Lionel B. Cade (August 14, 1918 – April 3, 1990) was an American politician and accountant who served as mayor of

Compton, California Compton is a city located in the Gateway Cities region of southern Los Angeles County, California, United States, situated south of downtown Los Angeles. Compton is one of the oldest cities in the county, and on May 11, 1888, was the eighth ci ...

, from 1977 until 1981.

Biography

Cade was born in

Hardin County, Texas Hardin County is a county located in the U.S. state of Texas, United States. As of the 2020 census, its population was 56,231. The county seat is Kountze. The county is named for the family of William Hardin from Liberty County, Texas. H ...

, on August 14, 1918, the son of Charley and Virginia (Slocum) Cade. 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 ...

, he was a member of the U.S. Army's first black paratroop battalion, the 555th. He also served his country during the

Korean War The Korean War (25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953) was an armed conflict on the Korean Peninsula fought between North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea; DPRK) and South Korea (Republic of Korea; ROK) and their allies. North Korea was s ...

. Cade earned a bachelor's degree 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 ...

and a master's from

USC USC may refer to: Education United States * Universidad del Sagrado Corazón, Santurce, Puerto Rico * University of South Carolina, Columbia, South Carolina ** University of South Carolina System, a state university system of South Carolina * ...

. When the Rev. Raul Imschweiler did not seek re-election to the Compton City Council in 1961, Cade ran for his seat. He lost to Robert Kerr by just 413 votes. In 1964, he was appointed to the Council, one of the first

African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...

s to serve there. He was elected to a four-year term the following year and reelected in 1969. He was a member of the council until 1973, when he made his first attempt as

mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a Municipal corporation, municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilitie ...

. He finished third. Despite that defeat, he was successful on his second try in 1977. An

accountant An accountant is a practitioner of accounting or accountancy. Accountants who have demonstrated competency through their professional associations' certification exams are certified to use titles such as Chartered Accountant, Chartered Certif ...

by profession, Cade ordered an audit of the city's finances soon after he took office. He discovered that the city had a deficit of $2 million. As a result of that finding, Cade initiated a series of cost-cutting measures that wiped out the debt within one year. In 1978, California voters overwhelmingly approved

Proposition 13 Proposition 13 (officially named the People's Initiative to Limit Property Taxation) is an amendment of the Constitution of California enacted during 1978, by means of the initiative process, to cap property taxes and limit property reassessmen ...

, an initiative that severely reduced property tax revenues. Since much of the fat was already eliminated from Compton's budget, it was one of the hardest hit by the measure. In his 1981 reelection campaign, Cade was soundly defeated by his opponent, Walter R. Tucker, Jr., a local dentist. Cade later moved to Stockton, where he spent the remainder of his life.

Death

Cade died on April 3, 1990, from

emphysema Emphysema is any air-filled enlargement in the body's tissues. Most commonly emphysema refers to the permanent enlargement of air spaces (alveoli) in the lungs, and is also known as pulmonary emphysema. Emphysema is a lower respiratory tract di ...

References

Sources

*''Los Angeles Times'', "Former Councilman and Mayor Lionel Cade Dies," April 12, 1990, page J-2. *Miller, Gary J., ''Cities by Contract: The Politics of Municipal Incorporation'', The MIT Press, Cambridge, Massachusetts and London, England, 1981 African-American mayors in California Mayors of Compton, California 1918 births 1990 deaths 20th-century mayors of places in California Compton, California, city council members Deaths from emphysema African-American city council members in California United States Army personnel of World War II United States Army personnel of the Korean War 20th-century African-American politicians {{California-mayor-stub