Karl L. Rundberg (30 January 1899 – 2 April 1969) was an American businessman and politician. He was notable as a

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 ...

member between 1957 and 1965. He was convicted of accepting a bribe in 1967 when a member of the city's Harbor Commission and was placed on probation. The conviction was reversed by a higher court.

Early life and education

Rundberg was born in

Kansas City The Kansas City metropolitan area is a bi-state metropolitan area anchored by Kansas City, Missouri. Its 14 counties straddle the border between the U.S. states of Missouri (9 counties) and Kansas (5 counties). With and a population of more t ...

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 ...

, on January 30, 1899. He attended public schools there. Later he took classes in commercial and industrial illumination at

Washington University in St. Louis Washington University in St. Louis (WashU) is a private research university in St. Louis, Missouri, United States. Founded in 1853 by a group of civic leaders and named for George Washington, the university spans 355 acres across its Danforth ...

Career before politics

He became a businessman in that city specializing in commercial and industrial lighting and was general manager of Modern Lighting Company there. He moved to Pacific Palisades to retire. In 1953 he was named assistant director of the city's

civil defense Civil defense or civil protection is an effort to protect the citizens of a state (generally non-combatants) from human-made and natural disasters. It uses the principles of emergency management: Risk management, prevention, mitigation, prepara ...

organization. He was a member of the

American Legion The American Legion, commonly known as the Legion, is an Voluntary association, organization of United States, U.S. war veterans headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana. It comprises U.S. state, state, Territories of the United States, U.S. terr ...

, Westwood Shrine Club, and a director of Richland Avenue Youth House. He was president of the

Lions Club Lions Clubs International, is an international service organization, currently headquartered in Oak Brook, Illinois. , it had over 46,000 local clubs and more than 1.4 million members (including the youth wing Leo clubs, Leo) in more than 200 ge ...

Jefferson City, Missouri Jefferson City, informally Jeff City, is the List of capitals in the United States, capital of the U.S. state of Missouri. It had a population of 43,228 at the 2020 United States census, ranking as the List of cities in Missouri, 16th most popu ...

City Council

Elections

Rundberg was elected to a four-year term to represent

Los Angeles City Council District 11 Los Angeles's 11th City Council district is one of the fifteen districts in the Los Angeles City Council. It is currently represented by Democrat Traci Park since 2022, who succeeded Mike Bonin after his retirement. The district was created in ...

in 1957, ousting fellow conservative

Harold Harby Harold Harby (September 8, 1894 – November 24, 1978) was elected to the Los Angeles, California, City Council in 1939, but he had to leave office in 1942 when he was convicted of using a city car for a trip out of the state. He was reelected in ...

, the incumbent, by 17,524 votes to 10,193. He was easily reelected in the primary election of 1961, but in 1965 he was beaten in the general election by

Marvin Braude Marvin Braude (August 11, 1920 – December 7, 2005) was a member of the Los Angeles City Council for 32 years, between 1965 and 1997—the third-longest-serving council member in the history of the city. During his tenure on the Los Angeles City ...

Highlights

Beach noise

Rundberg, a conservative Republican, was known for his antipathy toward

beatniks Beatniks were members of a social movement in the mid-20th century, who subscribed to an anti- materialistic lifestyle. They rejected the conformity and consumerism of mainstream American culture and expressed themselves through various forms ...

Bohemians Bohemian or Bohemians may refer to: *Anything of or relating to Bohemia Culture and arts * Bohemianism, an unconventional lifestyle, originally practised by 19th–20th century European and American artists and writers. * Bohemian style, a f ...

and others with non-conformist lifestyles living in the Venice beach area of his district. In a "resounding" City Council session in May 1957, he called them "scum" and "animals" just before the council passed an ordinance, 11-2, to restrict the noise from their bongo and

Conga drums The conga, also known as tumbadora, is a tall, narrow, single-headed drum from Cuba. Congas are staved like barrels and classified into three types: quinto (lead drum, highest), tres dos or tres golpes (middle), and tumba or salidor (lowest) ...

by forbidding the playing of any musical instruments on beaches or parks within 750 feet of a residence between 10 p.m. and 7 a.m. Only former policeman Tom Bradley and musician

Ernani Bernardi Ernani Bernardi (October 29, 1911 – January 4, 2006) was a big band musician and politician. Bernardi served on the Los Angeles City Council from 1961 to 1993, representing 7th district and becoming the second longest-serving council member in ...

were opposed. A Police Department spokesman said that officers would take a noise-maker into custody, but only if a citizen made the arrest for

disturbing the peace Breach of the peace or disturbing the peace is a legal term used in constitutional law in English-speaking countries and in a public order sense in the United Kingdom. It is a form of disorderly conduct. Public order England, Wales and Northern ...

because officially an officer's peace cannot be disturbed. "It's sickening to me," replied Rundberg, "when I hear that a policeman has to stand by . . . because of some legal hair-splitting." He added: "Our people are afraid to come out after dark because of these animals—and that's what they are."

Mayor Yorty

Rundberg was a foe of Mayor

Sam Yorty Samuel William Yorty (October 1, 1909 – June 5, 1998) was an American politician, attorney, and radio host from Los Angeles, California. He served as a member of the United States House of Representatives and the California State Assembly, ...

, on one occasion in 1963 accusing the mayor's office of investigating Rundberg's background with the purpose of recalling him from office. "The whole tribe is not fit to be in public office," Rundberg said of the mayor's staff.

Mountains

The "blunt-speaking" councilman tangled with actors

Steve McQueen Terrence Stephen McQueen (March 24, 1930November 7, 1980) was an American actor. His antihero persona, emphasized during the height of counterculture of the 1960s, 1960s counterculture, made him a top box office draw for his films of the late ...

and

James Garner James Scott Garner (né Bumgarner; April 7, 1928 – July 19, 2014) was an American actor. He played leading roles in more than 50 theatrical films, which included ''The Great Escape (film), The Great Escape'' (1963) with Steve McQueen; Paddy Ch ...

on successive days in July 1964 as the City Council debated a controversial master plan for the

Santa Monica Mountains The Santa Monica Mountains are a coastal mountain range in Southern California, next to the Pacific Ocean. It is part of the Transverse Ranges. The Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area encompasses this mountain range. Because of its p ...

, with McQueen angrily telling Rundberg "Don't close the door in my face!" at one council meeting, and Garner and Rundberg, with their fists clenched, trading "more harsh words at the top of their voices, their faces less than a foot apart," at the next day's meeting, until they were separated by a police officer.

Conviction

After his City Council term ended, Rundberg was appointed by Mayor

to the city Harbor Commission. In August 1968 Rundberg and fellow commissioner Robert (Nick) Starr were convicted of receiving bribes in return for their help in getting a $12 million city contract for developer Keith Smith at the harbor. Superior Judge William B. Keene sentenced Starr to a year in jail but placed Rundberg on

probation Probation in criminal law is a period of supervision over an offence (law), offender, ordered by the court often in lieu of incarceration. In some jurisdictions, the term ''probation'' applies only to community sentences (alternatives to incar ...

because of the latter's ill health. The conviction was reversed by the State Court of Appeal, which held the jury had not been properly instructed on whether the crime of bribery had been committed.

Later years

After having a history of heart problems, he died on April 2, 1969, leaving his wife, Margaret; a son, Karl, Jr., and a daughter, Marie Pohle. He was 70 years old.

References

---- {{DEFAULTSORT:Rundberg, Karl L. Los Angeles City Council members 1899 births 1969 deaths Politicians from Kansas City, Missouri California Republicans 20th-century California politicians Businesspeople from Kansas City, Missouri People from Pacific Palisades, Los Angeles 20th-century American businesspeople Washington University in St. Louis alumni