refers to metamorphose ...

." 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. He and Councilman Ira J. McDonald opposed issuance of $12.5 million in bonds in 1945 to improve Los Angeles Airport on the grounds that "airlines, like railroads, should pay for their terminals instead of having a terminal financed by the taxpayers.""Airport Authorized," ''Los Angeles Times,'' March 13, 1945, page 4
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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Baumgartner, John W. Los Angeles City Council members American civil engineers 1890 births 1973 deaths California Democrats Engineers from California 20th-century American politicians