John C. Holland
John C. Holland | |
|---|---|
14th district | |
| In office July 1, 1943 – June 30, 1967 | |
| Preceded by | Edward L. Thrasher |
| Succeeded by | Arthur K. Snyder |
| Personal details | |
| Born | June 6, 1893 Bartlett, Texas |
| Died | March 10, 1970 (aged 76) Montecito Heights, Los Angeles |
| Political party | Republican |
| Spouse |
Alice Colby Wells (m. 1919) |
| Children | 2 |
John C. Holland (July 6, 1893 – March 10, 1970) was one of the longest-serving Los Angeles City Council members, for 24 years from 1943 to 1967, and was known for his losing fight against bringing the Los Angeles Dodgers to Chavez Ravine and for his reputation as a watchdog over the city treasury.
Biography
Holland was born July 6, 1893, in Bartlett, Texas, the son of William Philip Holland of Fluvanna County, Virginia, and Betty Connell Holland of Liberty Hill, Texas. He was married to Alice Colby Wells of Redlands, California, on June 30, 1919. They had two daughters, Mary Elizabeth Neeb and Helen Louise Osterberg.[1]
Holland attended high school in
In 1919 he opened an electric-supply business in the Northeast Los Angeles community of Highland Park, which he operated until December 1951.[1]
A Republican, he was a member of the
Holland died at the age of 76 on March 10, 1970, at Broadview Christian Science Sanitorium, Montecito Heights after an illness of several weeks. He was buried in Forest Lawn Memorial Park.[2]
Public service
Elections
Holland took part in the successful 1938
Positions
Finances. Holland became chairman of the council's finance committee early in his career, and he became known as the "watchdog of the city treasury." He was parsimonious in running his office, too, making do with just one field deputy, Art Snyder, when other members employed three assistants.[2]
Public housing, 1952. He was opposed to a massive U.S-government subsidized public housing proposal that, he said, was "inexcusably expensive and wasteful of tax monies." He objected to the building of thirty-four 13-story buildings throughout the city, including on "virgin land" in West Los Angeles, Rose Hills and Tujunga.[4] The proposal was abandoned.
Dodgers, 1957–59 The councilman believed that exchanging the 300 acres of city land in
It was common for him to make three or four speeches an evening to any group which would listen to his side of the Chavez Ravine issue, and then appear early the next morning for a breakfast meeting and another speech before participating in a stormy council session starting at 10 a.m.[2]
Zoo, 1961. Holland opposed turning over the Los Angeles Zoo in Griffith Park to a private organization.[1]
Fluoridation, 1961. Holland's birth in
Holland said it was his experience that fluoridated water was unhealthy, and he said he could prove this because the town of Bartlett taxed the residents in order to take the fluorides out.[2]
Slang, 1963. He
References
Access to the Los Angeles Times links may require the use of a library card.
- ^ a b c d e f Los Angeles Public Library reference file
- ^ a b c d e f g "John Holland, Former Councilman, Dies at 76," Highland Park Herald & Journal, March 12, 1970, page 1
- ^ a b Doug Shuit, "John Holland, City Councilman From 1943 to 1967, Dies at 76," Los Angeles Times, March 12, 1970, page C-1
- ^ Norma B. Goodhue, "Opposition to Housing Project Told by Holland," Los Angeles Times, February 9, 1952, page 10
- ^ "Council Asks Dictionary of Slang Study," Los Angeles Times, June 21, 1963, page A-1
- ^ Library of Congress catalog entry for a later edition