John H. Reading (November 26, 1917 – February 7, 2003) was a businessman and politician based in Oakland, California. He was elected as the 44th Mayor of

Oakland, California Oakland is the largest city and the county seat of Alameda County, California, United States. A major West Coast port, Oakland is the largest city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area, the third largest city overall in the ...

and served three four-year terms, from 1966 to 1977. Since his terms, voters have consistently elected Democratic candidates as mayor of the city.

Life and career

Born in

Glendale, Arizona Glendale () is a city in Maricopa County, Arizona, United States, located approximately northwest of Downtown Phoenix. As of the 2020 census, it had a population of 248,325. History In the late 1800s the area that is now Glendale was all dese ...

, Reading moved as a youth with his family to Oakland. There he attended public schools. He graduated from the

University of California, Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California) is a public land-grant research university in Berkeley, California. Established in 1868 as the University of California, it is the state's first land-grant un ...

in 1940, after having worked his way through college. During World War II, Reading served in the Army Air Force as both a pilot and flight training officer. He attained the rank of Lieutenant Colonel. After the war, Reading inherited his father's business, Ingram's Food Products. The company was based in East Oakland, and was famous for frozen Red's Tamales. He was appointed to the Oakland City Council in 1961 and served on the body until being appointed as mayor. In 1968

Charlie Finley Charles Oscar Finley (February 22, 1918 – February 19, 1996), nicknamed Charlie O or Charley O, was an American businessman who owned Major League Baseball's Oakland Athletics. Finley purchased the franchise while it was located in Kansas ...

moved the Athletics baseball team from Kansas City to Oakland during Mayor Reading's tenure. The

Oakland Athletics The Oakland Athletics (often referred to as the A's) are an American professional baseball team based in Oakland, California. The Athletics compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division. The t ...

won three World Series while Reading was mayor. He was instrumental in gaining funding and supporting construction of the new

Oakland Coliseum Oakland Coliseum, currently branded as RingCentral Coliseum, is a stadium in Oakland, California. It is part of the Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum Complex, with the adjacent Oakland Arena, near Interstate 880. The Coliseum is the home b ...

and expansion of the

Oakland International Airport Oakland International Airport is an international airport in Oakland, California, United States, 10 miles (16 km) south of downtown located in the San Francisco Bay Area. It is owned by the Port of Oakland and has domestic passenger ...

. Reading was a

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

in a city that was becoming increasingly Democratic as the population became minority-majority. He is the last Republican to have been elected as mayor there. Reading was elected three times: in 1967 to the position of mayor by appointment on an unexpired term, in 1969 for his first full four-year term. In 1973, Reading was forced into a run-off election by Democrat

Bobby Seale Robert George Seale (born October 22, 1936) is an American political activist and author. Seale is widely known for co-founding the Black Panther Party with fellow activist Huey P. Newton. Founded as the "Black Panther Party for Self-Defense", ...

, co-founder of the

Black Panther Party The Black Panther Party (BPP), originally the Black Panther Party for Self-Defense, was a Marxism-Leninism, Marxist-Leninist and Black Power movement, black power political organization founded by college students Bobby Seale and Huey P. New ...

. Reading won re-election easily. Reading returned to his business after serving as mayor. He lived with his family in the Oak Knoll District of Oakland. Reading died in 2003 in

Indian Wells, California Indian Wells is a city in Riverside County, California, in the Coachella Valley. Incorporated in 1967, it lies in between the cities of Palm Desert and La Quinta. As of the 2010 Census, the city population was 4,958. The city hosts the sixt ...

References

1917 births 2003 deaths Mayors of Oakland, California 20th-century American politicians University of California, Berkeley alumni {{California-mayor-stub