John Francis Shelley (September 3, 1905 – September 1, 1974) was an American politician who served as the 35th
mayor of San Francisco
The mayor of the City and County of San Francisco is the head of the executive branch of the Government of San Francisco, San Francisco city and county government. The officeholder has the duty to enforce city laws, and the power to either appro ...
from 1964 to 1968, the first
Democrat
Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to:
Politics
*A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people.
*A member of a Democratic Party:
**Democratic Party (Cyprus) (DCY)
**Democratic Part ...
elected to the office in 50 years, and the first in an unbroken line of Democratic mayors that lasts to the present (). His tenure in the
United States House of Representatives
The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Artic ...
, immediately prior to his mayoralty (1949-1964), also broke a long streak of Republican House members (44 years) and began a streak of Democratic representatives from San Francisco (and, coincidentally, the ) that continues to the present ().
Early life, family and education
John Francis Shelley was born in
San Francisco
San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...
on September 3, 1905, the oldest of nine children of Dennis Shelley and Mary Casey Shelley.
His father was an immigrant from
County Cork
County Cork () is the largest and the southernmost Counties of Ireland, county of Republic of Ireland, Ireland, named after the city of Cork (city), Cork, the state's second-largest city. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster ...
, Ireland (then part of the
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...
), who became a
longshoreman
A dockworker (also called a longshoreman, stevedore, docker, wharfman, lumper or wharfie) is a waterfront manual laborer who loads and unloads ships.
As a result of the intermodal shipping container revolution, the required number of dockworke ...
in California.
He grew up in the
Mission District
The Mission District ( Spanish: ''Distrito de la Misión''), commonly known as the Mission ( Spanish: ''La Misión''), is a neighborhood in San Francisco, California. One of the oldest neighborhoods in San Francisco, the Mission District's name ...
of San Francisco,
[ then "a tough working-class district," where he "acquired a deep-seated belief that 'working it out instead of fighting it out' was the best policy when disagreement was encountered."][ He attended Mission High School, where in 1923 he was elected student body president.][ He studied law and played varsity football at the ]University of San Francisco
The University of San Francisco (USF) is a Private university, private Society of Jesus, Jesuit university in San Francisco, California, United States. Founded in 1855, it has nearly 9,000 students pursuing undergraduate and graduate degrees ...
while working as a bakery driver, earning his law degree in 1932.[
]
Early union activities
After graduation (receiving his law degree in 1932), Shelley became a business agent for the Bakery Wagon Drivers Union.[ In 1936 he became an ]AFL
AFL may refer to:
Education
* Angel Foundation for Learning, a Canadian Roman Catholic charity
* Ankara Science High School, a high school in Ankara, Turkey, natively referred to as ''Ankara Fen Liesi''
* Assessment for learning
Military
* ...
official, defeating an incumbent to become vice-president of the San Francisco Labor Council. a move that the San Francisco Labor Council strongly disapproved of.
In the midst of the hotel strike, 2100 elevators and janitors in buildings citywide voted to strike, but the work-stoppage was postponed by the international to continue negotiating. Other unions voted to strike, including the milk wagon drivers. At the California AFL's "loyalty" convention in September, Shelley and George G. Kidwell
George Geddes Kidwell (February 14, 1884 – April 26, 1948) was an American labor leader and politician who served as secretary of the San Francisco Bakery Wagon Drivers' Union from 1917 to 1939 and as director of the California Department of Ind ...
(his former superior in the Bakery Wagon Drivers' Union) were beaten up for introducing a resolution calling for the merger of the AFL and CIO. A decade later, Shelley was elected president of the organization, serving until 1950.
World War II and Congress
Shelley served in the United States Coast Guard
The United States Coast Guard (USCG) is the maritime security, search and rescue, and Admiralty law, law enforcement military branch, service branch of the armed forces of the United States. It is one of the country's eight Uniformed services ...
during World War II
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
and was a member of the California State Senate
The California State Senate is the upper house of the California State Legislature (the lower house being the California State Assembly). The state senate convenes, along with the state assembly, at the California State Capitol in Sacramento.
...
from 1939 to 1947. During his tenure, he fought unsuccessfully to confirm the nomination of labor leader Germain Bulcke
Germain Julien Bulcke (May 18, 1902 – April 6, 1994) was a Belgian-American longshore worker from San Francisco and leader in the International Longshore and Warehouse Union.
Biography
Germain (Jerry) Bulcke was born in Belgium and moved to ...
as a member of the San Francisco Harbor Commission. Shelley ran for Lieutenant Governor
A lieutenant governor, lieutenant-governor, or vice governor is a high officer of state, whose precise role and rank vary by jurisdiction. Often a lieutenant governor is the deputy, or lieutenant, to or ranked under a governor — a "second-in-comm ...
in 1946
1946 (Roman numerals, MCMXLVI) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar, the 1946th year of the Common Era (CE) and ''Anno Domini'' (AD) designations, the 946th year of the 2nd millennium, the 46th year of the 20th centur ...
, but was defeated by Goodwin Knight
Goodwin Jess "Goodie" Knight (December 9, 1896 – May 22, 1970) was an American politician and judge who served as the 31st governor of California from 1953 to 1959. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served as the 35th lieutenant ...
. Shelley would then make his mark as a leader of the California delegation to the 1948 Democratic National Convention
The 1948 Democratic National Convention was held at Philadelphia Convention Hall in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, from July 12 to July 15, 1948, and resulted in the nominations of President Harry S. Truman for a full term and Senator Alben W. ...
, when he helped marshal his state's votes to support a strong civil rights plank. Shelley entered the United States House of Representatives
The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Artic ...
in 1949 and served until 1964, when he stepped down to be inaugurated Mayor of San Francisco after winning the November, 1963 election by nearly a 12-point margin against his nearest opponent, Harold Dobbs
Harold Stanley Dobbs (December 8, 1918 – August 14, 1994) was an influential civic leader in San Francisco, California. He was a lawyer, businessman, politician, and leader in the Jewish community, founding Mel's Drive-In and serving as presiden ...
(50-38.5%).
Relations with the FBI
Prior to his election as a U.S. congressman, Shelley was included in the FBI
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic Intelligence agency, intelligence and Security agency, security service of the United States and Federal law enforcement in the United States, its principal federal law enforcement ag ...
's Custodial Detention (DETCOM) files. The FBI's "DETCOM Program The DETCOM Program (also "Det-Com," "Detcom"), along with the COMSAB (or "COMmunist SABotage"
) Program formed part of the " Emergency Detention Program" (1946–1950) of Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).
As FBI historian Athan Theoharis desc ...
" "was concerned with the individuals 'to be given priority arrest in the event of ... an emergency.'" Priority under the Detcom program was given to "all top functionaries, all key figures, all individuals tabbed under the Comsab program", and "any other individual who, though he does not fall in the above groups, should be given priority arrest because of some peculiar circumstances".
A memo by Warren Olney III alerted FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover
John Edgar Hoover (January 1, 1895 – May 2, 1972) was an American attorney and law enforcement administrator who served as the fifth and final director of the Bureau of Investigation (BOI) and the first director of the Federal Bureau o ...
to the fact that Shelley was recently elected and remained targeted, along with fellow San Francisco congressman Franck R. Havenner, to be arrested by the FBI as a security risk in case of a Soviet attack. A July 23, 1962 FBI search slip on Shelley is check-marked for "subversive references only" and remains heavily redacted with numerous unreleased documents.
Mayor of San Francisco
Shelley's term as mayor was filled with challenges, including strikes over discriminatory hiring practices against African-Americans at the Palace Hotel, a public nurse strike in 1966, and a threatened San Francisco Symphony Orchestra
The San Francisco Symphony, founded in 1911, is an American orchestra based in San Francisco, California. Since 1980 the orchestra has been resident at the Louise M. Davies Symphony Hall in the city's Hayes Valley neighborhood. The San Franci ...
strike in 1967. Shelley was mayor during the Summer of Love
The Summer of Love was a major social phenomenon that occurred in San Francisco during the summer of 1967. As many as 100,000 people, mostly young people, hippies, beatniks, and 1960s counterculture figures, converged in San Francisco's Haig ...
, a time of radicalism in the Haight-Ashbury
Haight-Ashbury () is a district of San Francisco, California, named for the intersection of Haight and Ashbury streets. It is also called the Haight and the Upper Haight. The neighborhood is known as one of the main centers of the countercultu ...
and turmoil throughout the city, including Black rage toward the "auto row
An auto row or auto mall is a business cluster with multiple car dealerships in a single neighborhood or road. Auto rows are distinct from car supermarkets which are a single, large dealership.
Economics
Auto rows, like mall food courts, are an ...
" on Van Ness Avenue. He was faced with riots
A riot or mob violence is a form of civil disorder commonly characterized by a group lashing out in a violent public disturbance against authority, property, or people.
Riots typically involve destruction of property, public or private. The p ...
in Bayview-Hunters Point on September 27, 1966, after a white police officer fatally shot a black youth accused of auto theft. Shelley declared a state of emergency in the city for six days. After the riots ended, Shelley took several public steps to improve relations between city government and the African-American community. He appointed the city and county's first African-American supervisor, Terry Francois
Terry A. Francois ( 1922 – June 9, 1989) was an African American attorney, civil rights activist, and politician. He served as the San Francisco chapter president of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People and became th ...
.
Shelley took an aggressive stance against several prominent anti-development mobilizations during his tenure, including movements in opposition to development at the Yerba Buena Gardens
Yerba Buena Gardens is the name for two blocks of public parks located between Third and Fourth, Mission and Folsom Streets in the South of Market (SoMA) neighbourhood of San Francisco, California. The first block bordered by Mission and How ...
and in the Western Addition
The Western Addition is a district in San Francisco, California, United States.
Location
The Western Addition is located between Van Ness Avenue, the Richmond District, the Haight-Ashbury and Lower Haight neighborhoods, and Pacific Heights.
...
. Shelley bowed out of running for a second term in office; his stated reasons were health-related, but it was thought that prominent political forces in the city's establishment wanted a more stringently pro-development mayor in office.
Family
Shelley's son, Kevin Shelley
Kevin Francis Shelley (born November 16, 1955) is an American politician, who was the 26th California Secretary of State from January 6, 2003, until his resignation on March 4, 2005.
Early life
Shelley was raised in San Francisco, the only son ...
, was a member of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors
The San Francisco Board of Supervisors is the board of supervisors, legislative body within the government of San Francisco, government of the San Francisco, City and County of San Francisco in the U.S. state of California.
Government and polit ...
from 1990 to 1996, a member of the California State Assembly
The California State Assembly is the lower house of the California State Legislature (the upper house being the California State Senate). The Assembly convenes, along with the State Senate, at the California State Capitol in Sacramento, Califor ...
from 1997 to 2003 and served as California Secretary of State
The secretary of state of California is the chief clerk of the U.S. state of California, overseeing a department of 500 people. The Secretary of state (U.S. state government), secretary of state is elected for four year terms, like the state's o ...
from 2003 to 2005. Shelley's daughter, Joan-Marie Shelley, was a French teacher for 30 years at Lincoln High School and Lowell High School in San Francisco Unified School District
San Francisco Unified School District (SFUSD), established in 1851, is the only public school district within the City and County of San Francisco, and the first in the state of California. Under the management of the San Francisco Board of Edu ...
and carried on the family tradition of labor union leadership, serving as vice-president (1978-1984) and president (1984-1989) of the San Francisco Federation of Teachers and as the founding president (1989-1997) of the United Educators of San Francisco, a merger of the local American Federation of Teachers and local National Education Association unions.
References
External links
Join California John F. Shelley
{{DEFAULTSORT:Shelley, John Francis
1905 births
1974 deaths
American Roman Catholics
Burials at Holy Cross Cemetery (Colma, California)
Mayors of San Francisco
Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from California
Democratic Party California state senators
University of San Francisco alumni
United States Coast Guard personnel of World War II
20th-century mayors of places in California
20th-century members of the California State Legislature
20th-century members of the United States House of Representatives