Ernest E. Debs
Ernest E. Debs | |
---|---|
13th district | |
In office July 1, 1947 – December 1, 1958 | |
Preceded by | John R. Roden |
Succeeded by | James Harvey Brown |
Member of the California State Assembly from the 56th district | |
In office January 4, 1943 – June 30, 1947 | |
Preceded by | Norris Poulson |
Succeeded by | Glenard P. Lipscomb |
Personal details | |
Born | Ernest Eugene Debs February 7, 1904 Toledo, Ohio |
Died | March 17, 2002 Indian Wells, California | (aged 98)
Political party | Democratic |
Spouse | Lorene Marsh Robertson |
Ernest Eugene Debs
Biography
Debs was born in
He was not related to Eugene V. Debs, the labor leader and Socialist candidate for president. He said in 1947:
We're not even remotely related. I am often asked the question, however, and generally it brings up the subject of my party affiliations and general philosophy of government. Well, I guess I'd be called a conservative Democrat. I was elected to the Assembly on both the Republican and Democratic tickets. Definitely I'm against radicals and Communists. At the same time I think the little fellow should get a square deal—I'm for that, too.[6]
Debs, a resident of Indian Wells, Riverside County, at the time, died at the age of 98 on March 17, 2002. He was survived by his wife, Betty Debs; and children David Debs, Candi Debs, Stan Grant, Lonnie Gordon and Nancy Martel. A memorial service was held in the Los Angeles County Hall of Administration.[7]
Public service
Congress
Debs ran unsuccessfully for the Congressional seat in the 17th District in 1932. Nineteen years later, in the context of a heated City Council reelection campaign, he was accused by Walter C. Smith, an executive with
State Assembly
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Debs gave up show business to become a
City Council
Elections
Debs first ran for the
Positions
Incinerator, 1947. After an explosion at the controversial city incinerator at Avenue 21 and Lacy Street, Debs pushed through a resolution calling for an investigation into the circumstances of letting the contract.[12]
Psychiatrist, 1949. Debs was in the forefront of a City Council move against J. Paul de River, the only Los Angeles Police Department psychiatrist at the time, whose activities during the Black Dahlia murder case were said to have resulted in the arrest of two men later released for lack of evidence.[13][14] He criticized de River for having written a "luridly illustrated" book on criminal sex cases, using Police Department files as source material. "The book is filthy and shocking," said Debs, "an obvious attempt to pander to depraved tastes."[15]
Heaters, 1957. He called for the investigation of what he said were 3,000 to 4,000 unvented gas heaters installed in the city schools.[16]
Board of Supervisors
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Debs was elected to the county Board of Supervisors in 1958, representing the 3rd District. As County Supervisor, he chaired 13 major departments, and served on many committees.[citation needed]
During the
He appointed the final three members to the nine-member
Legacy
Two public parks bear the Debs name:
- Ernest E. Debs Regional Park — in the western San Rafael Hills above the Arroyo Seco, in the Montecito Heights neighborhood of central-northeast Los Angeles.
- Ernest Debs Park — in Bell (southeastern L.A. County).
References
- ^ a b "Eighty-Nine File in Council Race," Los Angeles Times, March 26, 1931, page A-1
- ^ a b Kenneth Reich, "Ernest E. Debs, 98; County Supervisor for 16 Years," March 19, 2002
- ^ Location of the Debs residence on Mapping L.A.
- ^ Los Angeles Public Library reference file
- ^ Norma H. Goodhue, "Mrs. Debs Leads Dynamic Life of Service, Interests," Los Angeles Times, January 27, 1958, page A-3
- ^ "Ernest E. Debs No Relation to Eugene V. Debs," Los Angeles Times, May 27, 1947, page 5
- ^ Funeral notice, Los Angeles Times, March 24, 2002
- ^ a b "Foe of Debs Hits His Past Political Ties," Los Angeles Times, March 25, 1951, page 39
- ^ "Mrs. Debs Leads Dynamic Life of Service, Interests," Los Angeles Times, January 27, 1958, page 3
- ^ "Political Fur Flies at Finish," Los Angeles Times, June 2, 1929, page 2
- ^ "Proposed New Alignment for City Voting Precincts," Los Angeles Times, November 30, 1940, page A-3 Includes a map.
- ^ "Council Orders Full Investigation of Incinerator Following Explosion," Los Angeles Times, December 13, 1947, page A-1
- ^ "Dr. De River Crime Work Under Fire," Los Angeles Times, January 22, 1949, page 4
- '^ "Police Force's Psychiatrist to Be Investigated," Los Angeles Times, March 9, 1949, page 4
- ^ "Dr. De River Suspended Pending Narcotics Trial," Los Angeles Times, March 31, 1950, page 1 The Sexual Criminal: A Psychoanalytical Study (1949) Library of Congress catalog [1]
- ^ "City Quiz on Unvented School Heaters Asked," Los Angeles Times, March 16, 1957, page 4
- ^ Priore, Domenic. Riot On Sunset Strip: Rock 'n' roll's last stand in Hollywood. Jawbone Press, 2007.
- ^ Los Angeles Times, December 3, 1961 “Businessman Appointed to Civil Defense Group” [2]