Roy Laurence Donley (June 15, 1885 – September 25, 1939) was a businessman who became a member of the Berkeley, California, Board of Park Commissioners and then the Los Angeles City Council, from 1931 to 1933.
Biography
Donley was born June 15, 1885, in
Kenosha, Wisconsin
Kenosha () is a city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the seat of Kenosha County. Per the 2020 census, the population was 99,986 which made it the fourth-largest city in Wisconsin. Situated on the southwestern shore of Lake Michigan, Kenos ...
, the son of William J. Donley and Catherine Weller. He attended
public schools in that city and in 1903, at the age of 18, he began working in the
rawhide division of N.R. Allen Sons Company of Kenosha, where he remained for four years.
[
He moved to San Francisco in 1907 and established a hide and skin ]brokerage
A broker is a person or firm who arranges transactions between a buyer and a seller for a commission when the deal is executed. A broker who also acts as a seller or as a buyer becomes a principal party to the deal. Neither role should be con ...
. He became interested in civic affairs and was a member of the Berkeley, California
Berkeley ( ) is a city on the eastern shore of San Francisco Bay in northern Alameda County, California, United States. It is named after the 18th-century Irish bishop and philosopher George Berkeley. It borders the cities of Oakland and E ...
, Board of Park Commissioners. In 1920 he transferred his business to Los Angeles. After he left the City Council, he joined the office of the Los Angeles city controller[ and then became deputy United States ]Internal Revenue
The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) is the revenue service for the United States federal government, which is responsible for collecting U.S. federal taxes and administering the Internal Revenue Code, the main body of the federal statutory tax ...
collector.[
Donley was married on September 14, 1910, to Sophia Anna Wenzler of ]Seattle, Washington
Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest region ...
. They had two children, John Robert and Evelyn Elizabeth.[Los Angeles Public Library reference file]
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A Roman Catholic, he was a member of the Jonathan Club and considered himself independent in politics.[
Donley died of an apoplectic stroke in his home, 3516 West 25t Street on September 25, 1939, at the age of fifty-two. Requiem mass was at St. Paul's Cathedral, and interment followed at ]Calvary Cemetery, East Los Angeles
Calvary Cemetery is a Roman Catholic cemetery that the Archdiocese of Los Angeles runs in the community of East Los Angeles. It is also called "New Calvary Cemetery" because it succeeded the original Calvary Cemetery (on north Broadway), over whi ...
.["Rosary to be Said for Ex-Councilman," ''Los Angeles Times,'' September 26, 1939, page A-2]
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City Council
Elections
In 1931, Donley ran for election in Los Angeles City Council District 5
Los Angeles City Council District 5 is one of the 15 districts of the Los Angeles City Council. District 5 represents Los Angeles communities in the Westside, central-eastern Santa Monica Mountains, and central-southern San Fernando Valley. Katy ...
against the incumbent, Virgil A. Martin and six other candidates, including newspaper editor Byron B. Brainard. Martin took first place in the primary with 2,954 votes, but the decision for second place was so close that a recount was ordered, and Donley edged Brainard by 1,766 to 1,745. In the runoff, Donley was elected, with 5,671 votes against Martin's 5,510.
In 1933, Donley and Brainard were nominated over Martin in the primary, but Brainard won the runoff with 13,163 votes to Donley's 10,499.
The next year, Donley ran for the Democratic nomination for Congress in the district held by Republican William I. Traeger but lost.
Donley again tackled Brainard in 1937, with the support of a number of progressive groups, but he lost in the primary election, with 3,591 votes to Brainard's 9,683.
Highlights
Trial
In 1934 he and former City Council Member James Stuart McKnight
James Stuart McKnight (November 15, 1884 – December 25, 1950) was a National Guard officer who served in World War I, an attorney and a member of the City Council in Los Angeles, California, in 1931 and 1932. He also served in the California St ...
were tried on charges of agreeing to accept a $10,000 bribe to influence their votes on a city garbage contract while they were on the council. Both were acquitted.
Other
Irish. Donley voiced his suspicion during a council meeting that the Board of Public Works was discriminating against men of Irish descent in placement for jobs. "Can't a man with a fine old Irish name of O'Connor get a job working for the city?" he asked. The matter was referred to a committee.
Notability. The councilman made two proposals that brought him a measure of notability: He suggested that each council member be allowed to appoint an assistant chief of police in his district and that the councilmen also be given control over the issuance of beer licenses in his district.
Depression. In the depth of the Great Depression, Donley urged that new taxes be levied on such things as gasoline, theaters, wrestling matches, dances, checks drawn on Los Angeles banks, soft drinks, cosmetics and tobacco to provide a fund to get the city through the winter.
Racial restrictions. Donley was one of the eight council members who in July 1931 voted against appealing a judge's decision ordering an end to racial restrictions in city-operated swimming pools, thus ending the practice. Six council members wanted to continue the legal fight. The pools had previously been restricted by race to certain days or hours.
Police. He urged that a compulsory school for police officers be abolished, stating that Police Chief Roy E. Steckel exceeded his authority in establishing it.
Olympic Boulevard. Donley was a staunch opponent of opening and widening 10th Street, which later became Olympic Boulevard, and he submitted an unsuccessful resolution to kill the project."Street Row Charges Fly," ''Los Angeles Times,'' May 13, 1932, page A-1
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References
Access to the ''Los Angeles Times'' links may require the use of a library card.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Donley, Roy
Los Angeles City Council members
1939 deaths
1885 births
California Democrats
20th-century American politicians