Roy Hampton (c. 1901–1953) was an attorney, ex-Marine and former journalist who was a member of the

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, ...

, California, City Council from 1939 to 1943. Sheriff's deputies said he killed himself in a Malibu motel in 1953.

Biography

Hampton, who moved to Los Angeles about 1904, was a graduate of the

University of Southern California The University of Southern California (USC, SC, or Southern Cal) is a Private university, private research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Founded in 1880 by Robert M. Widney, it is the oldest private research university in ...

and of its

Law School A law school (also known as a law centre/center, college of law, or faculty of law) is an institution, professional school, or department of a college or university specializing in legal education, usually involved as part of a process for b ...

and had worked as a journalist as well as an attorney. He was a Marine during World War II and was a member of the

American Legion The American Legion, commonly known as the Legion, is an Voluntary association, organization of United States, U.S. war veterans headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana. It comprises U.S. state, state, Territories of the United States, U.S. terr ...

. Other memberships included the

Echo Park Echo Park is a neighborhood in the east-Central Los Angeles, central region of Los Angeles, California. Located to the northwest of Downtown Los Angeles, Downtown, it is bordered by Silver Lake, Los Angeles, Silver Lake to the west and Chinato ...

and

Elysian Park Elysian Park is one of the largest parks in Los Angeles, California, United States, at 600 acres (240 ha). Most of Elysian Park falls in the neighborhood of the same name, but a small portion of the park falls in Echo Park. The park was created ...

improvement associations. He lived in the 2400 block of Echo Park Avenue and then at 2354 Kenilworth Avenue."Roy Hampton, Ex-Councilman, Found Dead," ''Los Angeles Times,'' April 17, 1953, page 2
/ref>"Roy Hampton Services Set," ''Los Angeles Times,'' April 20, 1953, page A-28
/ref> Hampton's body was found in a motel at 19355

Pacific Coast Highway Pacific Coast Highway may refer to: Roads * Pacific Coast Highway or PCH, segments of California State Route 1 * Pacific Coast Highway, parts of New Zealand State Highway 2 and all of New Zealand State Highway 25 and New Zealand State Highway 35. ...

in Malibu on April 16, 1953. "A revolver lay at his side and Sheriff's deputies said he had taken his own life." A note blamed ill health for the act.

Masonic Freemasonry (sometimes spelled Free-Masonry) consists of fraternal groups that trace their origins to the medieval guilds of stonemasons. Freemasonry is the oldest secular fraternity in the world and among the oldest still-existing organizati ...

funeral services were conducted. He was survived by his wife, Elizabeth; a son, Dirk; and his mother, Sadie Hampton.

City Council

Elections

Hampton first ran for the

Los Angeles City Council District 13 Los Angeles's 13th City Council district is one of the fifteen districts in the Los Angeles City Council. It is currently represented by Democratic Party (United States), Democrat Hugo Soto-Martinez since 2022, after beating previous councilmemb ...

seat in 1931, when he finished eighth in a field of 11 candidates. He was elected in the same district in 1939 and again in 1941, but he lost to Ned R. Healy in 1943. In those years, the 13th District was essentially bounded on the east by Sheffield Street, the south by

Valley Boulevard Valley Boulevard is a street in Southern California, running east from Los Angeles to Pomona, where it becomes Holt Avenue, and a continuation from Fontana to Colton. It generally parallels Interstate 10 (I-10) and State Route 60 ...

, the west by

Vermont Avenue Vermont Avenue is one of the longest running north–south streets in City of Los Angeles and Los Angeles County, California. With a length of , is the third longest of the north–south thoroughfares in the region. For most of its length be ...

and the north by an irregular line from Pullman Street to Fountain Avenue.

Controversies

In Hampton's

obituary An obituary (wikt:obit#Etymology 2, obit for short) is an Article (publishing), article about a recently death, deceased person. Newspapers often publish obituaries as Article (publishing), news articles. Although obituaries tend to focus on p ...

, the ''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' is an American Newspaper#Daily, daily newspaper that began publishing in Los Angeles, California, in 1881. Based in the Greater Los Angeles city of El Segundo, California, El Segundo since 2018, it is the List of new ...

'' said that the councilman "gained some note as a

stormy petrel Storm petrel or stormy petrel may refer to one of two bird family (biology), families, both in the order Procellariiformes, once treated as the same family. The two families are: * Northern storm petrels (''Hydrobatidae'') are found in the No ...

," speaking out against the Los Angeles Housing Authority, street railway operations, the Police and Civil Service Commissions and Mayor Bowron. He was among the early proponents of broadcasting City Council sessions."

Healy and Healy

In 1940 Hampton was the leader of an unsuccessful fight to have Mayor

Fletcher Bowron Fletcher Bowron (August 13, 1887 – September 11, 1968) was an American lawyer, judge, and politician. He was the 35th Mayor of Los Angeles from 1938 to 1953. A member of the Republican Party, he was at the time the city's longest-serving mayor ...

remove Don R. Healy from a

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 ...

revision committee on the grounds that Healy had been "an active member of the Communist party" since 1936. Healy told a three-member committee chaired by Hampton that he had indeed registered as a Communist in 1936 "but said he did so nlyto vote for a Communist candidate." The chief opponent to Hampton's demand was Councilman Arthur E. Briggs who said it was a "dirty and contemptible procedure, all too common in this community." Hampton retorted that Briggs, who had moved to California from

Kansas Kansas ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to the west. Kansas is named a ...

in 1923, was a "self-confessed ward-heeler of the Pendergast political machine in Kansas City," a statement that Briggs called "absolutely false.""Los Angeles Casts Ballots Tuesday," ''Los Angeles Times,'' April 30, 1939, page A-1
/ref> Three years later, in 1943, Hampton made a charge in 30,000 campaign fliers circulated "on the eve of the municipal primary" that Ned R. Healy, his opponent in the 13th District race, had been at one time a registered member of the Communist Party. Ned Healy went to the city attorney's office and demanded issuance of a complaint against Hampton on a charge of

criminal libel Criminal libel is a legal term, of English origin, which may be used with one of two distinct meanings, in those common law jurisdictions where it is still used. It is an alternative name for the common law offence which is also known (in order ...

, and Hampton soon made an "unequivocal retraction" of his charge. Healy went on to win the runoff election. The record does not show if Don and Ned R. Healy were related or if Hampton had confused the two.

Subversion

Hampton was the sponsor of Charter Amendment No. 12, approved by the voters in 1941, that forbade members of "subversive organizations" from working for the city. The authority was later used to discharge several employees of the city's Department of Water and Power.

Wire-tapping

In 1941, Hampton charged that Wallace N. Jamie, an investigator for Mayor Bowron, had established a

wire-tapping Wiretapping, also known as wire tapping or telephone tapping, is the monitoring of telephone and Internet-based conversations by a third party, often by covert means. The wire tap received its name because, historically, the monitoring connecti ...

"listening post" in the City Hall. Bowron called Hampton a "liar", and Hampton thereupon asked Attorney-General

Earl Warren Earl Warren (March 19, 1891 – July 9, 1974) was an American attorney and politician who served as the 30th governor of California from 1943 to 1953 and as the 14th Chief Justice of the United States from 1953 to 1969. The Warren Court presid ...

for an investigation because, he said, members of the mayor's and district attorney's offices were collaborating in a scheme of wire-tapping espionage in Los Angeles.

Police

He called for the ousting of Police Chief C.B. Horrell and the entire Police Commission in 1943 after the death of Stanley H. Beebe, a mortally injured accountant who made a deathbed statement that he had been beaten and kicked by policemen in the Central Jail."Ouster of Police Chief Sought by Councilman," ''Los Angeles Times,'' January 19, 1943, page 3
/ref>

References

''Access to the ''Los Angeles Times'' links requires the use of a library card.'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Hampton, Roy 1900s births 1953 suicides 1953 deaths Year of birth uncertain Los Angeles City Council members University of Southern California alumni USC Gould School of Law alumni American politicians who died by suicide Suicides by firearm in California United States Marine Corps personnel of World War II 20th-century California politicians American anti-communists