Ronald Raymond James (June 11, 1928 – January 5, 2025) was an American politician and businessman. James, who was elected

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San Jose, California San Jose, officially the City of San José ( ; ), is a cultural, commercial, and political center within Silicon Valley and the San Francisco Bay Area. With a city population of 997,368 and a metropolitan area population of 1.95 million, it is ...

in 1967, served as the city's first popularly elected mayor from 1967 until 1971. He retired from office in 1971 after one term and was succeeded by then-San Jose

Vice Mayor The deputy mayor (also known as vice mayor and assistant mayor) is an elective or appointive office of the second-ranking official that is present in many local governments. Duties and functions Many elected deputy mayors are members of the loca ...

Norm Mineta Norman Yoshio Mineta (, November 12, 1931 – May 3, 2022) was an American politician from California. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, Mineta served in the cabinet of the United States for US Presidents Bill C ...

. In 1970, Mayor James submitted a letter addressed to a future mayor, which was placed in a

time capsule A time capsule is a historic treasure trove, cache of goods or information, usually intended as a deliberate method of communication with future people, and to help future archaeologists, anthropologists, or historians. The preservation of holy ...

buried at San Jose's former main library on West San Carlos Street on May 14, 1970. Other artifacts included with James's letter included a copy of the San Jose

city charter A city charter or town charter (generically, municipal charter) is a legal document (''charter'') establishing a municipality such as a city or town. The concept developed in Europe during the Middle Ages. Traditionally, the granting of a charter ...

, a city council agenda from 1969, newspaper clippings, and a taped radio interview with city librarian Geraldine Nurney, which was recorded at the library's dedication in April 1970. James had been told that the time capsule would remain buried for about 100 years, so he assumed he wouldn't live to see it reopened. However, the old main library was demolished in 2011, which allowed for the capsule's recovery. The time capsule was opened in September 2013 and James's letter was reprinted in its entirety in the ''

San Jose Mercury News ''The Mercury News'' (formerly ''San Jose Mercury News'', often locally known as ''The Merc'') is a morning daily newspaper published in San Jose, California, in the San Francisco Bay Area. It is published by the Bay Area News Group, a subsidia ...

''. James remarked at the ceremony, "They told me it was going to be opened in 100 years or longer...I was pleasantly surprised that the Mercury News printed the letter

verbatim Verbatim means word for word. It may refer to: * ''Verbatim'' (album), a 1996 album by Bob Ostertag * "Verbatim" (song), a 2015 song by Blackbear * Verbatim (brand), a brand of storage media and flash memory * Verbatim (horse) Verbatim (1965 ...

so people could read it. Now, I'm just happy to still be here." James died in San Jose on January 5, 2025, at the age of 96.

References

1928 births 2025 deaths 20th-century mayors of places in California Mayors of San Jose, California {{California-mayor-stub