James Ralph Toberman (1836 – January 26, 1911) served six one-year terms as Mayor of

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

. He first served between 1872 and 1874 and again between 1878 and 1882. Mayor Toberman switched on the city's first electric streetlights. He helped map out the first street car grid and water and sewer systems. James Toberman came to Los Angeles in 1864 when president Abraham Lincoln appointed him U.S. Revenue Assessor. Before his mayoralty, he was elected to the

Los Angeles Common Council The Los Angeles Common Council was the predecessor of the Los Angeles, California, City Council. It was formed in 1850 under state law, when the city had only 1,610 residents, and it existed until 1889, when the city had about 50,400 residents an ...

, the governing body of the city, in a special election on February 23, 1870, for a term ending on December 9 of that year. Some of the accomplishments during his terms in office: the creation of the Los Angeles Chamber of Commerce, the Los Angeles Herald, the Athletic Club, and the Los Angeles Normal School (which became the Los Angeles branch of the University of California/

UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Its academic roots were established in 1881 as a normal school then known as the southern branch of the C ...

in 1919); the organization of L.A.'s first synagogue; the city's first street paving (Main Street) and electric lights; the installation of the first telephone lines; the first orange trees planted along city streets; plans laid out for the city's water and sewer systems. Toberman cut taxes from $1.60 to $1.00 per $100.00 of assessed value. Toberman also left a surplus of $25,000 in the city treasury.''"Hollywood Home Reveals Glimpse of L.A. History"''
Los Angeles Times, Bob Pool, April 7, 2005 In 1909, Toberman and his wife Emma founded the Homer Toberman Deaconess Home in memory of their late son Homer (1872-1901). It exists today as the Toberman Neighborhood Center.

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* {{DEFAULTSORT:Toberman, James R. Mayors of Los Angeles Los Angeles Common Council (1850–1889) members 19th-century mayors of places in California 1836 births 1911 deaths Burials at Evergreen Cemetery, Los Angeles Workingmen's Party of California people